[PATCH] Documentation: Refactored watchdog old doc

[PATCH] Documentation: Refactored watchdog old doc

[Sunny Patel]

Revisited old doc of watchdog and did some cleanup.
Also added support for new api in doc.

Signed-off-by: Sunny Patel <nueralspacetech@gmail.com>
---
 Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst | 49 +++++++++++++++++++++----
 1 file changed, 41 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst b/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
index 78e228c272cf..446f961852ec 100644
--- a/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
+++ b/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 The Linux Watchdog driver API
 =============================
 
-Last reviewed: 10/05/2007
+Last reviewed: 04/08/2026
 
 
 
@@ -106,11 +106,10 @@ the requested one due to limitation of the hardware::
 This example might actually print "The timeout was set to 60 seconds"
 if the device has a granularity of minutes for its timeout.
 
-Starting with the Linux 2.4.18 kernel, it is possible to query the
-current timeout using the GETTIMEOUT ioctl::
+It is also possible to get the current timeout with the GETTIMEOUT ioctl::
 
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTIMEOUT, &timeout);
-    printf("The timeout was is %d seconds\n", timeout);
+    printf("The timeout is %d seconds\n", timeout);
 
 Pretimeouts
 ===========
@@ -133,7 +132,7 @@ seconds.  Setting a pretimeout to zero disables it.
 There is also a get function for getting the pretimeout::
 
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETPRETIMEOUT, &timeout);
-    printf("The pretimeout was is %d seconds\n", timeout);
+    printf("The pretimeout is %d seconds\n", timeout);
 
 Not all watchdog drivers will support a pretimeout.
 
@@ -145,7 +144,7 @@ before the system will reboot. The WDIOC_GETTIMELEFT is the ioctl
 that returns the number of seconds before reboot::
 
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTIMELEFT, &timeleft);
-    printf("The timeout was is %d seconds\n", timeleft);
+    printf("The timeout is %d seconds\n", timeleft);
 
 Environmental monitoring
 ========================
@@ -227,12 +226,33 @@ The watchdog saw a keepalive ping since it was last queried.
 	WDIOF_SETTIMEOUT	Can set/get the timeout
 	================	=======================
 
-The watchdog can do pretimeouts.
+The watchdog supports  timeout set/get via the WDIOC_SETTIMEOUT and
+WDIOC_GETTIMEOUT ioctls.
 
 	================	================================
 	WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT	Pretimeout (in seconds), get/set
 	================	================================
 
+The watchdog supports a pretimeout, a warning interrupt that fires before
+the actual reboot tiemout. USE WDIOC_SETPRETIMEOUT and WDIOC_GETPRETIMEOUT
+to set/get the pretimeout.
+
+	================	================================
+	WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE	Supports magic close char
+	================	================================
+
+The driver supports the Magic Close feature, The watchdog is only disabled
+if the characted 'V' is written to /dev/watchdog before the file descriptor
+is closed. Without this, closing the device disables the watchdog
+unconditionally.
+
+	================	================================
+	WDIOF_ALARMONLY	    Not a reboot watchdog
+	================	================================
+
+The watchdog will not reboot the system when it expires. Instead it
+triggers a management or other external alarm. Userspace should not
+rely on a system reboot occurring.
 
 For those drivers that return any bits set in the option field, the
 GETSTATUS and GETBOOTSTATUS ioctls can be used to ask for the current
@@ -268,4 +288,17 @@ The following options are available:
 	WDIOS_TEMPPANIC		Kernel panic on temperature trip
 	=================	================================
 
-[FIXME -- better explanations]
+``WDIOS_DISABLECARD`` stops the watchdog timer. The driver will cease
+pinging the hardware watchdog, allowing a controlled shutdown without
+a forced reboot. This is equivalent to the watchdog being disarmed.
+
+``WDIOS_ENABLECARD`` starts the watchdog timer. if the watchdog was
+previously stopped via ``WDIOS_DISABLECARD``,this will re-enable it. The
+hardware watchdog will begin counting down from the configured timeout.
+
+``WDIOS_TEMPPANIC`` enables temperature-based kernel panic. When set,
+the driver will call ``panic()`` (or ``kernel_power_off()`` on some
+drivers) if the hardware temperature sensor exceeds its threshold,
+rather than only setting the ``WDIOF_OVERHEAT`` status bit. Support
+for this option  is driver-specific, not all watchdog drivers implement
+temperature monitoring.
\ No newline at end of file
-- 
2.43.0

Re: [PATCH] Documentation: Refactored watchdog old doc

[Randy Dunlap]

On 4/9/26 10:53 AM, Sunny Patel wrote:
> Revisited old doc of watchdog and did some cleanup.
> Also added support for new api in doc.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Sunny Patel <nueralspacetech@gmail.com>
> ---
>  Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst | 49 +++++++++++++++++++++----
>  1 file changed, 41 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst b/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
> index 78e228c272cf..446f961852ec 100644
> --- a/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
> @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
>  The Linux Watchdog driver API
>  =============================
>  
> -Last reviewed: 10/05/2007
> +Last reviewed: 04/08/2026
>  
>  
>  
> @@ -106,11 +106,10 @@ the requested one due to limitation of the hardware::
>  This example might actually print "The timeout was set to 60 seconds"
>  if the device has a granularity of minutes for its timeout.
>  
> -Starting with the Linux 2.4.18 kernel, it is possible to query the
> -current timeout using the GETTIMEOUT ioctl::
> +It is also possible to get the current timeout with the GETTIMEOUT ioctl::
>  

These 3 printf() deletions of /was/ are included in my 5-patch series:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-watchdog/20260228010402.2389343-1-rdunlap@infradead.org/


