[clang-format] Additional flag of SpaceBeforeParensOptions for C variable declaration required.

[adong660]

At present, SpaceBeforeParens and its associated SpaceBeforeParensOptions options have limited support on C variable declaration.

If we have a line of C code like
int (*ptr)[4];
It turns out that, if I want to reserve the space between int and (*ptr), I have no choice but to set SpaceBeforeParens to be Always, which prevents me from control the existence of spaces at other places more better. Therefore, I hope there would be a flag called AfterBaseType for SpaceBeforeParensOptions.

I believe that a space at that place is a desired feature among many people, because the exsiting PointerAlignment and ReferenceAlignment options both add at least one space after the type, such as int *ptr, int* ptr, or int * ptr. Generally speaking, a space between the type name and "something following it" should be desired (although some people like to put int and * together, in which case the space comes a bit later, after the *).

[owenca]

If we have a line of C code like int (*ptr)[4]; It turns out that, if I want to reserve the space between int and (*ptr), I have no choice but to set SpaceBeforeParens to be Always, which prevents me from control the existence of spaces at other places more better. Therefore, I hope there would be a flag called AfterBaseType for SpaceBeforeParensOptions.

The space is inserted by default. What's your config file?

[adong660]

If we have a line of C code like int (*ptr)[4]; It turns out that, if I want to reserve the space between int and (*ptr), I have no choice but to set SpaceBeforeParens to be Always, which prevents me from control the existence of spaces at other places more better. Therefore, I hope there would be a flag called AfterBaseType for SpaceBeforeParensOptions.

The space is inserted by default. What's your config file?

I just tried with WebKit style with and without additional options, and the result is as the following screenshot:

It seems that, for a global pointer to an array, a space will be inserted before it, while for a local one, a space will be deleted before it if any. The version of clang-format is Ubuntu clang-format version 20.0.0 (++20241102031256+c7c5042e3c97-1~exp1~20241102151430.2026).

It is noticeable that I also tried the same code on Windows, and spaces are inserted or reserved before both pointers correctly. That Windows clang-format's version is clang-format version 19.1.3.

[llvmbot]

@llvm/issue-subscribers-bug

Author: adong660 (adong660)

At present, SpaceBeforeParens and its associated SpaceBeforeParensOptions options have limited support on C variable declaration.

If we have a line of C code like
int (*ptr)[4];
It turns out that, if I want to reserve the space between int and (*ptr), I have no choice but to set SpaceBeforeParens to be Always, which prevents me from control the existence of spaces at other places more better. Therefore, I hope there would be a flag called AfterBaseType for SpaceBeforeParensOptions.

I believe that a space at that place is a desired feature among many people, because the exsiting PointerAlignment and ReferenceAlignment options both add at least one space after the type, such as int *ptr, int* ptr, or int * ptr. Generally speaking, a space between the type name and "something following it" should be desired (although some people like to put int and * together, in which case the space comes a bit later, after the *).