Re: [PATCH v6 01/19] test: Allow signaling that U-Boot is ready

[Tom Rini <trini@konsulko.com>]

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On Fri, Nov 01, 2024 at 04:33:41PM +0100, Simon Glass wrote:
> Hi Tom,
> 
> On Thu, 31 Oct 2024 at 19:28, Tom Rini <trini@konsulko.com> wrote:
> >
> > On Thu, Oct 31, 2024 at 07:03:19PM +0100, Simon Glass wrote:
> > > Hi Tom,
> > >
> > > On Fri, 27 Sept 2024 at 04:52, Tom Rini <trini@konsulko.com> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > On Thu, Sep 26, 2024 at 11:36:00PM +0200, Simon Glass wrote:
> > > > > Hi Tom,
> > > > >
> > > > > On Wed, 25 Sept 2024 at 19:26, Tom Rini <trini@konsulko.com> wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > On Wed, Sep 25, 2024 at 02:49:56PM +0200, Simon Glass wrote:
> > > > > > > Hi Tom,
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > On Mon, 23 Sept 2024 at 22:35, Tom Rini <trini@konsulko.com> wrote:
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > On Fri, Sep 20, 2024 at 08:01:36AM +0200, Simon Glass wrote:
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > When Labgrid is used, it can get U-Boot ready for running tests. It
> > > > > > > > > prints a message when it has done so.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > Add logic to detect this message and accept it.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > Signed-off-by: Simon Glass <sjg@chromium.org>
> > > > > > > > > ---
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > (no changes since v1)
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >  test/py/u_boot_console_base.py | 9 +++++----
> > > > > > > > >  1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 4 deletions(-)
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > What happens is that labgrid can also be told to look for and then
> > > > > > > > interrupt autoboot, just like our pytests can do, and the system is at
> > > > > > > > the prompt. But this is also what it's like for a system with autoboot
> > > > > > > > disabled. Do we actually need this patch to achieve the functionality
> > > > > > > > you want? Doesn't that already just happen?
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > The point of this patch is actually to remove code in pytest, by
> > > > > > > allowing it to skip all the banner-detection stuff. It does not affect
> > > > > > > things in Labgrid, since it still needs to watch for banners, etc.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > But you can't remove code from pytest, people can and will run the suite
> > > > > > outside of labgrid.
> > > > >
> > > > > Yes, that's right. I meant that with Labgrid the code is not used.
> > > >
> > > > OK. I still think this (and I assume the related flag to tell whichever
> > > > helper that was that the platform is ready to go) are too implementation
> > > > specific.
> > >
> > > OK, but it does have the virtue of working properly on all the boards
> > > I have, rather than just a subset, without this patch.
> > >
> > > >
> > > > > > > Without this patch, we have to tell Labgrid's U-Boot driver to do
> > > > > > > nothing, so that pytest does it. But that is not a good idea, since
> > > > > > > Labgrid has a lot more info about the board than pytest has. For
> > > > > > > example, look at all the SPL-banner-count stuff.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Why do you have to tell it to do nothing? The pytest suite works fine,
> > > > > > today, if the board stops at the prompt automatically. To be clear, the
> > > > > > labgrid yaml file I'm using with my scripts has the information to stop
> > > > > > autoboot in it and it's not causing a problem.
> > > > >
> > > > > But if it wasn't causing a problem I would not have invented this
> > > > > annoying scheme.
> > > >
> > > > Well, I honestly thought it might be a remnant from development that
> > > > wasn't needed once everything else was done. I do that from time to time
> > > > myself.
> > >
> > > OK.
> > >
> > > >
> > > > > For several boards, by the time pytest gets to see
> > > > > the output it is too late to press a key and stop.
> > > >
> > > > Why / how? Do we perhaps need to adjust the timeout upwards, slightly?
> > > > Especially in light of the changes you also did to detect a "dead" board
> > > > and so we don't wait 30 minutes for a test run to fail.
> > >
> > > Why / how - because the board prints its SPL banner as soon as reset
> > > is released, then waits for U-Boot proper to be sent, at which case
> > > the U-Boot banner is sent .Then labgrid disconnects from the console
> > > and runs microcom, which connects to the console over ser2net and
> > > misses some of what has already been sent.
> > >
> > > This is actually a fundamental problem, not something we can adjust
> > > with timeouts.
> >
> > Wait, what? *Labgrid* is the thing that's the problem here with dropping
> > the connection to the board and re-establishing it at some point?
> 
> Er, yes. Somehow I must have forgotten to mention that.
> 
> I actually have a change proposed to Labgrid to adjust that, but it
> might take a while...in any case my change is just an option, not the
> default.

Can you please link to that specific one? Thanks.

[snip]
> > Well, I hate to get on a tangent here, but I think a common thread is
> > that after you've spent hours debugging a problem and working out a
> > solution you then omit much of the details. I'd much rather see a much
> > longer commit message here describing the problem, or a longer
> > description under the "---" where you explain that labgrid uses minicom,
> > gets things up, drops the connection and uses ser2net and so there's a
> > chance we miss messages and so need something like this. Or, that you've
> > been debugging on *x86_64* a bunch of EFI_LOADER things and off the
> > shelf distributions aren't working (and ExitBootServices() is where you
> > had a problem with Ubuntu I gather still on x86_64).
> 
> Sure, I will try to be more descriptive in future.
> 
> The problem in some cases is that I write the commits much later
> (weeks, months) and forget what they were for. It actually took quite
> a long time to get my lab running with Labgrid and for some of my
> responses I had to go and try things to figure out what on earth the
> change was for...some of them I dropped. I should have dug more into
> this one to really clarify the problem.

A thing I learned this year at some point was that you can pass -m to
git commit multiple times and get multiple paragraphs. It won't be line
wrapped correctly however. But it helps make "commit early and often" be
more like "commit early and often with whatever you were thinking"
easier to dump more information in to. I think something like that might
help with review on your patches, which I know is a problem we all want
to get resolved in a positive manner.

-- 
Tom

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