>      ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTIMEOUT, &timeout);
> -    printf("The timeout was is %d seconds\n", timeout);
> +    printf("The timeout is %d seconds\n", timeout);
>  
>  Pretimeouts
>  ===========
> @@ -133,7 +132,7 @@ seconds.  Setting a pretimeout to zero disables it.
>  There is also a get function for getting the pretimeout::
>  
>      ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETPRETIMEOUT, &timeout);
> -    printf("The pretimeout was is %d seconds\n", timeout);
> +    printf("The pretimeout is %d seconds\n", timeout);
>  
>  Not all watchdog drivers will support a pretimeout.
>  
> @@ -145,7 +144,7 @@ before the system will reboot. The WDIOC_GETTIMELEFT is the ioctl
>  that returns the number of seconds before reboot::
>  
>      ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTIMELEFT, &timeleft);
> -    printf("The timeout was is %d seconds\n", timeleft);
> +    printf("The timeout is %d seconds\n", timeleft);
>  
>  Environmental monitoring
>  ========================
> @@ -227,12 +226,33 @@ The watchdog saw a keepalive ping since it was last queried.
>  	WDIOF_SETTIMEOUT	Can set/get the timeout
>  	================	=======================
>  
> -The watchdog can do pretimeouts.
> +The watchdog supports  timeout set/get via the WDIOC_SETTIMEOUT and
> +WDIOC_GETTIMEOUT ioctls.
>  
>  	================	================================
>  	WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT	Pretimeout (in seconds), get/set
>  	================	================================
>  
> +The watchdog supports a pretimeout, a warning interrupt that fires before
> +the actual reboot tiemout. USE WDIOC_SETPRETIMEOUT and WDIOC_GETPRETIMEOUT

                              Use

> +to set/get the pretimeout.
> +
> +	================	================================
> +	WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE	Supports magic close char
> +	================	================================
> +
> +The driver supports the Magic Close feature, The watchdog is only disabled
> +if the characted 'V' is written to /dev/watchdog before the file descriptor
> +is closed. Without this, closing the device disables the watchdog
> +unconditionally.
> +
> +	================	================================
> +	WDIOF_ALARMONLY	    Not a reboot watchdog
> +	================	================================

Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst:250: ERROR: Malformed table.
Text in column margin in table line 2.

================        ================================
WDIOF_ALARMONLY     Not a reboot watchdog
================        ================================

Please test your patches.

> +
> +The watchdog will not reboot the system when it expires. Instead it
> +triggers a management or other external alarm. Userspace should not
> +rely on a system reboot occurring.
>  
>  For those drivers that return any bits set in the option field, the
>  GETSTATUS and GETBOOTSTATUS ioctls can be used to ask for the current
> @@ -268,4 +288,17 @@ The following options are available:
>  	WDIOS_TEMPPANIC		Kernel panic on temperature trip
>  	=================	================================
>  
> -[FIXME -- better explanations]
> +``WDIOS_DISABLECARD`` stops the watchdog timer. The driver will cease
> +pinging the hardware watchdog, allowing a controlled shutdown without
> +a forced reboot. This is equivalent to the watchdog being disarmed.
> +
> +``WDIOS_ENABLECARD`` starts the watchdog timer. if the watchdog was
> +previously stopped via ``WDIOS_DISABLECARD``,this will re-enable it. The

                                               , this

> +hardware watchdog will begin counting down from the configured timeout.
> +
> +``WDIOS_TEMPPANIC`` enables temperature-based kernel panic. When set,
> +the driver will call ``panic()`` (or ``kernel_power_off()`` on some
> +drivers) if the hardware temperature sensor exceeds its threshold,
> +rather than only setting the ``WDIOF_OVERHEAT`` status bit. Support
> +for this option  is driver-specific, not all watchdog drivers implement

                       driver-specific; not all

> +temperature monitoring.
> \ No newline at end of file

warning: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

-- 
~Randy

Re: [PATCH] Documentation: Refactored watchdog old doc

[Guenter Roeck]

