xref: /openbmc/libpldm/docs/checklists/changes.md (revision d0c7105c)
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- **Wire format**: Any message structure defined in the DMTF PLDM protocol
48  specifications.
49
50## Elaborations
51
52- Resource exhaustion is always an error condition and never an invariant
53  violation.
54
55- An invariant violation is always a programming failure of the library's
56  implementation, and never the result of incorrect use of the library's public
57  APIs (see error condition).
58
59- Corollaries of the above two points:
60
61  - Incorrect use of public API functions is always an error condition, and is
62    dealt with by returning an error code.
63
64  - Incorrect use of static functions in the library's implementation is an
65    invariant violation which may be established using `assert()`.
66
67- `assert()` is the recommended way to demonstrate invariants are upheld.
68
69## Adding a new API
70
71- [ ] My new public `struct` definitions are _not_ marked
72      `__attribute__((packed))`
73
74- [ ] If my work interacts with the PLDM wire format, then I have done so using
75      the `msgbuf` APIs found in `src/msgbuf.h` (and under `src/msgbuf/`) to
76      minimise concerns around spatial memory safety and endian-correctness.
77
78- [ ] All my error conditions are handled by returning an error code to the
79      caller.
80
81- [ ] All my invariants are tested using `assert()`.
82
83- [ ] I have not used `assert()` to evaluate any error conditions without also
84      handling the error condition by returning an error code the the caller.
85
86  - Release builds of the library are configured with `assert()` disabled
87    (`-Db_ndebug=if-release`, which provides `-DNDEBUG` in `CFLAGS`).
88
89- [ ] My new APIs return negative `errno` values on error and not PLDM
90      completion codes.
91
92  - [ ] The specific error values my function returns and their meaning in the
93        context of the function call are listed in the API documentation.
94
95- [ ] If I've added support for a new PLDM message type, then I've implemented
96      both the encoder and decoder for that message. Note this applies for both
97      request _and_ response message types.
98
99- [ ] My new function symbols are marked with `LIBPLDM_ABI_TESTING` in the
100      implementation
101
102- [ ] I've implemented test cases with reasonable branch coverage of each new
103      function I've added
104
105- [ ] I've guarded the test cases of functions marked `LIBPLDM_ABI_TESTING` so
106      that they are not compiled when the corresponding function symbols aren't
107      visible
108
109- [ ] If I've added support for a new message type, then my commit message
110      specifies all of:
111
112  - [ ] The relevant DMTF specification by its DSP number and title
113  - [ ] The relevant version of the specification
114  - [ ] The section of the specification that defines the message type
115
116- [ ] If my work impacts the public API of the library, then I've added an entry
117      to `CHANGELOG.md` describing my work
118
119## Stabilising an existing API
120
121- [ ] The API of interest is currently marked `LIBPLDM_ABI_TESTING`
122
123- [ ] My commit message links to a publicly visible patch that makes use of the
124      API
125
126- [ ] My commit updates the annotation from `LIBPLDM_ABI_TESTING` to
127      `LIBPLDM_ABI_STABLE` only for the function symbols demonstrated by the
128      patch linked in the commit message.
129
130- [ ] I've removed guards from the function's tests so they are always compiled
131
132- [ ] If I've updated the ABI dump, then I've used the OpenBMC CI container to
133      do so.
134
135## Updating an ABI dump
136
137Each of the following must succeed:
138
139- [ ] Enter the OpenBMC CI Docker container
140  - Approximately:
141    `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`
142- [ ] `CC=gcc CXX=g++; [ $(uname -m) = 'x86_64' ] && meson setup -Dabi=deprecated,stable build`
143- [ ] `meson compile -C build`
144- [ ] `./scripts/abi-dump-formatter < build/src/current.dump > abi/x86_64/gcc.dump`
145
146## Removing an API
147
148- [ ] If the function is marked `LIBPLDM_ABI_TESTING`, then I have removed it
149
150- [ ] If the function is marked `LIBPLDM_ABI_STABLE`, then I have changed the
151      annotation to `LIBPLDM_ABI_DEPRECATED` and left it in-place.
152
153- [ ] If the function is marked `LIBPLDM_ABI_DEPRECATED`, then I have removed it
154      only after satisfying myself that each of the following is true:
155
156  - [ ] There are no known users of the function left in the community
157  - [ ] There has been at least one tagged release of `libpldm` subsequent to
158        the API being marked deprecated
159
160## Testing my changes
161
162Each of the following must succeed when executed in order. Note that to avoid
163[googletest bug #4232][googletest-issue-4232] you must avoid using GCC 12
164(shipped in Debian Bookworm).
165
166[googletest-issue-4232]: https://github.com/google/googletest/issues/4232
167
168- [ ] `meson setup -Dabi-compliance-check=disabled build`
169- [ ] `meson compile -C build && meson test -C build`
170
171- [ ] `meson configure --buildtype=release build`
172- [ ] `meson compile -C build && meson test -C build`
173
174- [ ] `meson configure --buildtype=debug build`
175- [ ] `meson configure -Dabi=deprecated,stable build`
176- [ ] `meson compile -C build && meson test -C build`
177