diff --git a/doc/sphinx/Pacemaker_Development/c.rst b/doc/sphinx/Pacemaker_Development/c.rst
index 57140c9980..8bc5e802e8 100644
--- a/doc/sphinx/Pacemaker_Development/c.rst
+++ b/doc/sphinx/Pacemaker_Development/c.rst
@@ -1,1045 +1,1074 @@
 .. index::
    single: C
    pair: C; guidelines
 
 C Coding Guidelines
 -------------------
 
 Pacemaker is a large project accepting contributions from developers with a
 wide range of skill levels and organizational affiliations, and maintained by
 multiple people over long periods of time. Following consistent guidelines
 makes reading, writing, and reviewing code easier, and helps avoid common
 mistakes.
 
 Some existing Pacemaker code does not follow these guidelines, for historical
 reasons and API backward compatibility, but new code should.
 
 
 Code Organization
 #################
 
 Pacemaker's C code is organized as follows:
 
 +-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
 | Directory       | Contents                                                  |
 +=================+===========================================================+
 | daemons         | the Pacemaker daemons (pacemakerd, pacemaker-based, etc.) |
 +-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
 | include         | header files for library APIs                             |
 +-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
 | lib             | libraries                                                 |
 +-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
 | tools           | command-line tools                                        |
 +-----------------+-----------------------------------------------------------+
 
 Source file names should be unique across the entire project, to allow for
 individual tracing via ``PCMK_trace_files``.
 
 
 .. index::
    single: C; library
    single: C library
 
 Pacemaker Libraries
 ###################
 
 +---------------+---------+---------------+---------------------------+-------------------------------------+
 | Library       | Symbol  | Source        | API Headers               | Description                         |
 |               | prefix  | location      |                           |                                     |
 +===============+=========+===============+===========================+=====================================+
 | libcib        | cib     | lib/cib       | | include/crm/cib.h       | .. index::                          |
 |               |         |               | | include/crm/cib/*       |    single: C library; libcib        |
 |               |         |               |                           |    single: libcib                   |
 |               |         |               |                           |                                     |
 |               |         |               |                           | API for pacemaker-based IPC and     |
 |               |         |               |                           | the CIB                             |
 +---------------+---------+---------------+---------------------------+-------------------------------------+
 | libcrmcluster | pcmk    | lib/cluster   | | include/crm/cluster.h   | .. index::                          |
 |               |         |               | | include/crm/cluster/*   |    single: C library; libcrmcluster |
 |               |         |               |                           |    single: libcrmcluster            |
 |               |         |               |                           |                                     |
 |               |         |               |                           | Abstract interface to underlying    |
 |               |         |               |                           | cluster layer                       |
 +---------------+---------+---------------+---------------------------+-------------------------------------+
 | libcrmcommon  | pcmk    | lib/common    | | include/crm/common/*    | .. index::                          |
 |               |         |               | | some of include/crm/*   |    single: C library; libcrmcommon  |
 |               |         |               |                           |    single: libcrmcommon             |
 |               |         |               |                           |                                     |
 |               |         |               |                           | Everything else                     |
 +---------------+---------+---------------+---------------------------+-------------------------------------+
 | libcrmservice | svc     | lib/services  | | include/crm/services.h  | .. index::                          |
 |               |         |               |                           |    single: C library; libcrmservice |
 |               |         |               |                           |    single: libcrmservice            |
 |               |         |               |                           |                                     |
 |               |         |               |                           | Abstract interface to supported     |
 |               |         |               |                           | resource types (OCF, LSB, etc.)     |
 +---------------+---------+---------------+---------------------------+-------------------------------------+
 | liblrmd       | lrmd    | lib/lrmd      | | include/crm/lrmd*.h     | .. index::                          |
 |               |         |               |                           |    single: C library; liblrmd       |
 |               |         |               |                           |    single: liblrmd                  |
 |               |         |               |                           |                                     |
 |               |         |               |                           | API for pacemaker-execd IPC         |
 +---------------+---------+---------------+---------------------------+-------------------------------------+
 | libpacemaker  | pcmk    | lib/pacemaker | | include/pacemaker*.h    | .. index::                          |
 |               |         |               | | include/pcmki/*         |    single: C library; libpacemaker  |
 |               |         |               |                           |    single: libpacemaker             |
 |               |         |               |                           |                                     |
 |               |         |               |                           | High-level APIs equivalent to       |
 |               |         |               |                           | command-line tool capabilities      |
 |               |         |               |                           | (and high-level internal APIs)      |
 +---------------+---------+---------------+---------------------------+-------------------------------------+
 | libpe_rules   | pe      | lib/pengine   | | include/crm/pengine/*   | .. index::                          |
 |               |         |               |                           |    single: C library; libpe_rules   |
 |               |         |               |                           |    single: libpe_rules              |
 |               |         |               |                           |                                     |
 |               |         |               |                           | Scheduler functionality related     |
 |               |         |               |                           | to evaluating rules                 |
 +---------------+---------+---------------+---------------------------+-------------------------------------+
 | libpe_status  | pe      | lib/pengine   | | include/crm/pengine/*   | .. index::                          |
 |               |         |               |                           |    single: C library; libpe_status  |
 |               |         |               |                           |    single: libpe_status             |
 |               |         |               |                           |                                     |
 |               |         |               |                           | Low-level scheduler functionality   |
 +---------------+---------+---------------+---------------------------+-------------------------------------+
 | libstonithd   | stonith | lib/fencing   | | include/crm/stonith-ng.h| .. index::                          |
 |               |         |               | | include/crm/fencing/*   |    single: C library; libstonithd   |
 |               |         |               |                           |    single: libstonithd              |
 |               |         |               |                           |                                     |
 |               |         |               |                           | API for pacemaker-fenced IPC        |
 +---------------+---------+---------------+---------------------------+-------------------------------------+
 
