summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/Documentation
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation')
-rw-r--r--Documentation/devices.txt86
-rw-r--r--Documentation/isa.txt121
2 files changed, 149 insertions, 58 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/devices.txt b/Documentation/devices.txt
index 87b4c5e82d39..4035eca87144 100644
--- a/Documentation/devices.txt
+++ b/Documentation/devices.txt
@@ -1,20 +1,17 @@
- LINUX ALLOCATED DEVICES (2.6+ version)
-
- Maintained by Alan Cox <device@lanana.org>
-
- Last revised: 6th April 2009
+ LINUX ALLOCATED DEVICES (4.x+ version)
This list is the Linux Device List, the official registry of allocated
device numbers and /dev directory nodes for the Linux operating
system.
-The latest version of this list is available from
-http://www.lanana.org/docs/device-list/ or
-ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/docs/device-list/. This version may be
-newer than the one distributed with the Linux kernel.
-
-The LaTeX version of this document is no longer maintained.
+The LaTeX version of this document is no longer maintained, nor is
+the document that used to reside at lanana.org. This version in the
+mainline Linux kernel is the master document. Updates shall be sent
+as patches to the kernel maintainers (see the SubmittingPatches document).
+Specifically explore the sections titled "CHAR and MISC DRIVERS", and
+"BLOCK LAYER" in the MAINTAINERS file to find the right maintainers
+to involve for character and block devices.
This document is included by reference into the Filesystem Hierarchy
Standard (FHS). The FHS is available from http://www.pathname.com/fhs/.
@@ -23,60 +20,33 @@ Allocations marked (68k/Amiga) apply to Linux/68k on the Amiga
platform only. Allocations marked (68k/Atari) apply to Linux/68k on
the Atari platform only.
-The symbol {2.6} means the allocation is obsolete and scheduled for
-removal once kernel version 2.6 (or equivalent) is released. Some of these
-allocations have already been removed.
-
-This document is in the public domain. The author requests, however,
+This document is in the public domain. The authors requests, however,
that semantically altered versions are not distributed without
-permission of the author, assuming the author can be contacted without
+permission of the authors, assuming the authors can be contacted without
an unreasonable effort.
-In particular, please don't sent patches for this list to Linus, at
-least not without contacting me first.
-
-I do not have any information about these devices beyond what appears
-on this list. Any such information requests will be deleted without
-reply.
-
**** DEVICE DRIVERS AUTHORS PLEASE READ THIS ****
-To have a major number allocated, or a minor number in situations
-where that applies (e.g. busmice), please contact me with the
-appropriate device information. Also, if you have additional
-information regarding any of the devices listed below, or if I have
-made a mistake, I would greatly appreciate a note.
-
-I do, however, make a few requests about the nature of your report.
-This is necessary for me to be able to keep this list up to date and
-correct in a timely manner. First of all, *please* send it to the
-correct address... <device@lanana.org>. I receive hundreds of email
-messages a day, so mail sent to other addresses may very well get lost
-in the avalanche. Please put in a descriptive subject, so I can find
-your mail again should I need to. Too many people send me email
-saying just "device number request" in the subject.
-
-Second, please include a description of the device *in the same format
-as this list*. The reason for this is that it is the only way I have
-found to ensure I have all the requisite information to publish your
-device and avoid conflicts.
+Linux now has extensive support for dynamic allocation of device numbering
+and can use sysfs and udev (systemd) to handle the naming needs. There are
+still some exceptions in the serial and boot device area. Before asking
+for a device number make sure you actually need one.
-Third, please don't assume that the distributed version of the list is
-up to date. Due to the number of registrations I have to maintain it
-in "batch mode", so there is likely additional registrations that
-haven't been listed yet.
+To have a major number allocated, or a minor number in situations
+where that applies (e.g. busmice), please submit a patch and send to
+the authors as indicated above.
-Fourth, remember that Linux now has extensive support for dynamic allocation
-of device numbering and can use sysfs and udev to handle the naming needs.
-There are still some exceptions in the serial and boot device area. Before
-asking for a device number make sure you actually need one.
+Keep the description of the device *in the same format
+as this list*. The reason for this is that it is the only way we have
+found to ensure we have all the requisite information to publish your
+device and avoid conflicts.
-Finally, sometimes I have to play "namespace police." Please don't be
-offended. I often get submissions for /dev names that would be bound
-to cause conflicts down the road. I am trying to avoid getting in a
+Finally, sometimes we have to play "namespace police." Please don't be
+offended. We often get submissions for /dev names that would be bound
+to cause conflicts down the road. We are trying to avoid getting in a
situation where we would have to suffer an incompatible forward
-change. Therefore, please consult with me *before* you make your
+change. Therefore, please consult with us *before* you make your
device names and numbers in any way public, at least to the point
where it would be at all difficult to get them changed.
@@ -3099,9 +3069,9 @@ Your cooperation is appreciated.
129 = /dev/ipath_sma Device used by Subnet Management Agent
130 = /dev/ipath_diag Device used by diagnostics programs
-234-239 UNASSIGNED
-
-240-254 char LOCAL/EXPERIMENTAL USE
+234-254 char RESERVED FOR DYNAMIC ASSIGNMENT
+ Character devices that request a dynamic allocation of major number will
+ take numbers starting from 254 and downward.
