rust-lang / rust-lang/cargo

Consider renaming `debug` to `debuginfo` in profiles

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A-debugging A-profiles C-feature-request S-needs-mentor
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

In profiles, one can use

debug = true # Controls whether the compiler passes -g

The name debug is confounding (at least for me):

  1. It says nothing about "symbols",
  2. It implies "slower code", which is false,
  3. It can be confused with "debug-assertions".

Obviously we can't just rename debug to generate-symbols, but we can add an alias and update docs.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by locating Cargo's profile configuration handling and the documentation for the debug profile option. Review how profile aliases are represented and how -g is described; done means supporting the proposed alias and updating the relevant documentation without removing the existing option.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
build-system
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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