On 4/9/26 10:53, Sunny Patel wrote:
> Revisited old doc of watchdog and did some cleanup.
> Also added support for new api in doc.
> 
> Signed-off-by: Sunny Patel <nueralspacetech@gmail.com>
> ---
>   Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst | 49 +++++++++++++++++++++----
>   1 file changed, 41 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst b/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
> index 78e228c272cf..446f961852ec 100644
> --- a/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
> @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
>   The Linux Watchdog driver API
>   =============================
>   
> -Last reviewed: 10/05/2007
> +Last reviewed: 04/08/2026
>   
>   
>   
> @@ -106,11 +106,10 @@ the requested one due to limitation of the hardware::
>   This example might actually print "The timeout was set to 60 seconds"
>   if the device has a granularity of minutes for its timeout.
>   
> -Starting with the Linux 2.4.18 kernel, it is possible to query the
> -current timeout using the GETTIMEOUT ioctl::
> +It is also possible to get the current timeout with the GETTIMEOUT ioctl::
>   
>       ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTIMEOUT, &timeout);
> -    printf("The timeout was is %d seconds\n", timeout);
> +    printf("The timeout is %d seconds\n", timeout);
>   
>   Pretimeouts
>   ===========
> @@ -133,7 +132,7 @@ seconds.  Setting a pretimeout to zero disables it.
>   There is also a get function for getting the pretimeout::
>   
>       ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETPRETIMEOUT, &timeout);
> -    printf("The pretimeout was is %d seconds\n", timeout);
> +    printf("The pretimeout is %d seconds\n", timeout);
>   
>   Not all watchdog drivers will support a pretimeout.
>   
> @@ -145,7 +144,7 @@ before the system will reboot. The WDIOC_GETTIMELEFT is the ioctl
>   that returns the number of seconds before reboot::
>   
>       ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTIMELEFT, &timeleft);
> -    printf("The timeout was is %d seconds\n", timeleft);
> +    printf("The timeout is %d seconds\n", timeleft);
>   
>   Environmental monitoring
>   ========================
> @@ -227,12 +226,33 @@ The watchdog saw a keepalive ping since it was last queried.
>   	WDIOF_SETTIMEOUT	Can set/get the timeout
>   	================	=======================
>   
> -The watchdog can do pretimeouts.
> +The watchdog supports  timeout set/get via the WDIOC_SETTIMEOUT and
> +WDIOC_GETTIMEOUT ioctls.
>   
>   	================	================================
>   	WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT	Pretimeout (in seconds), get/set
>   	================	================================
>   
> +The watchdog supports a pretimeout, a warning interrupt that fires before
> +the actual reboot tiemout. USE WDIOC_SETPRETIMEOUT and WDIOC_GETPRETIMEOUT
> +to set/get the pretimeout.
> +
> +	================	================================
> +	WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE	Supports magic close char
> +	================	================================
> +
> +The driver supports the Magic Close feature, The watchdog is only disabled
> +if the characted 'V' is written to /dev/watchdog before the file descriptor
> +is closed. Without this, closing the device disables the watchdog
> +unconditionally.
> +
> +	================	================================
> +	WDIOF_ALARMONLY	    Not a reboot watchdog
> +	================	================================
> +
> +The watchdog will not reboot the system when it expires. Instead it
> +triggers a management or other external alarm. Userspace should not
> +rely on a system reboot occurring.
>   
>   For those drivers that return any bits set in the option field, the
>   GETSTATUS and GETBOOTSTATUS ioctls can be used to ask for the current
> @@ -268,4 +288,17 @@ The following options are available:
>   	WDIOS_TEMPPANIC		Kernel panic on temperature trip
>   	=================	================================
>   
> -[FIXME -- better explanations]
> +``WDIOS_DISABLECARD`` stops the watchdog timer. The driver will cease
> +pinging the hardware watchdog, allowing a controlled shutdown without
> +a forced reboot. This is equivalent to the watchdog being disarmed.
> +
> +``WDIOS_ENABLECARD`` starts the watchdog timer. if the watchdog was
> +previously stopped via ``WDIOS_DISABLECARD``,this will re-enable it. The
> +hardware watchdog will begin counting down from the configured timeout.
> +
> +``WDIOS_TEMPPANIC`` enables temperature-based kernel panic. When set,
> +the driver will call ``panic()`` (or ``kernel_power_off()`` on some
> +drivers) if the hardware temperature sensor exceeds its threshold,
> +rather than only setting the ``WDIOF_OVERHEAT`` status bit. Support
> +for this option  is driver-specific, not all watchdog drivers implement
> +temperature monitoring.
> \ No newline at end of file

FWIW, I think if we update the document, all functionality not supported
by the watchdog core (specifically but not necessarily limited to
WDIOS_TEMPPANIC) should be declared/marked deprecated.

Guenter

[PATCH v2] Documentation: Refactored watchdog old doc

[Sunny Patel]

Good Point. So again revisited the watchdog core
api and list out the deprecated one and marked
as deprecated in doc and also mentioned it just
for legacy driver and not for newer one.

As someof the legacy driver still have reference 
to old api so just marked as deprecated in doc.

Also checked with other watchdog related api
which are deprecated in driver but still present 
in doc but didn't find any.

---

Revisited old doc of watchdog and did some cleanup.
Also added support for new api in doc. Which is
WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE and WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT.

Reierate the core api and Mark WDIOC_GETTEMP and
WDIO_TEMPPANIC as deprecated.Both are absent from
the watchdog core and only present in legacy driver.

Signed-off-by: Sunny Patel <nueralspacetech@gmail.com>
---
 Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst | 59 +++++++++++++++++++++----
 1 file changed, 51 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst b/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
index 78e228c272cf..e11575db93e6 100644
--- a/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
+++ b/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 The Linux Watchdog driver API
 =============================
 
-Last reviewed: 10/05/2007
+Last reviewed: 04/08/2026
 
 
 
@@ -106,11 +106,10 @@ the requested one due to limitation of the hardware::
 This example might actually print "The timeout was set to 60 seconds"
 if the device has a granularity of minutes for its timeout.
 
-Starting with the Linux 2.4.18 kernel, it is possible to query the
-current timeout using the GETTIMEOUT ioctl::
+It is also possible to get the current timeout with the GETTIMEOUT ioctl::
 
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTIMEOUT, &timeout);
-    printf("The timeout was is %d seconds\n", timeout);
+    printf("The timeout is %d seconds\n", timeout);
 
 Pretimeouts
 ===========
@@ -133,7 +132,7 @@ seconds.  Setting a pretimeout to zero disables it.
 There is also a get function for getting the pretimeout::
 
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETPRETIMEOUT, &timeout);
-    printf("The pretimeout was is %d seconds\n", timeout);
+    printf("The pretimeout is %d seconds\n", timeout);
 
 Not all watchdog drivers will support a pretimeout.
 
