[PATCH net 0/2] allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

[PATCH net 0/2] allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

[Chen-Yu Tsai]

From: Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@csie.org>

Hi folks,

This small series aims to align the name of the first ethernet
controller found on the Allwinner A523 SoC family with the name
found in the datasheets. It renames the compatible string and
any other references from "emac0" to "gmac0".

When support of the hardware was introduced, the name chosen was
"EMAC", which followed previous generations. However the datasheets
use the name "GMAC" instead, likely because there is another "GMAC"
based on a newer DWMAC IP.

The first patch fixes the compatible string entry in the device tree
binding.

The second patch fixes all references in the existing device trees.

Since this was introduced in v6.16-rc1, I hope to land this for v6.16
as well.

There's a small conflict in patch one around the patch context with 

    dt-bindings: net: sun8i-emac: Add A100 EMAC compatible

that just landed in net-next today. I will leave this patch to the net
mainainers to merge to avoid making a bigger mess. Once that is landed
I will merge the second patch through the sunxi tree.


Thanks
ChenYu


Chen-Yu Tsai (2):
  dt-bindings: net: sun8i-emac: Rename A523 EMAC0 to GMAC0
  arm64: dts: allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

 .../devicetree/bindings/net/allwinner,sun8i-a83t-emac.yaml  | 2 +-
 arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a523.dtsi              | 6 +++---
 arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a527-cubie-a5e.dts     | 4 ++--
 arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-t527-avaota-a1.dts     | 4 ++--
 4 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

-- 
2.39.5

[PATCH net 1/2] dt-bindings: net: sun8i-emac: Rename A523 EMAC0 to GMAC0

[Chen-Yu Tsai]

From: Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@csie.org>

The datasheets refer to the first Ethernet controller as GMAC0, not
EMAC0.

Rename the compatible string to align with the datasheets. A fix for
the device trees will be sent separately.

Fixes: 0454b9057e98 ("dt-bindings: net: sun8i-emac: Add A523 EMAC0 compatible")
Signed-off-by: Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@csie.org>
---
 .../devicetree/bindings/net/allwinner,sun8i-a83t-emac.yaml      | 2 +-
 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/net/allwinner,sun8i-a83t-emac.yaml b/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/net/allwinner,sun8i-a83t-emac.yaml
index 7b6a2fde8175..19934d5c24e5 100644
--- a/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/net/allwinner,sun8i-a83t-emac.yaml
+++ b/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/net/allwinner,sun8i-a83t-emac.yaml
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ properties:
               - allwinner,sun20i-d1-emac
               - allwinner,sun50i-h6-emac
               - allwinner,sun50i-h616-emac0
-              - allwinner,sun55i-a523-emac0
+              - allwinner,sun55i-a523-gmac0
           - const: allwinner,sun50i-a64-emac
 
   reg:
-- 
2.39.5

Re: [PATCH net 1/2] dt-bindings: net: sun8i-emac: Rename A523 EMAC0 to GMAC0

[Rob Herring (Arm)]

On Sat, 28 Jun 2025 13:44:37 +0800, Chen-Yu Tsai wrote:
> From: Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@csie.org>
> 
> The datasheets refer to the first Ethernet controller as GMAC0, not
> EMAC0.
> 
> Rename the compatible string to align with the datasheets. A fix for
> the device trees will be sent separately.
> 
> Fixes: 0454b9057e98 ("dt-bindings: net: sun8i-emac: Add A523 EMAC0 compatible")
> Signed-off-by: Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@csie.org>
> ---
>  .../devicetree/bindings/net/allwinner,sun8i-a83t-emac.yaml      | 2 +-
>  1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-)
> 

Acked-by: Rob Herring (Arm) <robh@kernel.org>

[PATCH net 2/2] arm64: dts: allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

[Chen-Yu Tsai]

From: Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@csie.org>

The datasheets refer to the first Ethernet controller as GMAC0, not
EMAC0.

Fix the compatible string, node label and pinmux function name to match
what the datasheets use. A change to the device tree binding is sent
separately.