 
 Public versus Internal APIs
 ___________________________
 
 Pacemaker libraries have both internal and public APIs. Internal APIs are those
 used only within Pacemaker; public APIs are those offered (via header files and
 documentation) for external code to use.
 
 Generic functionality needed by Pacemaker itself, such as string processing or
 XML processing, should remain internal, while functions providing useful
 high-level access to Pacemaker capabilities should be public. When in doubt,
 keep APIs internal, because it's easier to expose a previously internal API
 than hide a previously public API.
 
 Internal APIs can be changed as needed.
 
 The public API/ABI should maintain a degree of stability so that external
 applications using it do not need to be rewritten or rebuilt frequently. Many
 OSes/distributions avoid breaking API/ABI compatibility within a major release,
 so if Pacemaker breaks compatibility, that significantly delays when OSes
 can package the new version. Therefore, changes to public APIs should be
 backward-compatible (as detailed throughout this chapter), unless we are doing
 a (rare) release where we specifically intend to break compatibility.
 
 External applications known to use Pacemaker's public C API include
 `sbd <https://github.com/ClusterLabs/sbd>`_ and dlm_controld.
 
 
 .. index::
    pair: C; naming
 
 API Symbol Naming
 _________________
 
 Exposed API symbols (non-``static`` function names, ``struct`` and ``typedef``
 names in header files, etc.) must begin with the prefix appropriate to the
 library (shown in the table at the beginning of this section). This reduces the
 chance of naming collisions when external software links against the library.
 
 The prefix is usually lowercase but may be all-caps for some defined constants
 and macros.
 
 Public API symbols should follow the library prefix with a single underbar
 (for example, ``pcmk_something``), and internal API symbols with a double
 underbar (for example, ``pcmk__other_thing``).
 
 File-local symbols (such as static functions) and non-library code do not
 require a prefix, though a unique prefix indicating an executable (controld,
 crm_mon, etc.) can be helpful when symbols are shared between multiple
 source files for the executable.
 
 
 API Header File Naming
 ______________________
 
 * Internal API headers should be named ending in ``_internal.h``, in the same
   location as public headers, with the exception of libpacemaker, which for
   historical reasons keeps internal headers in ``include/pcmki/pcmki_*.h``).
 
 * If a library needs to share symbols just within the library, header files for
   these should be named ending in ``_private.h`` and located in the library
   source directory (not ``include``). Such functions should be declared as
   ``G_GNUC_INTERNAL``, to aid compiler efficiency (glib defines this
   symbol appropriately for the compiler).
 
 Header files that are not library API are kept in the same directory as the
 source code they're included from.
 
 The easiest way to tell what kind of API a symbol is, is to see where it's
 declared. If it's in a public header, it's public API; if it's in an internal
 header, it's internal API; if it's in a library-private header, it's
 library-private API; otherwise, it's not an API.
 
 
 .. index::
    pair: C; API documentation
    single: Doxygen
 
 API Documentation
 _________________
 
 Pacemaker uses `Doxygen <https://www.doxygen.nl/manual/docblocks.html>`_
 to automatically generate its
 `online API documentation <https://clusterlabs.org/pacemaker/doxygen/>`_,
 so all public API (header files, functions, structs, enums, etc.) should be
 documented with Doxygen comment blocks. Other code may be documented in the
 same way if desired, with an ``\internal`` tag in the Doxygen comment.
 
