Re: [PATCH v3 26/64] objtool: Add section/symbol type helpers

[Josh Poimboeuf]

On Fri, Jun 27, 2025 at 12:29:30PM +0200, Peter Zijlstra wrote:
> Naming seems inconsistent, there are:
>
>   sym_has_sec(), sec_changed() and sec_size()
>
> which have the object first, but then most new ones are:
> 
>   is_foo_sym() and is_foo_sec()
> 
> which have the object last.

For the "is_()" variants, I read them as:

  "is a(n) <adjective> <noun>"

e.g.:

  is_undef_sym(): "is an UNDEF symbol"
  is_file_sym():  "is a FILE symbol"
  is_string_sec() "is a STRING section"

Nerding out on English for a second, many of those adjectives can be
read as noun adjuncts, e.g. "chicken soup", where a noun functions as an
adjective.

If we changed those to:

  "is <noun> <adjective>?"

or

  "is <noun> a <noun>?"

then it doesn't always read correctly:

  is_sym_file():   "is symbol a file?"
  is_sec_string(): "is section a string?"

-- 
Josh