Bug 504176

this is not a bugreport but a suggestion report

# Akonadi Source Code Audit Report

## Overview

This report summarizes an audit of the Akonadi project source code (879 C/C++ files), highlighting coding practices, structure, and opportunities for improvement. It categorizes files by usage of Qt macros, test assertions, TODO comments, and entry points, and provides detailed recommendations.

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## 1. Includes & Dependency Management

**Files with #include directives:** 871

### Observations:
- The vast majority of files correctly include required headers.
- Some files redundantly include both system and local headers without grouping or ordering.

### Recommendations:
- Adopt a consistent ordering: C system headers → C++ standard headers → third-party → local headers.
- Remove unused includes to reduce compile time and dependencies.

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## 2. Qt-Specific Test Files

**Files with Qt test macros (e.g., Q_OBJECT, QTEST_MAIN):** 325

### Observations:
- Strong use of `QTestLib` indicates comprehensive unit testing coverage.
- Most test files are logically grouped under `autotests/`.

### Recommendations:
- Ensure that all business logic modules have corresponding unit tests.
- Improve naming consistency for test methods (`testX_data()`/`testX()` pattern is mostly followed, ensure it's uniform).

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## 3. Assertions and Validation Logic

**Files using `QCOMPARE`, `QVERIFY`, etc.:** 71

### Observations:
- Assertions are present but limited; many tests lack validation logic beyond data setup.

### Recommendations:
- Increase use of `QCOMPARE`, `QVERIFY`, and `QTRY_VERIFY` to validate behavior explicitly.
- Add negative test cases (e.g., invalid inputs, edge cases) to increase robustness.

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## 4. Entry Points

**Files with `main()` function:** 25

### Observations:
- Multiple CLI tools or test runners exist with their own entry points.
- Main functions are generally short and offload logic to managers/controllers.

### Recommendations:
- Centralize reusable logic into libraries where possible to avoid duplicate patterns in `main()` functions.
- Document the purpose and usage of each binary for easier maintenance.

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## 5. TODO and FIXME Comments

**Files with TODO/FIXME markers:** 32

### Observations:
- These comments are scattered and often lack dates, authorship, or issue tracking links.

### Recommendations:
- Replace inline TODOs with GitHub/GitLab issue references.
- Add metadata (e.g., `TODO (2025-05-14, jshand): refactor AkonadiControl`) for better traceability.
- Periodically triage and address accumulated TODOs.

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## 6. General Code Style and Maintainability

### Observations:
- KDE coding conventions are generally followed.
- Consistent use of `QStringLiteral`, `QVariantMap`, and `Q_DECLARE_METATYPE` where appropriate.
- Header guards or `#pragma once` used uniformly in headers.

### Recommendations:
- Introduce static analysis tools (e.g., clang-tidy) CI checks for style enforcement.
- Consider modular refactoring for some large test or manager files to improve readability.

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## 7. Suggested Improvements

| Area                | Recommendation |
|---------------------|----------------|
| **Tests**           | Add missing assertions; improve negative and boundary case coverage. |
| **Documentation**   | Add header comments to major classes explaining responsibility. |
| **CI/CD**           | Extend GitLab CI with lint/static analysis stages. |
| **Code Clarity**    | Introduce test helpers/builders to reduce repetition in test data setup. |
| **Performance**     | Audit usage of dynamic allocations and container usage for optimization. |

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## Conclusion

The Akonadi project demonstrates mature practices in architecture and testing. However, improvements in test validation, code deduplication, and systematic TODO tracking would further elevate the codebase quality.

For next steps, it's recommended to:
- Prioritize tests with incomplete assertions.
- Triage and resolve TODO/FIXME entries.
- Adopt CI checks for clang-tidy and test coverage reports.

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Generated: 2025-05-14
Auditor: ChatGPT (Code Audit Mode)