docs: process: allow Closes tags with links
Since v6.3, checkpatch.pl now complains about the use of "Closes:" tags followed by a link [1]. It also complains if a "Reported-by:" tag is followed by a "Closes:" one [2]. As detailed in the first patch, this "Closes:" tag is used for a bit of time, mainly by DRM and MPTCP subsystems. It is used by some bug trackers to automate the closure of issues when a patch is accepted. It is even planned to use this tag with bugzilla.kernel.org [3]. The first patch updates the documentation to explain what is this "Closes:" tag and how/when to use it. The second patch modifies checkpatch.pl to stop complaining about it. The DRM maintainers and their mailing list have been added in Cc as they are probably interested by these two patches as well. [1] https://lore.kernel.org/all/3b036087d80b8c0e07a46a1dbaaf4ad0d018f8d5.1674217480.git.linux@leemhuis.info/ [2] https://lore.kernel.org/all/bb5dfd55ea2026303ab2296f4a6df3da7dd64006.1674217480.git.linux@leemhuis.info/ [3] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-doc/20230315181205.f3av7h6owqzzw64p@meerkat.local/ This patch (of 5): Making sure a bug tracker is up to date is not an easy task. For example, a first version of a patch fixing a tracked issue can be sent a long time after having created the issue. But also, it can take some time to have this patch accepted upstream in its final form. When it is done, someone -- probably not the person who accepted the patch -- has to remember about closing the corresponding issue. This task of closing and tracking the patch can be done automatically by bug trackers like GitLab [1], GitHub [2] and hopefully soon [3] bugzilla.kernel.org when the appropriated tag is used. The two first ones accept multiple tags but it is probably better to pick one. According to commit 76f381bb ("checkpatch: warn when unknown tags are used for links"), the "Closes" tag seems to have been used in the past by a few people and it is supported by popular bug trackers. Here is how it has been used in the past: $ git log --no-merges --format=email -P --grep='^Closes: http' | \ grep '^Closes: http' | cut -d/ -f3-5 | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn 391 gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/intel 79 github.com/multipath-tcp/mptcp_net-next 8 gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/msm 3 gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/amd 2 gitlab.freedesktop.org/mesa/mesa 1 patchwork.freedesktop.org/series/73320 1 gitlab.freedesktop.org/lima/linux 1 gitlab.freedesktop.org/drm/nouveau 1 github.com/ClangBuiltLinux/linux 1 bugzilla.netfilter.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1579 1 bugzilla.netfilter.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1543 1 bugzilla.netfilter.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1436 1 bugzilla.netfilter.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1427 1 bugs.debian.org/625804 Likely here, the "Closes" tag was only properly used with GitLab and GitHub. We can also see that it has been used quite a few times (and still used recently) and this is then not a "random tag that makes no sense" like it was the case with "BugLink" recently [4]. It has also been misused but that was a long time ago, when it was common to use many different random tags. checkpatch.pl script should then stop complaining about this "Closes" tag. As suggested by Thorsten [5], if this tag is accepted, it should first be described in the documentation. This is what is done here in this patch. To avoid confusion, the "Closes" should be used with any public bug report. No need to check if the underlying bug tracker supports automations. Having this tag with any kind of public bug reports allows bots like regzbot to clearly identify patches fixing a specific bug and avoid false-positives, e.g. patches mentioning it is related to an issue but not fixing it. As suggested by Thorsten [6] again, if we follow the same logic, the "Closes" tag should then be used after a "Reported-by" one. Note that thanks to this "Closes" tag, the mentioned bug trackers can also locate where a patch has been applied in different branches and repositories. If only the "Link" tag is used, the tracking can also be done but the ticket will not be closed and a manual operation will be needed. Also, these bug trackers have some safeguards: the closure is only done if a commit having the "Closes:" tag is applied in a specific branch. It will then not be closed if a random commit having the same tag is published elsewhere. Also in case of closure, a notification is sent to the owners. Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20230314-doc-checkpatch-closes-tag-v4-0-d26d1fa66f9f@tessares.net Link: https://docs.gitlab.com/ee/user/project/issues/managing_issues.html#default-closing-pattern [1] Link: https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/writing-on-github/working-with-advanced-formatting/using-keywords-in-issues-and-pull-requests [2] Link: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-doc/20230315181205.f3av7h6owqzzw64p@meerkat.local/ [3] Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/CAHk-=wgs38ZrfPvy=nOwVkVzjpM3VFU1zobP37Fwd_h9iAD5JQ@mail.gmail.com/ [4] Link: https://lore.kernel.org/all/688cd6cb-90ab-6834-a6f5-97080e39ca8e@leemhuis.info/ [5] Link: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-doc/2194d19d-f195-1a1e-41fc-7827ae569351@leemhuis.info/ [6] Link: https://github.com/multipath-tcp/mptcp_net-next/issues/373 Link: https://lkml.kernel.org/r/20230314-doc-checkpatch-closes-tag-v4-1-d26d1fa66f9f@tessares.netSigned-off-by: Matthieu Baerts <matthieu.baerts@tessares.net> Suggested-by: Thorsten Leemhuis <linux@leemhuis.info> Acked-by: Konstantin Ryabitsev <konstantin@linuxfoundation.org> Acked-by: Joe Perches <joe@perches.com> Cc: Andy Whitcroft <apw@canonical.com> Cc: Bagas Sanjaya <bagasdotme@gmail.com> Cc: Daniel Vetter <daniel@ffwll.ch> Cc: David Airlie <airlied@gmail.com> Cc: Dwaipayan Ray <dwaipayanray1@gmail.com> Cc: Jonathan Corbet <corbet@lwn.net> Cc: Kai Wasserbäch <kai@dev.carbon-project.org> Cc: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org> Cc: Lukas Bulwahn <lukas.bulwahn@gmail.com> Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
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