@@ -145,7 +144,7 @@ before the system will reboot. The WDIOC_GETTIMELEFT is the ioctl
 that returns the number of seconds before reboot::
 
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTIMELEFT, &timeleft);
-    printf("The timeout was is %d seconds\n", timeleft);
+    printf("The timeout is %d seconds\n", timeleft);
 
 Environmental monitoring
 ========================
@@ -227,12 +226,33 @@ The watchdog saw a keepalive ping since it was last queried.
 	WDIOF_SETTIMEOUT	Can set/get the timeout
 	================	=======================
 
-The watchdog can do pretimeouts.
+The watchdog supports  timeout set/get via the WDIOC_SETTIMEOUT and
+WDIOC_GETTIMEOUT ioctls.
 
 	================	================================
 	WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT	Pretimeout (in seconds), get/set
 	================	================================
 
+The watchdog supports a pretimeout, a warning interrupt that fires before
+the actual reboot tiemout. USE WDIOC_SETPRETIMEOUT and WDIOC_GETPRETIMEOUT
+to set/get the pretimeout.
+
+	================	================================
+	WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE	Supports magic close char
+	================	================================
+
+The driver supports the Magic Close feature, The watchdog is only disabled
+if the characted 'V' is written to /dev/watchdog before the file descriptor
+is closed. Without this, closing the device disables the watchdog
+unconditionally.
+
+	================	================================
+	WDIOF_ALARMONLY	    Not a reboot watchdog
+	================	================================
+
+The watchdog will not reboot the system when it expires. Instead it
+triggers a management or other external alarm. Userspace should not
+rely on a system reboot occurring.
 
 For those drivers that return any bits set in the option field, the
 GETSTATUS and GETBOOTSTATUS ioctls can be used to ask for the current
@@ -254,6 +274,11 @@ returned value is the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit::
     int temperature;
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTEMP, &temperature);
 
+.. deprecated::
+	``WDIOC_GETTEMP`` is not implemented by the watchdog core. It is only
+	supported by a small number of legacy drivers. New Drivers should not
+	implement it.
+
 Finally the SETOPTIONS ioctl can be used to control some aspects of
 the cards operation::
 
@@ -268,4 +293,22 @@ The following options are available:
 	WDIOS_TEMPPANIC		Kernel panic on temperature trip
 	=================	================================
 
-[FIXME -- better explanations]
+``WDIOS_DISABLECARD`` stops the watchdog timer. The driver will cease
+pinging the hardware watchdog, allowing a controlled shutdown without
+a forced reboot. This is equivalent to the watchdog being disarmed.
+
+``WDIOS_ENABLECARD`` starts the watchdog timer. if the watchdog was
+previously stopped via ``WDIOS_DISABLECARD``,this will re-enable it. The
+hardware watchdog will begin counting down from the configured timeout.
+
+``WDIOS_TEMPPANIC`` enables temperature-based kernel panic. When set,
+the driver will call ``panic()`` (or ``kernel_power_off()`` on some
+drivers) if the hardware temperature sensor exceeds its threshold,
+rather than only setting the ``WDIOF_OVERHEAT`` status bit. Support
+for this option  is driver-specific, not all watchdog drivers implement
+temperature monitoring.
+
+.. deprecated::
+	``WDIOS_TEMPPANIC`` is not implemented by the watchdog core and is only
+	present in a small number if legacy drivers. New Drivers should not
+	implement it.
\ No newline at end of file
-- 
2.43.0

Re: [PATCH v2] Documentation: Refactored watchdog old doc

[Guenter Roeck]

On Fri, Apr 10, 2026 at 12:58:11PM +0530, Sunny Patel wrote:
> Good Point. So again revisited the watchdog core
> api and list out the deprecated one and marked
> as deprecated in doc and also mentioned it just
> for legacy driver and not for newer one.
> 
> As someof the legacy driver still have reference 
> to old api so just marked as deprecated in doc.
> 
> Also checked with other watchdog related api
> which are deprecated in driver but still present 
> in doc but didn't find any.
> 
> ---

The above would show up as commit message, there is no change log, and
this e-mail was sent as response to v1. And I can see that without even
looking at the patch itself.

That makes me wonder what Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
is useful for. No one seems to bother reading it. We might as well
just remove it.

Guenter

Re: [PATCH v2] Documentation: Refactored watchdog old doc

[Jonathan Corbet]

Guenter Roeck <linux@roeck-us.net> writes:

> On Fri, Apr 10, 2026 at 12:58:11PM +0530, Sunny Patel wrote:
>> Good Point. So again revisited the watchdog core
>> api and list out the deprecated one and marked
>> as deprecated in doc and also mentioned it just
>> for legacy driver and not for newer one.
>> 
>> As someof the legacy driver still have reference 
>> to old api so just marked as deprecated in doc.
>> 
>> Also checked with other watchdog related api
>> which are deprecated in driver but still present 
>> in doc but didn't find any.
>> 
>> ---
>
> The above would show up as commit message, there is no change log, and
> this e-mail was sent as response to v1. And I can see that without even
> looking at the patch itself.
>
> That makes me wonder what Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
> is useful for. No one seems to bother reading it. We might as well
> just remove it.

It's good to point people at.