 Simple example of an internal function with a Doxygen comment block:
 
 .. code-block:: c
 
    /*!
     * \internal
     * \brief Return string length plus 1
     *
     * Return the number of characters in a given string, plus one.
     *
     * \param[in] s  A string (must not be NULL)
     *
     * \return The length of \p s plus 1.
     */
    static int
    f(const char *s)
    {
       return strlen(s) + 1;
    }
 
 Function arguments are marked as ``[in]`` for input only, ``[out]`` for output
 only, or ``[in,out]`` for both input and output.
 
 ``[in,out]`` should be used for struct pointer arguments if the function can
 change any data accessed via the pointer. For example, if the struct contains
 a ``GHashTable *`` member, the argument should be marked as ``[in,out]`` if the
 function inserts data into the table, even if the struct members themselves are
 not changed. However, an argument is not ``[in,out]`` if something reachable
 via the argument is modified via a separate argument. For example, both
 ``pcmk_resource_t`` and ``pcmk_node_t`` contain pointers to their
 ``pcmk_scheduler_t`` and thus indirectly to each other, but if the function
 modifies the resource via the resource argument, the node argument does not
 have to be ``[in,out]``.
 
 
 Public API Deprecation
 ______________________
 
 Public APIs may not be removed in most Pacemaker releases, but they may be
 deprecated.
 
 When a public API is deprecated, it is moved to a header whose name ends in
 ``compat.h``. The original header includes the compatibility header only if the
 ``PCMK_ALLOW_DEPRECATED`` symbol is undefined or defined to 1. This allows
 external code to continue using the deprecated APIs, but internal code is
 prevented from using them because the ``crm_internal.h`` header defines the
 symbol to 0.
 
 
 .. index::
    pair: C; boilerplate
    pair: license; C
    pair: copyright; C
 
 C Boilerplate
 #############
 
 Every C file should start with a short copyright and license notice:
 
 .. code-block:: c
 
    /*
     * Copyright <YYYY[-YYYY]> the Pacemaker project contributors
     *
     * The version control history for this file may have further details.
     *
     * This source code is licensed under <LICENSE> WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY.
     */
 
 *<LICENSE>* should follow the policy set forth in the
 `COPYING <https://github.com/ClusterLabs/pacemaker/blob/main/COPYING>`_ file,
 generally one of "GNU General Public License version 2 or later (GPLv2+)"
 or "GNU Lesser General Public License version 2.1 or later (LGPLv2.1+)".
 
 Header files should additionally protect against multiple inclusion by defining
 a unique symbol of the form ``PCMK__<capitalized_header_name>__H``. For
 example:
 
 .. code-block:: c
 
    #ifndef PCMK__MY_HEADER__H
    #  define PCMK__MY_HEADER__H
 
    // header code here
 
    #endif // PCMK__MY_HEADER__H
 
 Public API header files should additionally declare "C" compatibility for
 inclusion by C++, and give a Doxygen file description. For example:
 
 .. code-block:: c
 
    #ifdef __cplusplus
    extern "C" {
    #endif
 
    /*!
     * \file
     * \brief My brief description here
     * \ingroup core
     */
 
    // header code here
 
    #ifdef __cplusplus
    }
    #endif
 
 
 .. index::
    pair: C; whitespace
 
 Line Formatting
 ###############
 
 * Indentation must be 4 spaces, no tabs.
 
 * Do not leave trailing whitespace.
 
 * Lines should be no longer than 80 characters unless limiting line length
   hurts readability.
 
 
 .. index::
    pair: C; comment
 
 Comments
 ########
 
 .. code-block:: c
 
    /* Single-line comments may look like this */
 
    // ... or this
 
    /* Multi-line comments should start immediately after the comment opening.
     * Subsequent lines should start with an aligned asterisk. The comment
     * closing should be aligned and on a line by itself.
     */
 
 
 .. index::
    pair: C; operator
 
 Operators
 #########
 
 .. code-block:: c
 
    // Operators have spaces on both sides
    x = a;
 
    /* (1) Do not rely on operator precedence; use parentheses when mixing
     *     operators with different priority, for readability.
     * (2) No space is used after an opening parenthesis or before a closing
     *     parenthesis.
     */
    x = a + b - (c * d);
 
 
 .. index::
    single: C; if
    single: C; else
    single: C; while
    single: C; for
    single: C; switch
 
 Control Statements (if, else, while, for, switch)
 #################################################
 