Fixes: 56766ca6c4f6 ("arm64: dts: allwinner: a523: Add EMAC0 ethernet MAC")
Fixes: acca163f3f51 ("arm64: dts: allwinner: a527: add EMAC0 to Radxa A5E board")
Fixes: c6800f15998b ("arm64: dts: allwinner: t527: add EMAC0 to Avaota-A1 board")
Signed-off-by: Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@csie.org>
---
 arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a523.dtsi          | 6 +++---
 arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a527-cubie-a5e.dts | 4 ++--
 arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-t527-avaota-a1.dts | 4 ++--
 3 files changed, 7 insertions(+), 7 deletions(-)

diff --git a/arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a523.dtsi b/arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a523.dtsi
index 8b7cbc2e78f5..51cd148f4227 100644
--- a/arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a523.dtsi
+++ b/arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a523.dtsi
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ rgmii0_pins: rgmii0-pins {
 				       "PH5", "PH6", "PH7", "PH9", "PH10",
 				       "PH14", "PH15", "PH16", "PH17", "PH18";
 				allwinner,pinmux = <5>;
-				function = "emac0";
+				function = "gmac0";
 				drive-strength = <40>;
 				bias-disable;
 			};
@@ -540,8 +540,8 @@ ohci1: usb@4200400 {
 			status = "disabled";
 		};
 
-		emac0: ethernet@4500000 {
-			compatible = "allwinner,sun55i-a523-emac0",
+		gmac0: ethernet@4500000 {
+			compatible = "allwinner,sun55i-a523-gmac0",
 				     "allwinner,sun50i-a64-emac";
 			reg = <0x04500000 0x10000>;
 			clocks = <&ccu CLK_BUS_EMAC0>;
diff --git a/arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a527-cubie-a5e.dts b/arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a527-cubie-a5e.dts
index 0f58d92a6adc..8bc0f2c72a24 100644
--- a/arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a527-cubie-a5e.dts
+++ b/arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a527-cubie-a5e.dts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ / {
 	compatible = "radxa,cubie-a5e", "allwinner,sun55i-a527";
 
 	aliases {
-		ethernet0 = &emac0;
+		ethernet0 = &gmac0;
 		serial0 = &uart0;
 	};
 
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ &ehci1 {
 	status = "okay";
 };
 
-&emac0 {
+&gmac0 {
 	phy-mode = "rgmii-id";
 	phy-handle = <&ext_rgmii_phy>;
 	phy-supply = <&reg_cldo3>;
diff --git a/arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-t527-avaota-a1.dts b/arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-t527-avaota-a1.dts
index 08127f0cdd35..142177c1f737 100644
--- a/arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-t527-avaota-a1.dts
+++ b/arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-t527-avaota-a1.dts
@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ / {
 	compatible = "yuzukihd,avaota-a1", "allwinner,sun55i-t527";
 
 	aliases {
-		ethernet0 = &emac0;
+		ethernet0 = &gmac0;
 		serial0 = &uart0;
 	};
 
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ &ehci1 {
 	status = "okay";
 };
 
-&emac0 {
+&gmac0 {
 	phy-mode = "rgmii-id";
 	phy-handle = <&ext_rgmii_phy>;
 	phy-supply = <&reg_dcdc4>;
-- 
2.39.5

Re: [PATCH net 0/2] allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

[Andre Przywara]

On Sat, 28 Jun 2025 13:44:36 +0800
Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@kernel.org> wrote:

Hi,

> From: Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@csie.org>
> 
> Hi folks,
> 
> This small series aims to align the name of the first ethernet
> controller found on the Allwinner A523 SoC family with the name
> found in the datasheets. It renames the compatible string and
> any other references from "emac0" to "gmac0".

To be honest I am not a big fan of those cosmetic renames when it
touches DT files. It seems to not break compatibility in this case,
since we don't use the specific compatible string, but leaves a bitter
taste anyway. Also I pick DT patches out of -rc releases for U-Boot,
and did so internally already, so it's not without churns.

