[tlinux-users:07059] plans for toshiba_acpi

[John Belmonte <john@neggie.net>]

Here are my plans for enhancing the "toshiba_acpi" driver, and imploding
the "/proc/acpi/toshiba" interface.

* incorporate ACPI hotkeys patch developed by Daniel Silverstone and
used in Ubuntu Linux.  Available as a run-time option, this creates a
kernel thread which polls the Toshiba firmware for hotkey events, and
passes them along to the ACPI subsystem.

* incorporate /dev/toshiba emulation patch developed by Gintautas
Miliauskas and Charles Schwieters.  Available as a run-time option, this
causes toshiba_acpi to implement the "toshiba" driver's /dev/toshiba
interface (except for hotkey status).  This device provides access to
the Toshiba HCI, which can be employed by userspace tools such as
"toshset" to adjust a laptop's internal Bluetooth device, display, fan,
etc.  This patch has been in use since early 2004 by several users.
Regarding module auto-loading, OS's will have to resolve the ambiguity
of which driver to load (toshiba or toshiba_acpi) when /dev/toshiba is
accessed.

* add run-time option to suppress creation of /proc/acpi/toshiba.  Since
 the above two options cover the existing /proc/acpi/toshiba interface
and more, the proc interface can be disabled once userspace tools catch up.

Please follow up on <acpi-devel@lists.sourceforge.net>.

--John