 .. code-block:: c
 
    /*
     * (1) The control keyword is followed by a space, a left parenthesis
     *     without a space, the condition, a right parenthesis, a space, and the
     *     opening bracket on the same line.
     * (2) Always use braces around control statement blocks, even if they only
     *     contain one line. This makes code review diffs smaller if a line gets
     *     added in the future, and avoids the chance of bad indenting making a
     *     line incorrectly appear to be part of the block.
     * (3) The closing bracket is on a line by itself.
     */
    if (v < 0) {
        return 0;
    }
 
    /* "else" and "else if" are on the same line with the previous ending brace
     * and next opening brace, separated by a space. Blank lines may be used
     * between blocks to help readability.
     */
    if (v > 0) {
        return 0;
 
    } else if (a == 0) {
        return 1;
 
    } else {
        return 2;
    }
 
    /* Do not use assignments in conditions. This ensures that the developer's
     * intent is always clear, makes code reviews easier, and reduces the chance
     * of using assignment where comparison is intended.
     */
    // Do this ...
    a = f();
    if (a) {
        return 0;
    }
    // ... NOT this
    if (a = f()) {
        return 0;
    }
 
    /* It helps readability to use the "!" operator only in boolean
     * comparisons, and explicitly compare numeric values against 0,
     * pointers against NULL, etc. This helps remind the reader of the
     * type being compared.
     */
    int i = 0;
    char *s = NULL;
    bool cond = false;
 
    if (!cond) {
        return 0;
    }
    if (i == 0) {
        return 0;
    }
    if (s == NULL) {
        return 0;
    }
 
    /* In a "switch" statement, indent "case" one level, and indent the body of
     * each "case" another level.
     */
    switch (expression) {
        case 0:
            command1;
            break;
        case 1:
            command2;
            break;
        default:
            command3;
            break;
    }
 
 
 .. index::
    pair: C; macro
 
 Macros
 ######
 
 Macros are a powerful but easily misused feature of the C preprocessor, and
 Pacemaker uses a lot of obscure macro features. If you need to brush up, the
 `GCC documentation for macros
 <https://gcc.gnu.org/onlinedocs/cpp/Macros.html#Macros>`_ is excellent.
 
 Some common issues:
 
 * Beware of side effects in macro arguments that may be evaluated more than
   once
 * Always parenthesize macro arguments used in the macro body to avoid
   precedence issues if the argument is an expression
 * Multi-statement macro bodies should be enclosed in do...while(0) to make them
   behave more like a single statement and avoid control flow issues
 
 Often, a static inline function defined in a header is preferable to a macro,
 to avoid the numerous issues that plague macros and gain the benefit of
 argument and return value type checking.
 
 
 .. index::
    pair: C; memory
 
 Memory Management
 #################
 
 * Always use ``calloc()`` rather than ``malloc()``. It has no additional cost on
   modern operating systems, and reduces the severity and security risks of
   uninitialized memory usage bugs.
 
 * Ensure that all dynamically allocated memory is freed when no longer needed,
   and not used after it is freed. This can be challenging in the more
   event-driven, callback-oriented sections of code.
 
 * Free dynamically allocated memory using the free function corresponding to
   how it was allocated. For example, use ``free()`` with ``calloc()``, and
   ``g_free()`` with most glib functions that allocate objects.
 
 
 .. index::
    single: C; struct
 
 Structures
 ##########
 
 Changes to structures defined in public API headers (adding or removing
 members, or changing member types) are generally not possible without breaking
 API compatibility. However, there are exceptions:
 
 * Public API structures can be designed such that they can be allocated only
   via API functions, not declared directly or allocated with standard memory
   functions using ``sizeof``.
 
   * This can be enforced simply by documentating the limitation, in which case
     new ``struct`` members can be added to the end of the structure without
     breaking compatibility.
 
   * Alternatively, the structure definition can be kept in an internal header,
     with only a pointer type definition kept in a public header, in which case
     the structure definition can be changed however needed.
 
 
 .. index::
    single: C; variable
 
 Variables
 #########
 
 .. index::
    single: C; pointer
 
 Pointers
 ________
 
 .. code-block:: c
 
    /* (1) The asterisk goes by the variable name, not the type;
     * (2) Avoid leaving pointers uninitialized, to lessen the impact of
     *     use-before-assignment bugs
     */
    char *my_string = NULL;
 
    // Use space before asterisk and after closing parenthesis in a cast
    char *foo = (char *) bar;
 
 .. index::
    single: C; global variable
 
 Globals
 _______
 
 Global variables should be avoided in libraries when possible. State
 information should instead be passed as function arguments (often as a
 structure). This is not for thread safety -- Pacemaker's use of forking
 ensures it will never be threaded -- but it does minimize overhead,
 improve readability, and avoid obscure side effects.
 