So is this really necessary, and what is the purpose of this patch?
I am fine with using GMAC for the GMAC200 part in the SoC, but the A64,
H6, H616, A133 all use the same IP - as the fallback compatible proves -
and they call it all EMAC.

That's not a NAK, but just wanted to bring this up.

Cheers,
Andre. 

> When support of the hardware was introduced, the name chosen was
> "EMAC", which followed previous generations. However the datasheets
> use the name "GMAC" instead, likely because there is another "GMAC"
> based on a newer DWMAC IP.
> 
> The first patch fixes the compatible string entry in the device tree
> binding.
> 
> The second patch fixes all references in the existing device trees.
> 
> Since this was introduced in v6.16-rc1, I hope to land this for v6.16
> as well.
> 
> There's a small conflict in patch one around the patch context with 
> 
>     dt-bindings: net: sun8i-emac: Add A100 EMAC compatible
> 
> that just landed in net-next today. I will leave this patch to the net
> mainainers to merge to avoid making a bigger mess. Once that is landed
> I will merge the second patch through the sunxi tree.
> 
> 
> Thanks
> ChenYu
> 
> 
> Chen-Yu Tsai (2):
>   dt-bindings: net: sun8i-emac: Rename A523 EMAC0 to GMAC0
>   arm64: dts: allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0
> 
>  .../devicetree/bindings/net/allwinner,sun8i-a83t-emac.yaml  | 2 +-
>  arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a523.dtsi              | 6 +++---
>  arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a527-cubie-a5e.dts     | 4 ++--
>  arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-t527-avaota-a1.dts     | 4 ++--
>  4 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
> 

Re: [PATCH net 0/2] allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

[Chen-Yu Tsai]

On Sat, Jul 5, 2025 at 4:37 PM Andre Przywara <andre.przywara@arm.com> wrote:
>
> On Sat, 28 Jun 2025 13:44:36 +0800
> Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@kernel.org> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> > From: Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@csie.org>
> >
> > Hi folks,
> >
> > This small series aims to align the name of the first ethernet
> > controller found on the Allwinner A523 SoC family with the name
> > found in the datasheets. It renames the compatible string and
> > any other references from "emac0" to "gmac0".
>
> To be honest I am not a big fan of those cosmetic renames when it
> touches DT files. It seems to not break compatibility in this case,
> since we don't use the specific compatible string, but leaves a bitter
> taste anyway. Also I pick DT patches out of -rc releases for U-Boot,
> and did so internally already, so it's not without churns.

I'd say that new stuff shouldn't really be considered stable until
it is actually released, hence why I wanted to get this series merged
now. Picking from an -rc release is a tradeoff of getting new stuff
faster vs having something changed or reverted during the -rc process.
I'm sorry that it went the other way this time.

> So is this really necessary, and what is the purpose of this patch?

It's really about aligning the names used throughout the kernel with
the ones seen in the datasheet.

> I am fine with using GMAC for the GMAC200 part in the SoC, but the A64,
> H6, H616, A133 all use the same IP - as the fallback compatible proves -
> and they call it all EMAC.

There's also an EMAC in the A10 and A20 that only does up to 100 Mbps,
and there's no lineage there. Also, not all datasheets for SoCs with
this gigabit-capable EMAC call it the EMAC. Off the top of my head, I
believe the R40 calls it the GMAC. And the R40's compatible string
in this binding even uses the string "gmac".

So it's really whatever Allwinner wants to call it. I would rather have
the names follow the datasheet than us making some scheme up. We just
have to remember that this funky gigabit-capable Ethernet controller
is this piece of hardware.

Hope that explains things.