240-254 block LOCAL/EXPERIMENTAL USE
Allocated for local/experimental use. For devices not
diff --git a/Documentation/isa.txt b/Documentation/isa.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..f232c26a40be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/isa.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+ISA Drivers
+-----------
+
+The following text is adapted from the commit message of the initial
+commit of the ISA bus driver authored by Rene Herman.
+
+During the recent "isa drivers using platform devices" discussion it was
+pointed out that (ALSA) ISA drivers ran into the problem of not having
+the option to fail driver load (device registration rather) upon not
+finding their hardware due to a probe() error not being passed up
+through the driver model. In the course of that, I suggested a separate
+ISA bus might be best; Russell King agreed and suggested this bus could
+use the .match() method for the actual device discovery.
+
+The attached does this. For this old non (generically) discoverable ISA
+hardware only the driver itself can do discovery so as a difference with
+the platform_bus, this isa_bus also distributes match() up to the
+driver.
+
+As another difference: these devices only exist in the driver model due
+to the driver creating them because it might want to drive them, meaning
+that all device creation has been made internal as well.
+
+The usage model this provides is nice, and has been acked from the ALSA
+side by Takashi Iwai and Jaroslav Kysela. The ALSA driver module_init's
+now (for oldisa-only drivers) become:
+
+static int __init alsa_card_foo_init(void)
+{
+ return isa_register_driver(&snd_foo_isa_driver, SNDRV_CARDS);
+}
+
+static void __exit alsa_card_foo_exit(void)
+{
+ isa_unregister_driver(&snd_foo_isa_driver);
+}
+
+Quite like the other bus models therefore. This removes a lot of
+duplicated init code from the ALSA ISA drivers.
+
+The passed in isa_driver struct is the regular driver struct embedding a
+struct device_driver, the normal probe/remove/shutdown/suspend/resume
+callbacks, and as indicated that .match callback.
+
+The "SNDRV_CARDS" you see being passed in is a "unsigned int ndev"
+parameter, indicating how many devices to create and call our methods
+with.
+
+The platform_driver callbacks are called with a platform_device param;
+the isa_driver callbacks are being called with a "struct device *dev,
+unsigned int id" pair directly -- with the device creation completely
+internal to the bus it's much cleaner to not leak isa_dev's by passing
+them in at all. The id is the only thing we ever want other then the
+struct device * anyways, and it makes for nicer code in the callbacks as
+well.
+
+With this additional .match() callback ISA drivers have all options. If
+ALSA would want to keep the old non-load behaviour, it could stick all
+of the old .probe in .match, which would only keep them registered after
+everything was found to be present and accounted for. If it wanted the
+behaviour of always loading as it inadvertently did for a bit after the
+changeover to platform devices, it could just not provide a .match() and
+do everything in .probe() as before.
+
+If it, as Takashi Iwai already suggested earlier as a way of following
+the model from saner buses more closely, wants to load when a later bind
+could conceivably succeed, it could use .match() for the prerequisites
+(such as checking the user wants the card enabled and that port/irq/dma
+values have been passed in) and .probe() for everything else. This is
+the nicest model.
+
+To the code...
+
+This exports only two functions; isa_{,un}register_driver().
+
+isa_register_driver() register's the struct device_driver, and then
+loops over the passed in ndev creating devices and registering them.
+This causes the bus match method to be called for them, which is:
+
+int isa_bus_match(struct device *dev, struct device_driver *driver)
+{
+ struct isa_driver *isa_driver = to_isa_driver(driver);
+
+ if (dev->platform_data == isa_driver) {
+ if (!isa_driver->match ||
+ isa_driver->match(dev, to_isa_dev(dev)->id))
+ return 1;
+ dev->platform_data = NULL;
+ }
+ return 0;
+}
+
+The first thing this does is check if this device is in fact one of this
+driver's devices by seeing if the device's platform_data pointer is set
+to this driver. Platform devices compare strings, but we don't need to
+do that with everything being internal, so isa_register_driver() abuses
+dev->platform_data as a isa_driver pointer which we can then check here.
+I believe platform_data is available for this, but if rather not, moving
+the isa_driver pointer to the private struct isa_dev is ofcourse fine as
+well.
+
+Then, if the the driver did not provide a .match, it matches. If it did,
+the driver match() method is called to determine a match.
+
+If it did _not_ match, dev->platform_data is reset to indicate this to
+isa_register_driver which can then unregister the device again.
+
+If during all this, there's any error, or no devices matched at all
+everything is backed out again and the error, or -ENODEV, is returned.
+
+isa_unregister_driver() just unregisters the matched devices and the
+driver itself.
+
+module_isa_driver is a helper macro for ISA drivers which do not do
+anything special in module init/exit. This eliminates a lot of
+boilerplate code. Each module may only use this macro once, and calling
+it replaces module_init and module_exit.
+
+max_num_isa_dev is a macro to determine the maximum possible number of
+ISA devices which may be registered in the I/O port address space given
+the address extent of the ISA devices.