I do think it needs a serious rewrite to, among other things, turn it
into less of an intimidating tome.  On my list of things to do.  Now if
I could only buy a larger drive to hold that whole list...

jon

Re: [PATCH v2] Documentation: Refactored watchdog old doc

[Guenter Roeck]

On Fri, Apr 10, 2026 at 10:45:01AM -0600, Jonathan Corbet wrote:
> Guenter Roeck <linux@roeck-us.net> writes:
> 
> > On Fri, Apr 10, 2026 at 12:58:11PM +0530, Sunny Patel wrote:
> >> Good Point. So again revisited the watchdog core
> >> api and list out the deprecated one and marked
> >> as deprecated in doc and also mentioned it just
> >> for legacy driver and not for newer one.
> >> 
> >> As someof the legacy driver still have reference 
> >> to old api so just marked as deprecated in doc.
> >> 
> >> Also checked with other watchdog related api
> >> which are deprecated in driver but still present 
> >> in doc but didn't find any.
> >> 
> >> ---
> >
> > The above would show up as commit message, there is no change log, and
> > this e-mail was sent as response to v1. And I can see that without even
> > looking at the patch itself.
> >
> > That makes me wonder what Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst
> > is useful for. No one seems to bother reading it. We might as well
> > just remove it.
> 
> It's good to point people at.
> 
> I do think it needs a serious rewrite to, among other things, turn it
> into less of an intimidating tome.  On my list of things to do.  Now if
> I could only buy a larger drive to hold that whole list...
> 
Let's have some fun:

1st AI prompt:

You are an experienced Linux kernel developer and an AI prompt expert.
Read linux/Documentation/process/submitting-patches.rst and generate an
AI prompt file named review.md which can be used by an AI agent to review
a patch submission and determine if it follows the guidance in
submitting-patches.rst.

2nd AI prompt:

Using @review.md, review the patch in index.html, which targets the
repository in the linux/ directory. Provide review output in review.log.

Result is below (raw file as generated by the AI agent, not reformatted).

Guenter

---
Status: NEEDS WORK

Summary:
The patch updates the watchdog API documentation by marking deprecated ioctls and adding descriptions for features like MAGICCLOSE and PRETIMEOUT. While the technical content is useful, the patch requires revisions to the commit 
message and documentation text to fix typos, grammatical errors, and formatting issues.

Detailed Findings:
1. Commit Message & Description:
   - The description starts with conversational filler ("Good Point. So again revisited...") which should be removed.
   - The message is not written in the imperative mood (e.g., use "Mark WDIOC_GETTEMP as deprecated" instead of "Revisited... and marked...").
   - Typos in the commit message: "someof" (some of), "Reierate" (Reiterate).
   - The subject line "Documentation: Refactored watchdog old doc" should use the imperative mood: "Documentation: Refactor watchdog documentation".

2. Technical Content & Style:
   - Several typos in the documentation text:
     - "reboot tiemout" -> "reboot timeout" (Multiple occurrences).
     - "characted 'V'" -> "character 'V'".
     - "small number if legacy drivers" -> "small number of legacy drivers".
   - Grammatical/Formatting issues:
     - Missing space: "WDIOS_DISABLECARD,this" -> "WDIOS_DISABLECARD, this".
     - Inconsistent capitalization: "USE WDIOC_SETPRETIMEOUT" should be "Use WDIOC_SETPRETIMEOUT".
     - "New Drivers" should be "New drivers".
   - The patch results in "No newline at end of file" for Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst.

3. Canonical Patch Format:
   - The patch follows the basic canonical format (Subject, From, Sign-off, separators, changelog, and diffstat are all present).

Actionable Advice:
1. Rewrite the commit message to be professional and in the imperative mood. Remove any conversational references to previous discussions.
2. Perform a spell-check on the documentation changes. Specifically, fix "tiemout", "characted", and "if" (where "of" was intended).
3. Ensure proper spacing after punctuation (e.g., after the comma in the WDIOS_DISABLECARD description).
4. Add a newline at the end of Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst.
5. Use consistent sentence-case for instructions (e.g., "Use" instead of "USE").

[PATCH v2] Documentation: Refactored watchdog old doc

[Sunny Patel]

Mark WDIOC_GETTEMP and WDIOS_TEMPPANIC as deprecated since
neither is implemented by the watchdog core and both are only
present in a small number of legacy drivers.

Add documentation for previously undocumented status bits
WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE and WDIOF_ALARMONLY in the options field.

Add documentation for WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT and WDIOF_SETTIMEOUT
status bits describing their respective ioctls.

Fix the following issues in existing documentation:
  - Remove version-specific reference to Linux 2.4.18 from
    the GETTIMEOUT ioctl description
  - Fix duplicate "was is" in printf format strings
  - Replace [FIXME] placeholder with proper descriptions for
    WDIOS_DISABLECARD, WDIOS_ENABLECARD and WDIOS_TEMPPANIC

Signed-off-by: Sunny Patel <nueralspacetech@gmail.com>
---

Changes in v2:
  - Fixed typos: "tiemout" -> "timeout", "characted" -> "character"
  - Fixed "small number if legacy" -> "of legacy"
  - Fixed capitalization: "New Drivers" -> "New drivers", "USE" -> "Use"
  - Fixed spacing: "WDIOS_DISABLECARD,this" -> "WDIOS_DISABLECARD, this"
  - Fixed double spaces in two places
  - Added missing newline at end of file
  - Rewrote commit message

 Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst | 59 +++++++++++++++++++++----
 1 file changed, 51 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst b/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
index 78e228c272cf..3e9021a79671 100644
--- a/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
+++ b/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 The Linux Watchdog driver API
 =============================
 
-Last reviewed: 10/05/2007
+Last reviewed: 04/08/2026
 
 
 
@@ -106,11 +106,10 @@ the requested one due to limitation of the hardware::
 This example might actually print "The timeout was set to 60 seconds"
 if the device has a granularity of minutes for its timeout.
 