 Variable Naming
 _______________
 
 Time intervals are sometimes represented in Pacemaker code as user-defined
 text specifications (for example, "10s"), other times as an integer number of
 seconds or milliseconds, and still other times as a string representation
 of an integer number. Variables for these should be named with an indication
 of which is being used (for example, use ``interval_spec``, ``interval_ms``,
 or ``interval_ms_s`` instead of ``interval``).
 
 .. index::
    pair: C; booleans
    pair: C; bool
    pair: C; gboolean
 
 Booleans
 ________
 
 Booleans in C can be represented by an integer type, ``bool``, or ``gboolean``.
 
 Integers are sometimes useful for storing booleans when they must be converted
 to and from a string, such as an XML attribute value (for which
 ``crm_element_value_int()`` can be used). Integer booleans use 0 for false and
 nonzero (usually 1) for true.
 
 ``gboolean`` should be used with glib APIs that specify it. ``gboolean`` should
 always be used with glib's ``TRUE`` and ``FALSE`` constants.
 
 Otherwise, ``bool`` should be preferred. ``bool`` should be used with the
 ``true`` and ``false`` constants from the ``stdbool.h`` header.
 
 Do not use equality operators when testing booleans. For example:
 
 .. code-block:: c
 
    // Do this
    if (bool1) {
        fn();
    }
    if (!bool2) {
        fn2();
    }
 
    // Not this
    if (bool1 == true) {
        fn();
    }
    if (bool2 == false) {
        fn2();
    }
 
    // Otherwise there's no logical end ...
    if ((bool1 == false) == true) {
        fn();
    }
 
 
 .. index::
    pair: C; strings
 
 String Handling
 ###############
 
 Define Constants for Magic Strings
 __________________________________
 
 A "magic" string is one used for control purposes rather than human reading,
 and which must be exactly the same every time it is used. Examples would be
 configuration option names, XML attribute names, or environment variable names.
 
 These should always be defined constants, rather than using the string literal
 everywhere. If someone mistypes a defined constant, the code won't compile, but
 if they mistype a literal, it could go unnoticed until a user runs into a
 problem.
 
 
 String-Related Library Functions
 ________________________________
 
 Pacemaker's libcrmcommon has a large number of functions to assist in string
 handling. The most commonly used ones are:
 
 * ``pcmk__str_eq()`` tests string equality (similar to ``strcmp()``), but can
   handle NULL, and takes options for case-insensitive, whether NULL should be
   considered a match, etc.
 * ``crm_strdup_printf()`` takes ``printf()``-style arguments and creates a
   string from them (dynamically allocated, so it must be freed with
   ``free()``). It asserts on memory failure, so the return value is always
   non-NULL.
 
 String handling functions should almost always be internal API, since Pacemaker
 isn't intended to be used as a general-purpose library. Most are declared in
 ``include/crm/common/strings_internal.h``. ``util.h`` has some older ones that
 are public API (for now, but will eventually be made internal).
 
 char*, gchar*, and GString
 __________________________
 
 When using dynamically allocated strings, be careful to always use the
 appropriate free function.
 
 * ``char*`` strings allocated with something like ``calloc()`` must be freed
   with ``free()``. Most Pacemaker library functions that allocate strings use
   this implementation.
 * glib functions often use ``gchar*`` instead, which must be freed with
   ``g_free()``.
 * Occasionally, it's convenient to use glib's flexible ``GString*`` type, which
   must be freed with ``g_string_free()``.
 
 .. index::
    pair: C; regular expression
 
 Regular Expressions
 ___________________
 
 - Use ``REG_NOSUB`` with ``regcomp()`` whenever possible, for efficiency.
 - Be sure to use ``regfree()`` appropriately.
 
 
 .. index::
    single: C; enum
 
 Enumerations
 ############
 
 * Enumerations should not have a ``typedef``, and do not require any naming
   convention beyond what applies to all exposed symbols.
 
 * New values should usually be added to the end of public API enumerations,
   because the compiler will define the values to 0, 1, etc., in the order
   given, and inserting a value in the middle would change the numerical values
   of all later values, breaking code compiled with the old values. However, if
   enum numerical values are explicitly specified rather than left to the
   compiler, new values can be added anywhere.
 
 * When defining constant integer values, enum should be preferred over
   ``#define`` or ``const`` when possible. This allows type checking without
   consuming memory.
 
 Flag groups
 ___________
 
 Pacemaker often uses flag groups (also called bit fields or bitmasks) for a
 collection of boolean options (flags/bits).
 
