[PATCH v2 17/19] ARM: mark Cortex-M3/M4/M7 based boards as deprecated

[Vladimir Zapolskiy]

On 7/2/26 00:23, Arnd Bergmann wrote:
> From: Arnd Bergmann <arnd at arndb.de>
> 
> The Cortex-M3/M4/M7 cores were designed as a replacement for the earlier
> ARM7TDMI and ARM9TDMI microarchitectures used in older microcontrollers.
> 
> At the moment, Linux can run these cores either when they are integrated
> into a larger SoC, or as standalone microcontrollers. While there was
> a lot of development work going into Cortex-M support from 2011 to 2016,
> this largely stopped when it became clear that Zephyr and other RTOS
> had taken over that market. To date, the only Cortex-M based based
> microcontroller boards supported upstream are reference implementations.
> 
> Schedule these for removal after the next LTS kernel, so if any users
> remain that want to update their kernels, they can stay on that
> version for a few years before having to maintain the platform support
> out of tree.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Arnd Bergmann <arnd at arndb.de>
> ---
>   arch/arm/Kconfig            |  8 ++++++--
>   arch/arm/mach-at91/Kconfig  |  4 +++-
>   arch/arm/mach-imx/Kconfig   |  4 +++-
>   arch/arm/mach-stm32/Kconfig | 14 ++++++++------
>   4 files changed, 20 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/arch/arm/Kconfig b/arch/arm/Kconfig
> index e2bdf2591c10..5adccaed7d01 100644
> --- a/arch/arm/Kconfig
> +++ b/arch/arm/Kconfig
> @@ -471,7 +471,7 @@ source "arch/arm/mach-zynq/Kconfig"
>   
>   # ARMv7-M architecture
>   config ARCH_LPC18XX
> -	bool "NXP LPC18xx/LPC43xx"
> +	bool "NXP LPC18xx/LPC43xx (DEPRECATED)"
>   	depends on ARM_SINGLE_ARMV7M
>   	select ARCH_HAS_RESET_CONTROLLER
>   	select ARM_AMBA
> @@ -481,8 +481,10 @@ config ARCH_LPC18XX
>   	  Support for NXP's LPC18xx Cortex-M3 and LPC43xx Cortex-M4
>   	  high performance microcontrollers.
>   
> +	  This platform is scheduled for removal in early 2027
> +

Acked-by: Vladimir Zapolskiy <vz at mleia.com> # NXP LPC18xx/LPC43xx

>   config ARCH_MPS2
> -	bool "ARM MPS2 platform"
> +	bool "ARM MPS2 platform (DEPRECATED)"
>   	depends on ARM_SINGLE_ARMV7M
>   	select ARM_AMBA
>   	select CLKSRC_MPS2
> @@ -493,6 +495,8 @@ config ARCH_MPS2
>   	  Please, note that depends which Application Note is used memory map
>   	  for the platform may vary, so adjustment of RAM base might be needed.
>   
> +	  This platform is scheduled for removal in early 2027
> +
>   # Definitions to make life easier
>   config ARCH_ACORN
>   	bool
> diff --git a/arch/arm/mach-at91/Kconfig b/arch/arm/mach-at91/Kconfig
> index c5ef27e3cd8f..cb0e3ff8e0ca 100644
> --- a/arch/arm/mach-at91/Kconfig
> +++ b/arch/arm/mach-at91/Kconfig
> @@ -15,13 +15,15 @@ menuconfig ARCH_AT91
>   
>   if ARCH_AT91
>   config SOC_SAMV7
> -	bool "SAM Cortex-M7 family" if ARM_SINGLE_ARMV7M
> +	bool "SAM Cortex-M7 family (DEPRECATED)" if ARM_SINGLE_ARMV7M
>   	select COMMON_CLK_AT91
>   	select PINCTRL_AT91
>   	help
>   	  Select this if you are using an SoC from Microchip's SAME7, SAMS7 or SAMV7
>   	  families.
>   
> +	  This platform is scheduled for removal in early 2027
> +
>   config SOC_SAMA5D2
>   	bool "SAMA5D2 family"
>   	depends on ARCH_MULTI_V7
> diff --git a/arch/arm/mach-imx/Kconfig b/arch/arm/mach-imx/Kconfig
> index f85a5f8c0a58..3f0521c652cb 100644
> --- a/arch/arm/mach-imx/Kconfig
> +++ b/arch/arm/mach-imx/Kconfig
> @@ -219,12 +219,14 @@ config SOC_IMX7ULP
>   	  This enables support for Freescale i.MX7 Ultra Low Power processor.
>   
>   config SOC_IMXRT
> -	bool "i.MXRT support"
> +	bool "i.MXRT support (DEPRECATED)"
>   	depends on ARM_SINGLE_ARMV7M
>   	select ARMV7M_SYSTICK if ARM_SINGLE_ARMV7M
>   	help
>   	  This enables support for Freescale i.MXRT Crossover processor.
>   
> +	  This platform is scheduled for removal in early 2027
> +
>   config SOC_VF610
>   	bool "Vybrid Family VF610 support"
>   	select ARM_GIC if ARCH_MULTI_V7
> diff --git a/arch/arm/mach-stm32/Kconfig b/arch/arm/mach-stm32/Kconfig
> index 630b992f32b1..4ac3384e397a 100644
> --- a/arch/arm/mach-stm32/Kconfig
> +++ b/arch/arm/mach-stm32/Kconfig
> @@ -14,30 +14,32 @@ menuconfig ARCH_STM32
>   	select STM32_EXTI if ARM_SINGLE_ARMV7M
>   	select STM32_FIREWALL
>   	help
> -	  Support for STMicroelectronics STM32 processors.
> +	  Support for STMicroelectronics STM32MP1 processors using Cortex-A7
> +	  cores. Note that support for the earlier Cortex-M based variants
> +	  is deprecated and scheduled for removal in early 2027.
>   
>   if ARCH_STM32
>   
>   if ARM_SINGLE_ARMV7M
>   
>   config MACH_STM32F429
> -	bool "STMicroelectronics STM32F429"
> +	bool "STMicroelectronics STM32F429 (DEPRECATED)"
>   	default y
>   
>   config MACH_STM32F469
> -	bool "STMicroelectronics STM32F469"
> +	bool "STMicroelectronics STM32F469 (DEPRECATED)"
>   	default y
>   
>   config MACH_STM32F746
> -	bool "STMicroelectronics STM32F746"
> +	bool "STMicroelectronics STM32F746 (DEPRECATED)"
>   	default y
>   
>   config MACH_STM32F769
> -	bool "STMicroelectronics STM32F769"
> +	bool "STMicroelectronics STM32F769 (DEPRECATED)"
>   	default y
>   
>   config MACH_STM32H743
> -	bool "STMicroelectronics STM32H743"
> +	bool "STMicroelectronics STM32H743 (DEPRECATED)"
>   	default y
>   
>   endif # ARMv7-M

-- 
Best wishes,
Vladimir