-Starting with the Linux 2.4.18 kernel, it is possible to query the
-current timeout using the GETTIMEOUT ioctl::
+It is also possible to get the current timeout with the GETTIMEOUT ioctl::
 
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTIMEOUT, &timeout);
-    printf("The timeout was is %d seconds\n", timeout);
+    printf("The timeout is %d seconds\n", timeout);
 
 Pretimeouts
 ===========
@@ -133,7 +132,7 @@ seconds.  Setting a pretimeout to zero disables it.
 There is also a get function for getting the pretimeout::
 
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETPRETIMEOUT, &timeout);
-    printf("The pretimeout was is %d seconds\n", timeout);
+    printf("The pretimeout is %d seconds\n", timeout);
 
 Not all watchdog drivers will support a pretimeout.
 
@@ -145,7 +144,7 @@ before the system will reboot. The WDIOC_GETTIMELEFT is the ioctl
 that returns the number of seconds before reboot::
 
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTIMELEFT, &timeleft);
-    printf("The timeout was is %d seconds\n", timeleft);
+    printf("The timeout is %d seconds\n", timeleft);
 
 Environmental monitoring
 ========================
@@ -227,12 +226,33 @@ The watchdog saw a keepalive ping since it was last queried.
 	WDIOF_SETTIMEOUT	Can set/get the timeout
 	================	=======================
 
-The watchdog can do pretimeouts.
+The watchdog supports timeout set/get via the WDIOC_SETTIMEOUT and
+WDIOC_GETTIMEOUT ioctls.
 
 	================	================================
 	WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT	Pretimeout (in seconds), get/set
 	================	================================
 
+The watchdog supports a pretimeout, a warning interrupt that fires before
+the actual reboot timeout. Use WDIOC_SETPRETIMEOUT and WDIOC_GETPRETIMEOUT
+to set/get the pretimeout.
+
+	================	================================
+	WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE	Supports magic close char
+	================	================================
+
+The driver supports the Magic Close feature, The watchdog is only disabled
+if the character 'V' is written to /dev/watchdog before the file descriptor
+is closed. Without this, closing the device disables the watchdog
+unconditionally.
+
+	================	================================
+	WDIOF_ALARMONLY	    Not a reboot watchdog
+	================	================================
+
+The watchdog will not reboot the system when it expires. Instead it
+triggers a management or other external alarm. Userspace should not
+rely on a system reboot occurring.
 
 For those drivers that return any bits set in the option field, the
 GETSTATUS and GETBOOTSTATUS ioctls can be used to ask for the current
@@ -254,6 +274,11 @@ returned value is the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit::
     int temperature;
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTEMP, &temperature);
 
+.. deprecated::
+	``WDIOC_GETTEMP`` is not implemented by the watchdog core. It is only
+	supported by a small number of legacy drivers. New drivers should not
+	implement it.
+
 Finally the SETOPTIONS ioctl can be used to control some aspects of
 the cards operation::
 
@@ -268,4 +293,22 @@ The following options are available:
 	WDIOS_TEMPPANIC		Kernel panic on temperature trip
 	=================	================================
 
-[FIXME -- better explanations]
+``WDIOS_DISABLECARD`` stops the watchdog timer. The driver will cease
+pinging the hardware watchdog, allowing a controlled shutdown without
+a forced reboot. This is equivalent to the watchdog being disarmed.
+
+``WDIOS_ENABLECARD`` starts the watchdog timer. If the watchdog was
+previously stopped via ``WDIOS_DISABLECARD``, this will re-enable it. The
+hardware watchdog will begin counting down from the configured timeout.
+
+``WDIOS_TEMPPANIC`` enables temperature-based kernel panic. When set,
+the driver will call ``panic()`` (or ``kernel_power_off()`` on some
+drivers) if the hardware temperature sensor exceeds its threshold,
+rather than only setting the ``WDIOF_OVERHEAT`` status bit. Support
+for this option is driver-specific, not all watchdog drivers implement
+temperature monitoring.
+
+.. deprecated::
+	``WDIOS_TEMPPANIC`` is not implemented by the watchdog core and is only
+	present in a small number of legacy drivers. New drivers should not
+	implement it.
-- 
2.43.0

Re: [PATCH v2] Documentation: Refactored watchdog old doc

[Randy Dunlap]

On 4/11/26 8:09 AM, Sunny Patel wrote:
> Mark WDIOC_GETTEMP and WDIOS_TEMPPANIC as deprecated since
> neither is implemented by the watchdog core and both are only
> present in a small number of legacy drivers.
> 
> Add documentation for previously undocumented status bits
> WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE and WDIOF_ALARMONLY in the options field.
> 
> Add documentation for WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT and WDIOF_SETTIMEOUT
> status bits describing their respective ioctls.
> 
> Fix the following issues in existing documentation:
>   - Remove version-specific reference to Linux 2.4.18 from
>     the GETTIMEOUT ioctl description
>   - Fix duplicate "was is" in printf format strings
>   - Replace [FIXME] placeholder with proper descriptions for
>     WDIOS_DISABLECARD, WDIOS_ENABLECARD and WDIOS_TEMPPANIC
> 
> Signed-off-by: Sunny Patel <nueralspacetech@gmail.com>
> ---
> 
> Changes in v2:
>   - Fixed typos: "tiemout" -> "timeout", "characted" -> "character"
>   - Fixed "small number if legacy" -> "of legacy"
>   - Fixed capitalization: "New Drivers" -> "New drivers", "USE" -> "Use"
>   - Fixed spacing: "WDIOS_DISABLECARD,this" -> "WDIOS_DISABLECARD, this"
>   - Fixed double spaces in two places
>   - Added missing newline at end of file
>   - Rewrote commit message

However, you failed to fix a malformed table warning that I reported here:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-doc/9e3403a0-4ec2-4fbe-a50f-53f939c1d841@infradead.org/

Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst:250: ERROR: Malformed table.
Text in column margin in table line 2.