Thanks
ChenYu

> That's not a NAK, but just wanted to bring this up.
>
> Cheers,
> Andre.
>
> > When support of the hardware was introduced, the name chosen was
> > "EMAC", which followed previous generations. However the datasheets
> > use the name "GMAC" instead, likely because there is another "GMAC"
> > based on a newer DWMAC IP.
> >
> > The first patch fixes the compatible string entry in the device tree
> > binding.
> >
> > The second patch fixes all references in the existing device trees.
> >
> > Since this was introduced in v6.16-rc1, I hope to land this for v6.16
> > as well.
> >
> > There's a small conflict in patch one around the patch context with
> >
> >     dt-bindings: net: sun8i-emac: Add A100 EMAC compatible
> >
> > that just landed in net-next today. I will leave this patch to the net
> > mainainers to merge to avoid making a bigger mess. Once that is landed
> > I will merge the second patch through the sunxi tree.
> >
> >
> > Thanks
> > ChenYu
> >
> >
> > Chen-Yu Tsai (2):
> >   dt-bindings: net: sun8i-emac: Rename A523 EMAC0 to GMAC0
> >   arm64: dts: allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0
> >
> >  .../devicetree/bindings/net/allwinner,sun8i-a83t-emac.yaml  | 2 +-
> >  arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a523.dtsi              | 6 +++---
> >  arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-a527-cubie-a5e.dts     | 4 ++--
> >  arch/arm64/boot/dts/allwinner/sun55i-t527-avaota-a1.dts     | 4 ++--
> >  4 files changed, 8 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
> >
>

Re: [PATCH net 0/2] allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

[Andrew Lunn]

> So it's really whatever Allwinner wants to call it. I would rather have
> the names follow the datasheet than us making some scheme up.

Are the datasheets publicly available?

	Andrew

Re: [PATCH net 0/2] allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

[Andre Przywara]

On Sat, 5 Jul 2025 17:53:17 +0200
Andrew Lunn <andrew@lunn.ch> wrote:

Hi Andrew,

> > So it's really whatever Allwinner wants to call it. I would rather have
> > the names follow the datasheet than us making some scheme up.  
> 
> Are the datasheets publicly available?

We collect them in the sunxi wiki (see the links below), but just to
make sure:
I am not disputing that GMAC is the name mentioned in the A523 manual,
and would have probably been the right name to use originally - even
though it's not very consistent, as the same IP is called EMAC in the
older SoCs' manuals. I am also not against renaming identifiers or even
(internal) DT labels. But the problem here is that the renaming affects
the DT compatible string and the pinctrl function name, both of which
are used as an interface between the devicetree and its users, which is
not only the Linux kernel, but also U-Boot and other OSes like the BSDs.

In this particular case we would probably get away with it, because
it's indeed very early in the development cycle for this SoC, but for
instance the "emac0" function name is already used in some U-Boot
patch series on the list:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-sunxi/20250323113544.7933-18-andre.przywara@arm.com/

If we REALLY need to rename this, it wouldn't be the end of the world,
but would create some churn on the U-Boot side.

I just wanted to point out that any changes to the DT bindings have
some impact to other projects, even if they are proposed as a coherent
series on the Linux side. Hence my question if this is really necessary.

Cheers,
Andre

https://linux-sunxi.org/A64#Documentation
https://linux-sunxi.org/H616#Documentation
https://linux-sunxi.org/A523#Documentation

Re: [PATCH net 0/2] allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

[Andrew Lunn]

On Sun, Jul 06, 2025 at 12:22:23AM +0100, Andre Przywara wrote:
> On Sat, 5 Jul 2025 17:53:17 +0200
> Andrew Lunn <andrew@lunn.ch> wrote:
> 
> Hi Andrew,
> 
> > > So it's really whatever Allwinner wants to call it. I would rather have
> > > the names follow the datasheet than us making some scheme up.  
> > 
> > Are the datasheets publicly available?
> 
> We collect them in the sunxi wiki (see the links below), but just to
> make sure:

O.K. The point i was trying to make is that some vendors datasheets
are not public, or very restricted, and so names don't matter, since
nobody has the datasheets. But if they are open, names are more
relevant.

I do agree that stuff can be changed when it is in an -rcX
kernel. However, it needs to be well justified, ABI related, or very
broken.

Since this is ABI, it could be changed. But i don't want to make the
decision of if it should be changed.