 This is more efficient for storage and manipulation than individual booleans,
 but its main advantage is when used in public APIs, because using another bit
 in a bitmask is backward compatible, whereas adding a new function argument (or
 sometimes even a structure member) is not.
 
 .. code-block:: c
 
    #include <stdint.h>
 
    /* (1) Define an enumeration to name the individual flags, for readability.
     *     An enumeration is preferred to a series of "#define" constants
     *     because it is typed, and logically groups the related names.
     * (2) Define the values using left-shifting, which is more readable and
     *     less error-prone than hexadecimal literals (0x0001, 0x0002, 0x0004,
     *     etc.).
     * (3) Using a comma after the last entry makes diffs smaller for reviewing
     *     if a new value needs to be added or removed later.
     */
    enum pcmk__some_bitmask_type {
        pcmk__some_value    = (1 << 0),
        pcmk__other_value   = (1 << 1),
        pcmk__another_value = (1 << 2),
    };
 
    /* The flag group itself should be an unsigned type from stdint.h (not
     * the enum type, since it will be a mask of the enum values and not just
     * one of them). uint32_t is the most common, since we rarely need more than
     * 32 flags, but a smaller or larger type could be appropriate in some
     * cases.
     */
    uint32_t flags = pcmk__some_value|pcmk__other_value;
 
    /* If the values will be used only with uint64_t, define them accordingly,
     * to make compilers happier.
     */
    enum pcmk__something_else {
        pcmk__whatever    = (UINT64_C(1) << 0),
    };
 
 We have convenience functions for checking flags (see ``pcmk_any_flags_set()``,
 ``pcmk_all_flags_set()``, and ``pcmk_is_set()``) as well as setting and
 clearing them (see ``pcmk__set_flags_as()`` and ``pcmk__clear_flags_as()``,
 usually used via wrapper macros defined for specific flag groups). These
 convenience functions should be preferred to direct bitwise arithmetic, for
 readability and logging consistency.
 
 
 .. index::
    pair: C; function
 
 Functions
 #########
 
 Function Naming
 _______________
 
 Function names should be unique across the entire project, to allow for
 individual tracing via ``PCMK_trace_functions``, and make it easier to search
 code and follow detail logs.
 
-A common function signature is a comparison function that returns 0 if its
-arguments are equal for sorting purposes, -1 if the first argument should sort
-first, and 1 is the second argument should sort first. Such a function should
-have ``cmp`` in its name, to parallel ``strcmp()``; ``sort`` should only be
-used in the names of functions that sort an entire list (typically using a
-``cmp`` function).
+.. _sort_func:
+
+Sorting
+^^^^^^^
+
+A function that sorts an entire list should have ``sort`` in its name. It sorts
+elements using a :ref:`comparison <compare_func>` function, which may be either
+hard-coded or passed as an argument.
+
+.. _compare_func:
+
+Comparison
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+A comparison function for :ref:`sorting <sort_func>` should have ``cmp`` in its
+name and should *not* have ``sort`` in its name.
+
+.. _constructor_func:
+
+Constructors
+^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+A constructor creates a new dynamically allocated object. It may perform some
+initialization procedure on the new object.
+
+* If the constructor always creates an independent object instance, its name
+  should include ``new``.
+* If the constructor may add the new object to some existing object, its name
+  should include ``create``.
 
 
 Function Definitions
 ____________________
 
 .. code-block:: c
 
    /*
     * (1) The return type goes on its own line
     * (2) The opening brace goes by itself on a line
     * (3) Use "const" with pointer arguments whenever appropriate, to allow the
     *     function to be used by more callers.
     */
    int
    my_func1(const char *s)
    {
        return 0;
    }
 
    /* Functions with no arguments must explicitly list them as void,
     * for compatibility with strict compilers
     */
    int
    my_func2(void)
    {
        return 0;
    }
 
    /*
     * (1) For functions with enough arguments that they must break to the next
     *     line, align arguments with the first argument.
     * (2) When a function argument is a function itself, use the pointer form.
     * (3) Declare functions and file-global variables as ``static`` whenever
     *     appropriate. This gains a slight efficiency in shared libraries, and
     *     helps the reader know that it is not used outside the one file.
     */
    static int
    my_func3(int bar, const char *a, const char *b, const char *c,
             void (*callback)())
    {
        return 0;
    }
 
 
 Return Values
 _____________
 
 Functions that need to indicate success or failure should follow one of the
 following guidelines. More details, including functions for using them in user
 messages and converting from one to another, can be found in
 ``include/crm/common/results.h``.
 
 * A **standard Pacemaker return code** is one of the ``pcmk_rc_*`` enum values
   or a system errno code, as an ``int``.
 