================        ================================
WDIOF_ALARMONLY     Not a reboot watchdog
================        ================================


So I repeat, please test your patches.

> 
>  Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst | 59 +++++++++++++++++++++----
>  1 file changed, 51 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)
-- 
~Randy

Re: [PATCH v2] Documentation: Refactored watchdog old doc

[Guenter Roeck]

On 4/11/26 10:22, Randy Dunlap wrote:
> 
> 
> On 4/11/26 8:09 AM, Sunny Patel wrote:
>> Mark WDIOC_GETTEMP and WDIOS_TEMPPANIC as deprecated since
>> neither is implemented by the watchdog core and both are only
>> present in a small number of legacy drivers.
>>
>> Add documentation for previously undocumented status bits
>> WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE and WDIOF_ALARMONLY in the options field.
>>
>> Add documentation for WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT and WDIOF_SETTIMEOUT
>> status bits describing their respective ioctls.
>>
>> Fix the following issues in existing documentation:
>>    - Remove version-specific reference to Linux 2.4.18 from
>>      the GETTIMEOUT ioctl description
>>    - Fix duplicate "was is" in printf format strings
>>    - Replace [FIXME] placeholder with proper descriptions for
>>      WDIOS_DISABLECARD, WDIOS_ENABLECARD and WDIOS_TEMPPANIC
>>
>> Signed-off-by: Sunny Patel <nueralspacetech@gmail.com>
>> ---
>>
>> Changes in v2:
>>    - Fixed typos: "tiemout" -> "timeout", "characted" -> "character"
>>    - Fixed "small number if legacy" -> "of legacy"
>>    - Fixed capitalization: "New Drivers" -> "New drivers", "USE" -> "Use"
>>    - Fixed spacing: "WDIOS_DISABLECARD,this" -> "WDIOS_DISABLECARD, this"
>>    - Fixed double spaces in two places
>>    - Added missing newline at end of file
>>    - Rewrote commit message
> 
> However, you failed to fix a malformed table warning that I reported here:
> https://lore.kernel.org/linux-doc/9e3403a0-4ec2-4fbe-a50f-53f939c1d841@infradead.org/
> 

On top of that, it should have been v3, not v2.

Guenter

> Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst:250: ERROR: Malformed table.
> Text in column margin in table line 2.
> 
> ================        ================================
> WDIOF_ALARMONLY     Not a reboot watchdog
> ================        ================================
> 
> 
> So I repeat, please test your patches.
> 
>>
>>   Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst | 59 +++++++++++++++++++++----
>>   1 file changed, 51 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-)

Re: [PATCH v2] Documentation: Refactored watchdog old doc

[Guenter Roeck]

On 4/11/26 12:07, Guenter Roeck wrote:
> On 4/11/26 10:22, Randy Dunlap wrote:
>>
>>
>> On 4/11/26 8:09 AM, Sunny Patel wrote:
>>> Mark WDIOC_GETTEMP and WDIOS_TEMPPANIC as deprecated since
>>> neither is implemented by the watchdog core and both are only
>>> present in a small number of legacy drivers.
>>>
>>> Add documentation for previously undocumented status bits
>>> WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE and WDIOF_ALARMONLY in the options field.
>>>
>>> Add documentation for WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT and WDIOF_SETTIMEOUT
>>> status bits describing their respective ioctls.
>>>
>>> Fix the following issues in existing documentation:
>>>    - Remove version-specific reference to Linux 2.4.18 from
>>>      the GETTIMEOUT ioctl description
>>>    - Fix duplicate "was is" in printf format strings
>>>    - Replace [FIXME] placeholder with proper descriptions for
>>>      WDIOS_DISABLECARD, WDIOS_ENABLECARD and WDIOS_TEMPPANIC
>>>
>>> Signed-off-by: Sunny Patel <nueralspacetech@gmail.com>
>>> ---
>>>
>>> Changes in v2:
>>>    - Fixed typos: "tiemout" -> "timeout", "characted" -> "character"
>>>    - Fixed "small number if legacy" -> "of legacy"
>>>    - Fixed capitalization: "New Drivers" -> "New drivers", "USE" -> "Use"
>>>    - Fixed spacing: "WDIOS_DISABLECARD,this" -> "WDIOS_DISABLECARD, this"
>>>    - Fixed double spaces in two places
>>>    - Added missing newline at end of file
>>>    - Rewrote commit message
>>
>> However, you failed to fix a malformed table warning that I reported here:
>> https://lore.kernel.org/linux-doc/9e3403a0-4ec2-4fbe-a50f-53f939c1d841@infradead.org/
>>
> 
> On top of that, it should have been v3, not v2.
> 

On top of that, again, it was sent as response to the previous patch.

There is also some Sashiko feedback:

https://sashiko.dev/#/patchset/20260411150922.20536-1-nueralspacetech%40gmail.com

Guenter

[PATCH v3] Documentation: Refactored watchdog old doc

[Sunny Patel]

Mark WDIOC_GETTEMP and WDIOS_TEMPPANIC as deprecated since
neither is implemented by the watchdog core and both are only
present in a small number of legacy drivers.

Add documentation for previously undocumented status bits
WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE and WDIOF_ALARMONLY in the options field.

Add documentation for WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT and WDIOF_SETTIMEOUT
status bits describing their respective ioctls.

