Re: [PATCH v2 2/5] dt-bindings: display: ssd1307fb: Remove default width and height values

[Javier Martinez Canillas <javierm@redhat.com>]

Conor Dooley <conor@kernel.org> writes:

> On Mon, Jun 12, 2023 at 09:47:12AM +0200, Thomas Zimmermann wrote:
>> Am 11.06.23 um 01:18 schrieb Javier Martinez Canillas:
>
>> > But I will be OK to drop the "solomon,ssd130?fb-i2c" compatible strings
>> > from the DRM driver and only match against the new "solomon,ssd130?-i2c"
>> > compatible strings. And add a different DT binding schema for the ssd130x
>> > driver, if that would mean being able to fix things like the one mentioned
>> > in this patch.
>
> If there are different compatibles, then it can always be sorted out
> later iff it turns out to be a problem, since new devicetrees should not
> be using the deprecated compatibles anyway. I didn't realise that those
> deprecated compatibles existed, thanks for your patience.
>

No worries, thanks for raising this question.

>> > In my opinion, trying to always make the drivers backward compatible with
>> > old DTBs only makes the drivers code more complicated for unclear benefit.
>> > 
>> > Usually this just ends being code that is neither used nor tested. Because
>> > in practice most people update the DTBs and kernels, instead of trying to
>> > make the DTB a stable ABI like firmware.
>> > 
>> 
>> From my understanding, fixing the resolution is the correct thing to do
>> here. Userspace needs to be able to handle these differences.
>
> Fixing meaning correcting, or fixing meaning using a fixed resolution?
> Not clear to me what you mean, sorry.
>

Fixing meaning using as a default the correct maximum resolution for each
OLED controller, rather than an arbitrary 96x16 resolution that was added
just to be compatible with the panel that was tested the original driver.

But after talking with Thomas and Maxime about this issue, I realized that
it won't even cause an issue for theoretical users that may be relying on
the previous default.

Changing the default resolution to something smaller could cause an issue
since a user expecting a bigger default would get their display output cut
but changing to something bigger just means user-space being able to write
more pixels than those that will be displayed.

Because there isn't really a "resolution" configured in the chip, but just
how many pixels a particular controller can drive. The new default is the
maximum that each controller supports according to their documentation.

-- 
Best regards,

Javier Martinez Canillas
Core Platforms
Red Hat