[RFC PATCH] Rework gpio cansleep (was Re: gpiolib and sleeping gpios)

[Eric Miao]

2010/6/23 David Brownell <david-b at pacbell.net>:
>
>
> --- On Tue, 6/22/10, Ryan Mallon <ryan at bluewatersys.com> wrote:
>
>
>> gpiolib
>
>
> Again, you're talking about "gpiolib" when
> you seem to mean the GPIO framework itself
> (for which gpiolib is only an implementation
> option)...
>
>> framework could be simplified for cansleep gpios.
>>
>> 'Can sleep' for a gpio has two different meanings depending
>> on context
>
> NO; for the GPIO itself it's only ever had one
> meaning, regardless of context.
>
> You're trying to conflate the GPIO and one
> of the contexts in which it's used.  That's
> the problem you seem to be struggling with.
>
> Please stop conflating/confusing
> those two disparate concepts...
>
> I hope you don't have such a hard time with
> the distinction in other contexts.  Like,
> the fact that some calls can't be made while
> holding spinlocks.  That notion is everywhere
> in Linux.
>
>
>> example, if a driver calls gpio_get_value(gpio) from an
>> interupt handler
>> then the gpio must not be a sleeping gpio.
>
> In a threaded IRQ handler it's OK to use
> the get_value_cansleep() option..
>
>
>
>>
>> This patch introduces a new flag, FLAG_CANSLEEP, internal
>> to gpiolib
>
> NAK; Superfluous; the gpio_chip already has
> that information recorded.
>
>
>> new request function, gpio_request_cansleep, requests a
>> gpio which may
>> only be used from sleep possible contexts
>
> Also superfluous.
>
>
>  The existing
>> gpio_request
>> function requests a gpio, but does not allow it to be used
>> from a
>> context where sleep is not possible.
>
> Changing semantics of existing calls is a big
> mess, and should be avoided even if it seems
> appropriate.
>
> Since the request is just reserving a resource
> that's already been identified (and which has
> known characteristics, like whether the GPIO
> value must be accessed only from sleeping
> contexts), this call would also be superfluous.
>
> If you want to ensure the GPIO is a cansleep()
> one, just check that before reserving it.  There
> is no need for new calls to support that model;
> it works today.
>
> (NAK...)
>
>
>
>> The benefits I see to this approach are:
>>  ...
>>  - The API is simplified by combining gpio_(set/get)_value
>> and
>> gpio_(set/get)_value_cansleep
>
>
> You have a strange definition of "simplified"...
>
> Recognize that you're also proposing to remove
> an API characteristic which much simplifies
> code review:  you can look at calls and see
> that because they're the cansleep() version,
> they are unsafe in IRQ context ...
>
> That is, you're making code (and patch)
> reviews much harder and more error-prone.
> This isn't good, and doesn't simplify any
> process I can think of...
>
> So, NAK on these proposed changes.
>

Hi David,

You are really a NAKing machine ;-) People get confused for a reason, and
I believe you have a good solution for this?