Reverted noreferences policy to now warn only

Author: krishagarwal278

docs/linters.md

@@ -629,13 +629,13 @@ lintersConfig:
 - **Allows** fields containing 'Ref' or 'Refs' without reporting errors
 
 **Strict mode (policy: NoReferences):**
-- Reports errors for any reference-related words in field names
-- Suggests removing 'Ref', 'Refs', 'Reference', or 'References' entirely from the beginning or end of field names
-- In this strict mode, the goal is to avoid all reference-related words in field names
+- **Warns** about any reference-related words ('Ref', 'Refs', 'Reference', or 'References') in field names
+- Does not provide automatic fixes - serves as an informational warning
+- In this strict mode, the goal is to inform developers about reference-related words in field names
 
 ### Fixes
 
-The `noreferences` linter can automatically fix field names based on the policy:
+The `noreferences` linter can automatically fix field names in **PreferAbbreviatedReference mode**:
 
 **PreferAbbreviatedReference mode:**
 - Replaces 'Reference' with 'Ref' and 'References' with 'Refs' at the start or end of field names
@@ -647,15 +647,7 @@ The `noreferences` linter can automatically fix field names based on the policy:
   - `ReferencesCount` → `RefsCount` (start)
   - `PreferenceType` → no change (middle - not flagged)
 
-**NoReferences mode:**
-- Removes all reference-related words (Ref/Refs/Reference/References) from the beginning or end of field names
-- Like PreferAbbreviatedReference, this only matches at word boundaries to avoid false positives
-- Examples:
-  - `RefNode` → `Node` (start)
-  - `NodeRef` → `Node` (end)
-  - `ReferenceName` → `Name` (start)
-  - `ConfigReferences` → `Config` (end)
-  - `ReferenceCount` → `Count` (start)
+**Note:** NoReferences policy does not provide automatic fixes. It only reports warnings to inform developers about the presence of reference-related words in field names.
 
 ## SSATags
 

pkg/analysis/noreferences/analyzer.go

@@ -78,8 +78,12 @@ func buildConventions(policy Policy) []namingconventions.Convention {
 	switch policy {
 	case PolicyPreferAbbreviatedReference:
 		// Replace "Reference" or "References" with "Ref" or "Refs"
-		// At start: [Rr]eference(s?) matches Reference/References (case insensitive R)
-		// At end: Reference(s?)$ matches Reference/References (capital R only to avoid "*preference")
+		// Single regex: matches Reference(s) at start or end, preserving the 's' if present
+		// Pattern breakdown:
+		//   ^[Rr]eference(s?) - matches Reference/References at start, $1 captures optional 's'
+		//   |                  - OR
+		// Reference(s?)$     - matches Reference/References at end, $2 captures optional 's'
+		// Replacement: Ref$1$2 - keeps whichever 's' was captured (only one will be non-empty)
 		return []namingconventions.Convention{
 			{
 				Name:             "reference-to-ref",
@@ -91,17 +95,14 @@ func buildConventions(policy Policy) []namingconventions.Convention {
 		}
 
 	case PolicyNoReferences:
-		// Drop any reference-related words from field names
-		// At start: matches [Rr]ef(erence)?s? followed by uppercase letter, preserving that letter ($3)
-		// At end: matches Ref(erence)?s? at end (capital R to avoid "*preference")
-		// When at start, $3 captures and preserves the next uppercase letter
-		// When at end, $3 is empty, effectively dropping the text
+		// Warn about reference words without modifying them
+		// At start: [Rr]ef(erence)?(s?)([A-Z]) - matches Ref/Reference at start
+		// At end: Ref(erence)?(s?)$ - matches Ref/Reference at end (capital R to avoid "*preference")
 		return []namingconventions.Convention{
 			{
 				Name:             "no-references",
 				ViolationMatcher: "^[Rr]ef(erence)?(s?)([A-Z])|Ref(erence)?(s?)$",
-				Operation:        namingconventions.OperationReplacement,
-				Replacement:      "$3",
+				Operation:        namingconventions.OperationInform,
 				Message:          "field names should not contain reference-related words",
 			},
 		}

pkg/analysis/noreferences/testdata/src/b/b.go

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 package b
 
 // TestWithPolicyNoReferences tests the linter with PolicyNoReferences (strict mode)
-// In this mode, all reference-related words (Reference/References/Ref/Refs) are removed
+// In this mode, all reference-related words (Reference/References/Ref/Refs) are warned about but not removed
 type TestWithPolicyNoReferences struct {
 	// Fields ending with Reference should be flagged
 	NodeReference string `json:"nodeReference"` // want `naming convention "no-references": field NodeReference: field names should not contain reference-related words`