Re: C99 Initialisers

[Jeff Garzik <jgarzik@pobox.com>]

Greg KH wrote:
> # add PCI_DEVICE() macro to make pci_device_id tables easier to read.
> 
> diff -Nru a/drivers/net/tg3.c b/drivers/net/tg3.c
> --- a/drivers/net/tg3.c	Wed Aug 13 10:29:08 2003
> +++ b/drivers/net/tg3.c	Wed Aug 13 10:29:08 2003


This patch is ok with me.

And I agree with David that, in generic, C99 initializers is the way to 
go.  However, the higher level point remains:

PCI IDs, and data like them, are fundamentally not C code.

I'm a strong believer in putting data in its most natural form, and then 
transforming it via automated tools into the desired form.  C code is a 
natural form of data that describes "process and procedure", and the 
compiler is the automated tool that transforms it.  PCI ID tables are 
data that is not process/procedure, but instead much more of a 
traditional data table.  So it should be a form more suitable for its 
multiple uses.  Distro installers and other utilities already pay 
attention to the PCI ID tables in drivers.  Why are we compiling 
non-code into ELF .o objects, and then forcing people to extract that 
non-code from .o files?  In the South we call it "going around your 
elbow to get to your thumb" :)

	Jeff