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Subject[PATCH] more documentation for request_firmware()
 ChangeLog:

Add some higher level docs to Documentation/firmware_class/README.


README | 66 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 files changed, 66 insertions(+)


diff --exclude=CVS -urN linux-2.5.orig/Documentation/firmware_class/README linux-2.5.mine/Documentation/firmware_class/README
--- linux-2.5.orig/Documentation/firmware_class/README 2003-08-12 03:34:05.000000000 +0200
+++ linux-2.5.mine/Documentation/firmware_class/README 2003-08-12 03:31:55.000000000 +0200
@@ -15,6 +15,71 @@
3) Some people, like the Debian crowd, don't consider some firmware free
enough and remove entire drivers (e.g.: keyspan).

+ High level behavior (mixed):
+ ============================
+
+ kernel(driver): calls request_firmware(&fw_entry, $FIRMWARE, device)
+
+ userspace:
+ - /sys/class/firmware/xxx/{loading,data} appear.
+ - hotplug gets called with a firmware identifier in $FIRMWARE
+ and the usual hotplug environment.
+ - hotplug: echo 1 > /sys/class/firmware/xxx/loading
+
+ kernel: Discard any previous partial load.
+
+ userspace:
+ - hotplug: cat appropriate_firmware_image > \
+ /sys/class/firmware/xxx/data
+
+ kernel: grows a buffer in PAGE_SIZE increments to hold the image as it
+ comes in.
+
+ userspace:
+ - hotplug: echo 0 > /sys/class/firmware/xxx/loading
+
+ kernel: request_firmware() returns and the driver has the firmware
+ image in fw_entry->{data,size}. If something went wrong
+ request_firmware() returns non-zero and fw_entry is set to
+ NULL.
+
+ kernel(driver): Driver code calls release_firmware(fw_entry) releasing
+ the firmware image and any related resource.
+
+ High level behavior (driver code):
+ ==================================
+
+ if(request_firmware(&fw_entry, $FIRMWARE, device) == 0)
+ copy_fw_to_device(fw_entry->data, fw_entry->size);
+ release(fw_entry);
+
+ Sample/simple hotplug script:
+ ============================
+
+ # Both $DEVPATH and $FIRMWARE are already provided in the environment.
+
+ HOTPLUG_FW_DIR=/usr/lib/hotplug/firmware/
+
+ echo 1 > /sysfs/$DEVPATH/loading
+ cat $HOTPLUG_FW_DIR/$FIRMWARE > /sysfs/$DEVPATH/data
+ echo 0 > /sysfs/$DEVPATH/loading
+
+ Random notes:
+ ============
+
+ - "echo -1 > /sys/class/firmware/xxx/loading" will cancel the load at
+ once and make request_firmware() return with error.
+
+ - firmware_data_read() and firmware_loading_show() are just provided
+ for testing and completeness, they are not called in normal use.
+
+ - There is also /sys/class/firmware/timeout which holds a timeout in
+ seconds for the whole load operation.
+
+ - request_firmware_nowait() is also provided for convenience in
+ non-user contexts.
+
+
about in-kernel persistence:
---------------------------
Under some circumstances, as explained below, it would be interesting to keep
@@ -56,3 +121,4 @@

Note: If persistence is implemented on top of initramfs,
register_firmware() may not be appropriate.
+
--
--- Manuel Estrada Sainz <ranty@debian.org>
<ranty@bigfoot.com>
<ranty@users.sourceforge.net>
------------------------ <manuel.estrada@hispalinux.es> -------------------
Let us have the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to
change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference.
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