 * ``crm_exit_t`` (the ``CRM_EX_*`` enum values) is a system-independent code
   suitable for the exit status of a process, or for interchange between nodes.
 
 * Other special-purpose status codes exist, such as ``enum ocf_exitcode`` for
   the possible exit statuses of OCF resource agents (along with some
   Pacemaker-specific extensions). It is usually obvious when the context calls
   for such.
 
 * Some older Pacemaker APIs use the now-deprecated "legacy" return values of
   ``pcmk_ok`` or the positive or negative value of one of the ``pcmk_err_*``
   constants or system errno codes.
 
 * Functions registered with external libraries (as callbacks for example)
   should use the appropriate signature defined by those libraries, rather than
   follow Pacemaker guidelines.
 
 Of course, functions may have return values that aren't success/failure
 indicators, such as a pointer, integer count, or bool.
 
+:ref:`Comparison <compare_func>` functions should return
+
+* a negative integer if the first argument should sort first
+* 0 if its arguments are equal for sorting purposes
+* a positive integer is the second argument should sort first
+
 
 Public API Functions
 ____________________
 
 Unless we are doing a (rare) release where we break public API compatibility,
 new public API functions can be added, but existing function signatures (return
 type, name, and argument types) should not be changed. To work around this, an
 existing function can become a wrapper for a new function.
 
 
 .. index::
    pair: C; logging
    pair: C; output
 
 Logging and Output
 ##################
 
 Logging Vs. Output
 __________________
 
 Log messages and output messages are logically similar but distinct.
 Oversimplifying a bit, daemons log, and tools output.
 
 Log messages are intended to help with troubleshooting and debugging.
 They may have a high level of technical detail, and are usually filtered by
 severity -- for example, the system log by default gets messages of notice
 level and higher.
 
 Output is intended to let the user know what a tool is doing, and is generally
 terser and less technical, and may even be parsed by scripts. Output might have
 "verbose" and "quiet" modes, but it is not filtered by severity.
 
 Common Guidelines for All Messages
 __________________________________
 
 * When format strings are used for derived data types whose implementation may
   vary across platforms (``pid_t``, ``time_t``, etc.), the safest approach is
   to use ``%lld`` in the format string, and cast the value to ``long long``.
 
 * Do not rely on ``%s`` handling ``NULL`` values properly. While the standard
   library functions might, not all functions using printf-style formatting
   does, and it's safest to get in the habit of always ensuring format values
   are non-NULL. If a value can be NULL, the ``pcmk__s()`` function is a
   convenient way to say "this string if not NULL otherwise this default".
 
 * The convenience macros ``pcmk__plural_s()`` and ``pcmk__plural_alt()`` are
   handy when logging a word that may be singular or plural.
 
 Log Levels
 __________
 
 When to use each log level:
 
 * **critical:** fatal error (usually something that would make a daemon exit)
 * **error:** failure of something that affects the cluster (such as a resource
   action, fencing action, etc.) or daemon operation
 * **warning:** minor, potential, or recoverable failures (such as something
   only affecting a daemon client, or invalid configuration that can be left to
   default)
 * **notice:** important successful events (such as a node joining or leaving,
   resource action results, or configuration changes)
 * **info:** events that would be helpful with troubleshooting (such as status
   section updates or elections)
 * **debug:** information that would be helpful for debugging code or complex
   problems
 * **trace:** like debug but for very noisy or low-level stuff
 
 By default, critical through notice are logged to the system log and detail
 log, info is logged to the detail log only, and debug and trace are not logged
 (if enabled, they go to the detail log only).
 
 
 Logging
 _______
 
 Pacemaker uses libqb for logging, but wraps it with a higher level of
 functionality (see ``include/crm/common/logging*h``).
 
 A few macros ``crm_err()``, ``crm_warn()``, etc. do most of the heavy lifting.
 
 By default, Pacemaker sends logs at notice level and higher to the system log,
 and logs at info level and higher to the detail log (typically
 ``/var/log/pacemaker/pacemaker.log``). The intent is that most users will only
 ever need the system log, but for deeper troubleshooting and developer
 debugging, the detail log may be helpful, at the cost of being more technical
 and difficult to follow.
 