	Andrew

Re: [PATCH net 0/2] allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

[Chen-Yu Tsai]

On Sun, Jul 6, 2025 at 7:23 AM Andre Przywara <andre.przywara@arm.com> wrote:
>
> On Sat, 5 Jul 2025 17:53:17 +0200
> Andrew Lunn <andrew@lunn.ch> wrote:
>
> Hi Andrew,
>
> > > So it's really whatever Allwinner wants to call it. I would rather have
> > > the names follow the datasheet than us making some scheme up.
> >
> > Are the datasheets publicly available?
>
> We collect them in the sunxi wiki (see the links below), but just to
> make sure:
> I am not disputing that GMAC is the name mentioned in the A523 manual,
> and would have probably been the right name to use originally - even
> though it's not very consistent, as the same IP is called EMAC in the
> older SoCs' manuals. I am also not against renaming identifiers or even
> (internal) DT labels. But the problem here is that the renaming affects
> the DT compatible string and the pinctrl function name, both of which
> are used as an interface between the devicetree and its users, which is
> not only the Linux kernel, but also U-Boot and other OSes like the BSDs.

I reiterate my position: they are not stable until they actually hit a
release. This provides some time to fix mistakes before they are set in
stone.

> In this particular case we would probably get away with it, because
> it's indeed very early in the development cycle for this SoC, but for
> instance the "emac0" function name is already used in some U-Boot
> patch series on the list:
> https://lore.kernel.org/linux-sunxi/20250323113544.7933-18-andre.przywara@arm.com/
>
> If we REALLY need to rename this, it wouldn't be the end of the world,
> but would create some churn on the U-Boot side.
>
> I just wanted to point out that any changes to the DT bindings have
> some impact to other projects, even if they are proposed as a coherent
> series on the Linux side. Hence my question if this is really necessary.

For the compatible string, I can live with having a comment in the binding
stating the name used in the datasheet for reference.

For the pinctrl stuff, which is the contentious bit here, I thought the
whole idea of the newer pinctrl bindings is that the driver uses
"allwinner,pinmux" instead of "function". I think having both being valid
is confusing, and likely to cause conflicts later on. If we're going to
use the hardware register values in the device tree, I'd really like them
to be the only source of truth. The commit message for the binding also
sort of suggests that "allwinner,pinmux" is the part that matters.


ChenYu

> Cheers,
> Andre
>
> https://linux-sunxi.org/A64#Documentation
> https://linux-sunxi.org/H616#Documentation
> https://linux-sunxi.org/A523#Documentation

Re: [PATCH net 0/2] allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

[Andre Przywara]

On Sun, 6 Jul 2025 21:14:09 +0800
Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@kernel.org> wrote:

Hi,

> On Sun, Jul 6, 2025 at 7:23 AM Andre Przywara <andre.przywara@arm.com> wrote:
> >
> > On Sat, 5 Jul 2025 17:53:17 +0200
> > Andrew Lunn <andrew@lunn.ch> wrote:
> >
> > Hi Andrew,
> >  
> > > > So it's really whatever Allwinner wants to call it. I would rather have
> > > > the names follow the datasheet than us making some scheme up.  
> > >
> > > Are the datasheets publicly available?  
> >
> > We collect them in the sunxi wiki (see the links below), but just to
> > make sure:
> > I am not disputing that GMAC is the name mentioned in the A523 manual,
> > and would have probably been the right name to use originally - even
> > though it's not very consistent, as the same IP is called EMAC in the
> > older SoCs' manuals. I am also not against renaming identifiers or even
> > (internal) DT labels. But the problem here is that the renaming affects
> > the DT compatible string and the pinctrl function name, both of which
> > are used as an interface between the devicetree and its users, which is
> > not only the Linux kernel, but also U-Boot and other OSes like the BSDs.  
> 
> I reiterate my position: they are not stable until they actually hit a
> release. This provides some time to fix mistakes before they are set in
> stone.
> 
> > In this particular case we would probably get away with it, because
> > it's indeed very early in the development cycle for this SoC, but for
> > instance the "emac0" function name is already used in some U-Boot
> > patch series on the list:
> > https://lore.kernel.org/linux-sunxi/20250323113544.7933-18-andre.przywara@arm.com/
> >
> > If we REALLY need to rename this, it wouldn't be the end of the world,
> > but would create some churn on the U-Boot side.
> >
> > I just wanted to point out that any changes to the DT bindings have
> > some impact to other projects, even if they are proposed as a coherent
> > series on the Linux side. Hence my question if this is really necessary.  
> 
> For the compatible string, I can live with having a comment in the binding
> stating the name used in the datasheet for reference.

