10/06/2024 18:31, Konstantin Ananyev: > Morten said: > > The coding style guide says: > > > > "Variables should be declared at the start of a block of code rather than > > in the middle. The exception to this is when the variable is > > const in which case the declaration must be at the point of first > > use/assignment. Declaring variable inside a for loop is OK." > > > > Since DPDK switched to C11, variables can be declared where they are used, > > which reduces the risk of using effectively uninitialized > > variables. "Effectively uninitialized" means initialized to 0 or NULL where > > declared, to silence any compiler warnings about the use of > > uninitialized variables. > > > > Can we please agree to remove the recommendation/requirement to declare > > variables at the start of a block of code? > > I know that modern C standards allow to define variable in the middle. > But I am strongly opposed to allow that in DPDK coding style. > Such practice makes code much harder to read and understand (at least for me).
Yes it is convenient to know that all variables are described in a known place, just after function parameters. There is also a consistency concern. Old contributors like to be in a comfort zone, and we don't want to lose old contributors. New contributors may be refrained by old rules, and we would like to get more new contributors. So that's a tricky decision.