| name | pow10-rule-10-warnings-as-errors |
| description | NASA Power of 10 Rule 10 — All warnings on; treat warnings as errors; second analyzer in CI. Severity: blocker. |
Rule 10 — Warnings As Errors
Severity: blocker
Statement
Compile with the strictest warning flags the toolchain offers. Treat any warning as a build failure. CI must run at least one additional static analyzer beyond the compiler, also configured for maximum strictness.
Rationale
Compiler warnings are the cheapest static analysis available — zero-config, run on every build, catch real defects (uninitialized memory, format mismatches, sign comparisons, unreachable code). A safety-critical build that tolerates warnings leaves free defects on the table.
Universal violation patterns
- CI passes with warnings present
- Strictness flags missing (
-Wall -Werror or equivalent)
- Single linter only — no second independent analyzer
// nolint / @SuppressWarnings("...") / # noqa without an inline reason- Lint job runs but does not fail the build
Universal remediation pattern
Configure the compiler / language toolchain with every available warning enabled and warnings-as-errors. Add a second analyzer (different vendor / different technology) and run it in the same CI job. Forbid any suppression that lacks an inline justification comment.
Per-language guidance
Suppressions
When a warning must be suppressed, scope as narrowly as possible (push/pop, single line, single block) and document inline:
// pow10: allow rule=10 until=YYYY-MM-DD owner=<handle> reason="..."
Citations