For the compatible string going with a fallback name, I can live with
renaming it ;-)

> For the pinctrl stuff, which is the contentious bit here, I thought the
> whole idea of the newer pinctrl bindings is that the driver uses
> "allwinner,pinmux" instead of "function". I think having both being valid
> is confusing, and likely to cause conflicts later on. If we're going to
> use the hardware register values in the device tree, I'd really like them
> to be the only source of truth. The commit message for the binding also
> sort of suggests that "allwinner,pinmux" is the part that matters.

Yes, it should be, but it turns out to be convenient for U-Boot to
continue using the old method - until someone writes a driver for the new
schema. And a function name is still mandatory, it's just mostly for
reference now (so would indeed be fine to rename).

So if you really insist on this: please go ahead and merge it, so that
the 6.16 release contains the new name.

But please note my silent protest about those cosmetic name changes in the
DT realm, which establishes an interface reaching beyond just the Linux
kernel. When it comes to new boards, the U-Boot DT sync process is rather
slow, so I really am eager to cherry-pick -rc1 DTs already, instead of
waiting another 7 weeks - which bites me in this case. It's not merged
yet, so is fine in this case, but I would really like to avoid similar
hiccups in the future.

Cheers,
Andre.

Re: [PATCH net 0/2] allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

[Chen-Yu Tsai]

On Tue, Jul 8, 2025 at 1:15 AM Andre Przywara <andre.przywara@arm.com> wrote:
>
> On Sun, 6 Jul 2025 21:14:09 +0800
> Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@kernel.org> wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> > On Sun, Jul 6, 2025 at 7:23 AM Andre Przywara <andre.przywara@arm.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > On Sat, 5 Jul 2025 17:53:17 +0200
> > > Andrew Lunn <andrew@lunn.ch> wrote:
> > >
> > > Hi Andrew,
> > >
> > > > > So it's really whatever Allwinner wants to call it. I would rather have
> > > > > the names follow the datasheet than us making some scheme up.
> > > >
> > > > Are the datasheets publicly available?
> > >
> > > We collect them in the sunxi wiki (see the links below), but just to
> > > make sure:
> > > I am not disputing that GMAC is the name mentioned in the A523 manual,
> > > and would have probably been the right name to use originally - even
> > > though it's not very consistent, as the same IP is called EMAC in the
> > > older SoCs' manuals. I am also not against renaming identifiers or even
> > > (internal) DT labels. But the problem here is that the renaming affects
> > > the DT compatible string and the pinctrl function name, both of which
> > > are used as an interface between the devicetree and its users, which is
> > > not only the Linux kernel, but also U-Boot and other OSes like the BSDs.
> >
> > I reiterate my position: they are not stable until they actually hit a
> > release. This provides some time to fix mistakes before they are set in
> > stone.
> >
> > > In this particular case we would probably get away with it, because
> > > it's indeed very early in the development cycle for this SoC, but for
> > > instance the "emac0" function name is already used in some U-Boot
> > > patch series on the list:
> > > https://lore.kernel.org/linux-sunxi/20250323113544.7933-18-andre.przywara@arm.com/
> > >
> > > If we REALLY need to rename this, it wouldn't be the end of the world,
> > > but would create some churn on the U-Boot side.
> > >
> > > I just wanted to point out that any changes to the DT bindings have
> > > some impact to other projects, even if they are proposed as a coherent
> > > series on the Linux side. Hence my question if this is really necessary.
> >
> > For the compatible string, I can live with having a comment in the binding
> > stating the name used in the datasheet for reference.
>
> For the compatible string going with a fallback name, I can live with
> renaming it ;-)
>
> > For the pinctrl stuff, which is the contentious bit here, I thought the
> > whole idea of the newer pinctrl bindings is that the driver uses
> > "allwinner,pinmux" instead of "function". I think having both being valid
> > is confusing, and likely to cause conflicts later on. If we're going to
> > use the hardware register values in the device tree, I'd really like them
> > to be the only source of truth. The commit message for the binding also
> > sort of suggests that "allwinner,pinmux" is the part that matters.
>
> Yes, it should be, but it turns out to be convenient for U-Boot to
> continue using the old method - until someone writes a driver for the new
> schema. And a function name is still mandatory, it's just mostly for
> reference now (so would indeed be fine to rename).

