xref: /openbmc/libpldm/docs/checklists/changes.md (revision 9817fa5c)
1# Checklist for making changes to `libpldm`
2
3## Philosophy and influences
4
5- [Good Practices in Library Design, Implementation, and Maintenance - Ulrich
6  Drepper][goodpractice]
7
8[goodpractice]: https://www.akkadia.org/drepper/goodpractice.pdf
9
10- [How Do I Make This Hard to Misuse? - Rusty Russell][rusty-api-scale-good]
11
12[rusty-api-scale-good]: https://ozlabs.org/~rusty/index.cgi/tech/2008-03-30.html
13
14- [What If I Don't Actually Like My Users? - Rusty Russell][rusty-api-scale-bad]
15
16[rusty-api-scale-bad]: https://ozlabs.org/~rusty/index.cgi/tech/2008-04-01.html
17
18- [Red flags that indicate questionable quality - Lennart
19  Poettering][poettering-library-red-flags]
20
21[poettering-library-red-flags]:
22  https://mastodon.social/@pid_eins/112517953375791453
23
24- [Not sure if this is a gcc bug or some weird corner of UB or what... - Andrew
25  Zonenberg][azonenberg-packed-struct]
26
27[azonenberg-packed-struct]: https://ioc.exchange/@azonenberg/112535511250395148
28
29## References
30
31- [C17 draft standard][c17-draft-standard]
32
33[c17-draft-standard]:
34  https://web.archive.org/web/20181230041359if_/http://www.open-std.org/jtc1/sc22/wg14/www/abq/c17_updated_proposed_fdis.pdf
35
36## Definitions
37
38- **Error condition**: An invalid state reached at runtime, caused either by
39  resource exhaustion, or incorrect use of the library's public APIs and data
40  types.
41
42- **Invariant**: A condition in the library's implementation that must never
43  evaluate false.
44
45- **Public API**: Any definitions and declarations under `include/libpldm`.
46
47## Elaborations
48
49- Resource exhaustion is always an error condition and never an invariant
50  violation.
51
52- An invariant violation is always a programming failure of the library's
53  implementation, and never the result of incorrect use of the library's public
54  APIs (see error condition).
55
56- Corollaries of the above two points:
57
58  - Incorrect use of public API functions is always an error condition, and is
59    dealt with by returning an error code.
60
61  - Incorrect use of static functions in the library's implementation is an
62    invariant violation which may be established using `assert()`.
63
64- `assert()` is the recommended way to demonstrate invariants are upheld.
65
66## Adding a new API
67
68- [ ] My new public `struct` definitions are _not_ marked
69      `__attribute__((packed))`
70
71- [ ] If my work interacts with the PLDM wire format, then I have done so using
72      the `msgbuf` APIs found in `src/msgbuf.h` (and under `src/msgbuf/`) to
73      minimise concerns around spatial memory safety and endian-correctness.
74
75- [ ] All my error conditions are handled by returning an error code to the
76      caller.
77
78- [ ] All my invariants are tested using `assert()`.
79
80- [ ] I have not used `assert()` to evaluate any error conditions without also
81      handling the error condition by returning an error code the the caller.
82
83  - Release builds of the library are configured with `assert()` disabled
84    (`-Db_ndebug=if-release`, which provides `-DNDEBUG` in `CFLAGS`).
85
86- [ ] My new APIs return negative `errno` values on error and not PLDM
87      completion codes.
88
89  - [ ] The specific error values my function returns and their meaning in the
90        context of the function call are listed in the API documentation.
91
92- [ ] If I've added support for a new PLDM message type, then I've implemented
93      both the encoder and decoder for that message. Note this applies for both
94      request _and_ response message types.
95
96- [ ] My new function symbols are marked with `LIBPLDM_ABI_TESTING` in the
97      implementation
98
99- [ ] I've implemented test cases with reasonable branch coverage of each new
100      function I've added
101
102- [ ] I've guarded the test cases of functions marked `LIBPLDM_ABI_TESTING` so
103      that they are not compiled when the corresponding function symbols aren't
104      visible
105
106- [ ] If I've added support for a new message type, then my commit message
107      specifies all of:
108
109  - [ ] The relevant DMTF specification by its DSP number and title
110  - [ ] The relevant version of the specification
111  - [ ] The section of the specification that defines the message type
112
113- [ ] If my work impacts the public API of the library, then I've added an entry
114      to `CHANGELOG.md` describing my work
115
116## Stabilising an existing API
117
118- [ ] The API of interest is currently marked `LIBPLDM_ABI_TESTING`
119
120- [ ] My commit message links to a publicly visible patch that makes use of the
121      API
122
123- [ ] My commit updates the annotation from `LIBPLDM_ABI_TESTING` to
124      `LIBPLDM_ABI_STABLE` only for the function symbols demonstrated by the
125      patch linked in the commit message.
126
127- [ ] I've removed guards from the function's tests so they are always compiled
128
129- [ ] If I've updated the ABI dump, then I've used the OpenBMC CI container to
130      do so.
131
132## Updating an ABI dump
133
134Each of the following must succeed:
135
136- [ ] Enter the OpenBMC CI Docker container
137  - Approximately:
138    `docker run --cap-add=sys_admin --rm=true --privileged=true -u $USER -w $(pwd) -v $(pwd):$(pwd) -e MAKEFLAGS= -it openbmc/ubuntu-unit-test:2024-W21-ce361f95ff4fa669`
139- [ ] `CC=gcc CXX=g++; [ $(uname -m) = 'x86_64' ] && meson setup -Dabi=deprecated,stable build`
140- [ ] `meson compile -C build`
141- [ ] `./scripts/abi-dump-formatter < build/src/current.dump > abi/x86_64/gcc.dump`
142
143## Removing an API
144
145- [ ] If the function is marked `LIBPLDM_ABI_TESTING`, then I have removed it
146
147- [ ] If the function is marked `LIBPLDM_ABI_STABLE`, then I have changed the
148      annotation to `LIBPLDM_ABI_DEPRECATED` and left it in-place.
149
150- [ ] If the function is marked `LIBPLDM_ABI_DEPRECATED`, then I have removed it
151      only after satisfying myself that each of the following is true:
152
153  - [ ] There are no known users of the function left in the community
154  - [ ] There has been at least one tagged release of `libpldm` subsequent to
155        the API being marked deprecated
156
157## Testing my changes
158
159Each of the following must succeed when executed in order. Note that to avoid
160[googletest bug #4232][googletest-issue-4232] you must avoid using GCC 12
161(shipped in Debian Bookworm).
162
163[googletest-issue-4232]: https://github.com/google/googletest/issues/4232
164
165- [ ] `meson setup -Dabi-compliance-check=disabled build`
166- [ ] `meson compile -C build && meson test -C build`
167
168- [ ] `meson configure --buildtype=release build`
169- [ ] `meson compile -C build && meson test -C build`
170
171- [ ] `meson configure --buildtype=debug build`
172- [ ] `meson configure -Dabi=deprecated,stable build`
173- [ ] `meson compile -C build && meson test -C build`
174