Inclusive Types

ID

go.inclusive_types

Severity

info

Remediation Complexity

trivial

Remediation Risk

medium

Remediation Effort

low

Resource

Best Practice

Language

Go

Tags

inclusive, naming

Description

Reports type names — structs, interfaces, defined types and aliases — that contain a non-inclusive term such as blacklist, whitelist, master, slave, grandfather, dummy or sanity. The term list is configurable through the terms property.

Rationale

Type names are part of the public vocabulary of a package: they appear in APIs, documentation and every use site. Non-inclusive terminology carries unintended connotations and clearer, neutral alternatives almost always read better. Choosing inclusive names is a low-cost habit that keeps the codebase welcoming and precise.

type Blacklist struct{}           // FLAW
type MasterController struct{}    // FLAW
type SlaveNode interface{}        // FLAW

type Denylist struct{}            // OK
type PrimaryController struct{}   // OK
type ReplicaNode interface{}      // OK

Remediation

Rename the type using an inclusive alternative, for example allowlist/denylist instead of whitelist/blacklist, or primary/replica instead of master/slave.

References