Hmm. Could we somehow make it clear in the binding that the function name
is for reference only?

> So if you really insist on this: please go ahead and merge it, so that
> the 6.16 release contains the new name.

I'm afraid I insist.

I think we still need an ack from the DT maintainers though, and then
the binding change would go through the net tree?

> But please note my silent protest about those cosmetic name changes in the
> DT realm, which establishes an interface reaching beyond just the Linux
> kernel. When it comes to new boards, the U-Boot DT sync process is rather
> slow, so I really am eager to cherry-pick -rc1 DTs already, instead of
> waiting another 7 weeks - which bites me in this case. It's not merged
> yet, so is fine in this case, but I would really like to avoid similar
> hiccups in the future.

Noted. I will try to be more vigilant during the review process.


Thanks
ChenYu

Re: [PATCH net 0/2] allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

[Paolo Abeni]

On 7/7/25 7:34 PM, Chen-Yu Tsai wrote:
> On Tue, Jul 8, 2025 at 1:15 AM Andre Przywara <andre.przywara@arm.com> wrote:
>> So if you really insist on this: please go ahead and merge it, so that
>> the 6.16 release contains the new name.
> 
> I'm afraid I insist.
> 
> I think we still need an ack from the DT maintainers though, and then
> the binding change would go through the net tree?

Note that such ack could require a bit of time more, as there are a few
patches in the DT backlog.

/P

Re: [PATCH net 0/2] allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

[patchwork-bot+netdevbpf]

Hello:

This series was applied to netdev/net.git (main)
by Jakub Kicinski <kuba@kernel.org>:

On Sat, 28 Jun 2025 13:44:36 +0800 you wrote:
> From: Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@csie.org>
> 
> Hi folks,
> 
> This small series aims to align the name of the first ethernet
> controller found on the Allwinner A523 SoC family with the name
> found in the datasheets. It renames the compatible string and
> any other references from "emac0" to "gmac0".
> 
> [...]

Here is the summary with links:
  - [net,1/2] dt-bindings: net: sun8i-emac: Rename A523 EMAC0 to GMAC0
    https://git.kernel.org/netdev/net/c/b3603c0466a8
  - [net,2/2] arm64: dts: allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0
    (no matching commit)

You are awesome, thank you!
-- 
Deet-doot-dot, I am a bot.
https://korg.docs.kernel.org/patchwork/pwbot.html

Re: (subset) [PATCH net 0/2] allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0

[Chen-Yu Tsai]

On Sat, 28 Jun 2025 13:44:36 +0800, Chen-Yu Tsai wrote:
> From: Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@csie.org>
> 
> Hi folks,
> 
> This small series aims to align the name of the first ethernet
> controller found on the Allwinner A523 SoC family with the name
> found in the datasheets. It renames the compatible string and
> any other references from "emac0" to "gmac0".
> 
> [...]

Applied to sunxi/fixes-for-6.16 in local tree, thanks!

[2/2] arm64: dts: allwinner: a523: Rename emac0 to gmac0
      commit: a46b4822bed08d15a856966357a4b12273751cd3

Best regards,
-- 
Chen-Yu Tsai <wens@csie.org>