 The same message can have more detail in the detail log than in the system log,
 using libqb's "extended logging" feature:
 
 .. code-block:: c
 
    /* The following will log a simple message in the system log, like:
 
           warning: Action failed: Node not found
 
       with extra detail in the detail log, like:
 
           warning: Action failed: Node not found | rc=-1005 id=hgjjg-51006
    */
    crm_warn("Action failed: %s " CRM_XS " rc=%d id=%s",
             pcmk_rc_str(rc), rc, id);
 
 
 Assertion Logging
 _________________
 
 ``CRM_ASSERT(expr)``
   If ``expr`` is false, this will call <code>crm_err()</code> with a "Triggered
   fatal assert" message (with details), then abort execution. This should be
   used for logic errors that should be impossible (such as a NULL function
   argument where not accepted) and environmental errors that can't be handled
   gracefully (for example, memory allocation failures, though returning
   ``ENOMEM`` is often better).
 
 ``CRM_LOG_ASSERT(expr)``
   If ``expr`` is false, this will generally log a message without aborting. If
   the log level is below trace, it just calls ``crm_err()`` with a "Triggered
   assert" message (with details). If the log level is trace, and the caller is
   a daemon, then it will fork a child process in which to dump core, as well as
   logging the message. If the log level is trace, and the caller is not a
   daemon, then it will behave like ``CRM_ASSERT()`` (i.e. log and abort). This
   should be used for logic or protocol errors that require no special handling.
 
 ``CRM_CHECK(expr, failed_action)``
   If ``expr`` is false, behave like ``CRM_LOG_ASSERT(expr)`` (that is, log a
   message and dump core if requested) then perform ``failed_action`` (which
   must not contain ``continue``, ``break``, or ``errno``). This should be used
   for logic or protocol errors that can be handled, usually by returning an
   error status.
 
 
 Output
 ______
 
 Pacemaker has a somewhat complicated system for tool output. The main benefit
 is that the user can select the output format with the ``--output-as`` option
 (usually "text" for human-friendly output or "xml" for reliably script-parsable
 output, though ``crm_mon`` additionally supports "console" and "html").
 
 A custom message can be defined with a unique string identifier, plus
 implementation functions for each supported format. The caller invokes the
 message using the identifier. The user selects the output format via
 ``--output-as``, and the output code automatically calls the appropriate
 implementation function. Custom messages are useful when you want to output 
 messages that are more complex than a one-line error or informational message, 
 reproducible, and automatically handled by the output formatting system. 
 Custom messages can contain other custom messages.
 
 Custom message functions are implemented as follows: Start with the macro 
 ``PCMK__OUTPUT_ARGS``, whose arguments are the message name, followed by the 
 arguments to the message. Then there is the function declaration, for which the 
 arguments are the pointer to the current output object, then a variable argument 
 list.
 
 To output a custom message, you first need to create, i.e. register, the custom 
 message that you want to output. Either call ``register_message``, which 
 registers a custom message at runtime, or make use of the collection of 
 predefined custom messages in ``fmt_functions``, which is defined in 
 ``lib/pacemaker/pcmk_output.c``. Once you have the message to be outputted, 
 output it by calling ``message``.
 
 Note: The ``fmt_functions`` functions accommodate all of the output formats; 
 the default implementation accommodates any format that isn't explicitly 
 accommodated. The default output provides valid output for any output format, 
 but you may still want to implement a specific output, i.e. xml, text, or html. 
 The ``message`` function automatically knows which implementation to use, 
 because the ``pcmk__output_s`` contains this information.
 
 The interface (most importantly ``pcmk__output_t``) is declared in
 ``include/crm/common/output*h``. See the API comments and existing tools for
 examples. 
 
 Some of its important member functions are ``err``, which formats error messages 
 and ``info``, which formats informational messages. Also, ``list_item``, 
 which formats list items, ``begin_list``, which starts lists, and ``end_list``, 
 which ends lists, are important because lists can be useful, yet differently 
 handled by the different output types.
 
 .. index::
    single: Makefile.am
 
 Makefiles
 #########
 
 Pacemaker uses
 `automake <https://www.gnu.org/software/automake/manual/automake.html>`_
 for building, so the Makefile.am in each directory should be edited rather than
 Makefile.in or Makefile, which are automatically generated.
 
 * Public API headers are installed (by adding them to a ``HEADERS`` variable in
   ``Makefile.am``), but internal API headers are not (by adding them to
   ``noinst_HEADERS``).
 
 
 .. index::
    pair: C; vim settings
 
 vim Settings
 ############
 
 Developers who use ``vim`` to edit source code can add the following settings
 to their ``~/.vimrc`` file to follow Pacemaker C coding guidelines:
 
 .. code-block:: none
 
    " follow Pacemaker coding guidelines when editing C source code files
    filetype plugin indent on
    au FileType c   setlocal expandtab tabstop=4 softtabstop=4 shiftwidth=4 textwidth=80
    autocmd BufNewFile,BufRead *.h set filetype=c
    let c_space_errors = 1