[PATCH 06/13] ARM: ep93xx: mark most board files as unused

[Nikita Shubin]

Hello Arnd!

On Fri, 22 Jul 2022 14:16:20 +0200
Arnd Bergmann <arnd at kernel.org> wrote:

> On Fri, Jul 22, 2022 at 1:04 PM Lukasz Majewski <lukma at denx.de> wrote:
> > > On Fri, Jul 22, 2022 at 10:04 AM Lukasz Majewski <lukma at denx.de>
> > > wrote:  
> > > > > From: Arnd Bergmann <arnd at arndb.de>  
> >
> > Last time it was from 2.6.2X to 4.14 LTS ...  
> 
> Ok.
> 
> > > I think Nikita's DT conversion for ts7250 (see [1]) shouldn't
> > > be too hard to port from 5.11 to 5.20+, as most of the patches
> > > just introduce driver support. The multiplatform conversion in
> > > 5.19 hopefully made things a bit easier but likely also requires
> > > a few extra changes.  
> >
> > I could easily get updated the customer's board to the DT if at
> > least one ep93xx is in tree (as it is based on TS7250).  
> 
> Both the ts7250/bk3 and the edb93xx variants are going to stay
> for the moment, based on the feedback I got from Alexander and
> Nikita, so this part is fine.
> 
> > However, I cannot predict when the new BSP (with new Kernel) will be
> > required ....  
> 
> I see that 4.14-lts will stop getting updates in early 2024, so I
> guess this is the latest point to upgrade in order to still receive
> security fixes (assuming that you actually update the production
> kernel periodically for updated 4.14.y releases).
> 
> This still gives us the choice between two approaches that let us
> retire the ep93xx board files in 2024:
> 
> a) do the DT conversion over the next 18 months (hopefully
>     quicker) and let you update to that when the 4.14 release
>     ends, with the option of further updates later.
> 
> b) do nothing until the LTS release in late 2023 and retire
>    all of ep93xx in early 2024, leaving users with LTS  kernel
>    fixes until at least 2027 (depending on how long this release
>    gets maintained).
> 
> If everyone is fine with the limitations of b), that is obviously
> the easier path, otherwise a) should not be that hard either.

I feel a bit nostalgic about ts7250, as it was my very first "embedded"
Linux board, so i think it needs a proper retirement.

So let me finish the full conversion on the top of 5.20+ and then we can
think if it's suitable for plan "a". It won't take long, as i have a
bootable BSP on branch [2].

> 
>        Arnd