linux-kernel - Re: [PATCH 2/3] firmware: Add CONFIG_BUILTIN

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Message-Id: <B31CC172-D655-477E-A7B0-8BF951849E57@holtmann.org>
Date:	Sun, 25 May 2008 21:01:44 +0200
From:	Marcel Holtmann <marcel@...tmann.org>
To:	Michael Buesch <mb@...sch.de>
Cc:	Alexandre Oliva <aoliva@...hat.com>,
	Johannes Berg <johannes@...solutions.net>,
	David Woodhouse <dwmw2@...radead.org>,
	Sam Ravnborg <sam@...nborg.org>, linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org,
	alan@...rguk.ukuu.org.uk, Abhay Salunke <Abhay_Salunke@...l.com>,
	kay.sievers@...y.org, Takashi Iwai <tiwai@...e.de>
Subject: Re: [PATCH 2/3] firmware: Add CONFIG_BUILTIN_FIRMWARE option

Hi Michael,

>>> in the early days we had something like three drivers using the
>>> request_firmware() and it was understood between the authors what  
>>> the
>>> filename was meant for.
>>
>> You're contradicting yourself.  Is it a filename, or is it not?
>> Earlier, you said it wasn't, it was just a name that userspace was
>> supposed to map to a filename.  Now, you're saying it is a filename.
>>
>> Clearly (to me) your wish to prohibit '/'s in the firmware name has  
>> to
>> do with an attempt to force a distiction, to make the firmware a
>> filename rather than a pathname.  But, as you said yourself, the
>> mapping from firmware name is supposed to be entirely handled in
>> userland, therefore it doesn't even begin to make sense to  
>> distinguish
>> between filenames and pathnames.  You'd have to make assumptions that
>> (i) the firmware name names files (with built-in firmware, it
>> doesn't), and, if it is about filenames, (ii) what the pathname
>> separator character is.  Should '\\' be ruled out as well, because
>> someone might want /lib/firmware to be in a FAT filesystem?
>>
>> nWouldn't it be better to leave the resolution of firmware names to
>> content *entirely* up to userland?  Say, if userland wants to
>> implement something very similar to the key-to-data map in-kernel
>> built-in firmware, this would work just fine, without any artificial
>> constraints?
>
> One additional thing is to make sure the usability of the whole stuff
> is not reduded. Currently I can do:
>
> modprobe b43 fwpostfix=-open
> # work with opensource firmware in b43-open/
> rmmod b43
> modprobe b43
> # work with standard firmware in b43/
>
> So it is really simple to switch between different flavours of  
> firmware.
> It is _not_ acceptable to change an udev configuration file all the  
> time,
> if you want to use another firmware. One needs to frequently switch
> between firmware versions when developing firmware code.

we might should write down what everybody expects from a firmware  
loading mechanism.

I would like to see generic support for these kind of things. Not  
duplicated functionality in every driver.

Regards

Marcel

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