checkpatch: add test for char * arrays that could be static const

static const char* arrays create smaller text as each function call does
not have to populate the array.

Emit a warning when char *arrays aren't static const and the array is
not apparently global by being declared in the first column.

Signed-off-by: Joe Perches <joe@perches.com>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
Signed-off-by: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>

1 files changed, 7 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/scripts/checkpatch.pl b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
index 646295cd9990..91308bec89b9 100755
--- a/scripts/checkpatch.pl
+++ b/scripts/checkpatch.pl
@@ -2675,6 +2675,13 @@ sub process {
                                 $herecurr);
                }
 
+# check for non-global char *foo[] = {"bar", ...} declarations.
+                if ($line =~ /^.\s+(?:static\s+|const\s+)?char\s+\*\s*\w+\s*\[\s*\]\s*=\s*\{/) {
+                        WARN("STATIC_CONST_CHAR_ARRAY",
+                             "char * array declaration might be better as static const\n" .
+                                $herecurr);
+               }
+
 # check for function declarations without arguments like "int foo()"
                 if ($line =~ /(\b$Type\s+$Ident)\s*\(\s*\)/) {
                         if (ERROR("FUNCTION_WITHOUT_ARGS",