# Re: \[PATCH net-next\] net: reformat kdoc return statements

- From: Jakub Kicinski \<kuba@kernel.org\>
- Date: 2024-11-19 00:33:10 
- List: netdev
- Page: https://ratatoskr.run/netdev/2024/11/8532709
- Thread: https://ratatoskr.run/netdev/2024/11/11311520/t.md

```text
On Sat, 16 Nov 2024 16:23:59 +0000 Russell King (Oracle) wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 15, 2024 at 08:36:12AM -0800, Jakub Kicinski wrote:
> > kernel-doc -Wall warns about missing Return: statement for non-void
> > functions. We have a number of kdocs in our headers which are missing
> > the colon, IOW they use
> >  * Return some value
> > or
> >  * Returns some value
> > 
> > Having the colon makes some sense, it should help kdoc parser avoid
> > false positives. So add them. This is mostly done with a sed script,
> > and removing the unnecessary cases (mostly the comments which aren't
> > kdoc).  
> 
> I wonder about this... I suspect it's going to be a constant battle to
> ensure that docs use Return: or Returns: because it's not "natural"
> when writing documentation.
> 
> Maybe the tooling should accept a sentence starting "Return(s?)" and
> convert it to "Return(s):" in generated documentation?

I missed this merge window, so we have time, let's ask Jon.

Jon, do you have a preference on making the kernel-doc formatting
accept "* Return" without the colon? vs fixing all the mis-formatting?
Looks like we have roughly 100 of those in networking headers 
(just counting those under include/).

FWIW we catch new instances of the missing return problem, so it
shouldn't be getting worse.
```