Fix the following issues in existing documentation:
  - Remove version-specific reference to Linux 2.4.18 from
    the GETTIMEOUT ioctl description
  - Fix duplicate "was is" in printf format strings
  - Replace [FIXME] placeholder with proper descriptions for
    WDIOS_DISABLECARD, WDIOS_ENABLECARD and WDIOS_TEMPPANIC

Signed-off-by: Sunny Patel <nueralspacetech@gmail.com>
---

Changes in v3:
  - Replaced .. deprecated:: with .. note:: to avoid Sphinx
    build warning due to missing version argument
  - Fixed WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE description: corrected inverted
    behaviour — without 'V', watchdog remains active and
    reboots, it does not disable unconditionally
  - Fixed comma splice: "Magic Close feature, The" ->
    "Magic Close feature. The"
  - Fixed WDIOF_ALARMONLY table alignment (malformed table)
  - Fixed "driver-specific," -> "driver-specific;" (semicolon)
  - Fixed identity row indentation in watchdog_info table

Note: This is sent as v3 and not v4. The previous submission
was v2 and this directly addresses the review comments on it.
The version was not bumped to v4 to keep the revision history
consistent with the actual number of review cycles this patch
has gone through.

 Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst | 63 +++++++++++++++++++++----
 1 file changed, 53 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst b/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
index 78e228c272cf..83848d02959d 100644
--- a/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
+++ b/Documentation/watchdog/watchdog-api.rst
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 The Linux Watchdog driver API
 =============================
 
-Last reviewed: 10/05/2007
+Last reviewed: 04/08/2026
 
 
 
@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ activates as soon as /dev/watchdog is opened and will reboot unless
 the watchdog is pinged within a certain time, this time is called the
 timeout or margin.  The simplest way to ping the watchdog is to write
 some data to the device.  So a very simple watchdog daemon would look
-like this source file:  see samples/watchdog/watchdog-simple.c
+like this source file: see samples/watchdog/watchdog-simple.c
 
 A more advanced driver could for example check that a HTTP server is
 still responding before doing the write call to ping the watchdog.
@@ -106,11 +106,10 @@ the requested one due to limitation of the hardware::
 This example might actually print "The timeout was set to 60 seconds"
 if the device has a granularity of minutes for its timeout.
 
-Starting with the Linux 2.4.18 kernel, it is possible to query the
-current timeout using the GETTIMEOUT ioctl::
+It is also possible to get the current timeout with the GETTIMEOUT ioctl::
 
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTIMEOUT, &timeout);
-    printf("The timeout was is %d seconds\n", timeout);
+    printf("The timeout is %d seconds\n", timeout);
 
 Pretimeouts
 ===========
@@ -133,7 +132,7 @@ seconds.  Setting a pretimeout to zero disables it.
 There is also a get function for getting the pretimeout::
 
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETPRETIMEOUT, &timeout);
-    printf("The pretimeout was is %d seconds\n", timeout);
+    printf("The pretimeout is %d seconds\n", timeout);
 
 Not all watchdog drivers will support a pretimeout.
 
@@ -145,12 +144,12 @@ before the system will reboot. The WDIOC_GETTIMELEFT is the ioctl
 that returns the number of seconds before reboot::
 
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTIMELEFT, &timeleft);
-    printf("The timeout was is %d seconds\n", timeleft);
+    printf("The timeout is %d seconds\n", timeleft);
 
 Environmental monitoring
 ========================
 
-All watchdog drivers are required return more information about the system,
+All watchdog drivers are required to return more information about the system,
 some do temperature, fan and power level monitoring, some can tell you
 the reason for the last reboot of the system.  The GETSUPPORT ioctl is
 available to ask what the device can do::
@@ -227,12 +226,33 @@ The watchdog saw a keepalive ping since it was last queried.
 	WDIOF_SETTIMEOUT	Can set/get the timeout
 	================	=======================
 
-The watchdog can do pretimeouts.
+The watchdog supports timeout set/get via the WDIOC_SETTIMEOUT and
+WDIOC_GETTIMEOUT ioctls.
 
 	================	================================
 	WDIOF_PRETIMEOUT	Pretimeout (in seconds), get/set
 	================	================================
 
+The watchdog supports a pretimeout, a warning interrupt that fires before
+the actual reboot timeout. Use WDIOC_SETPRETIMEOUT and WDIOC_GETPRETIMEOUT
+to set/get the pretimeout.
+
+	================	================================
+	WDIOF_MAGICCLOSE	Supports magic close char
+	================	================================
+
+The driver supports the Magic Close feature. The watchdog is only disabled
+if the character 'V' is written to /dev/watchdog before the file descriptor
+is closed. Without writing 'V' before closing, the watchdog remains active
+and will trigger a reboot after the timeout expires.
+
+	================	================================
+	WDIOF_ALARMONLY		Not a reboot watchdog
+	================	================================
+
+The watchdog will not reboot the system when it expires. Instead it
+triggers a management or other external alarm. Userspace should not
+rely on a system reboot occurring.
 
 For those drivers that return any bits set in the option field, the
 GETSTATUS and GETBOOTSTATUS ioctls can be used to ask for the current
@@ -254,6 +274,11 @@ returned value is the temperature in degrees Fahrenheit::
     int temperature;
     ioctl(fd, WDIOC_GETTEMP, &temperature);
 
+.. note::
+	``WDIOC_GETTEMP`` is not implemented by the watchdog core and is
+	considered deprecated. It is only supported by a small number of
+	legacy drivers. New drivers should not implement it.
+
 Finally the SETOPTIONS ioctl can be used to control some aspects of
 the cards operation::
 
@@ -268,4 +293,22 @@ The following options are available:
 	WDIOS_TEMPPANIC		Kernel panic on temperature trip
 	=================	================================
 
-[FIXME -- better explanations]
+``WDIOS_DISABLECARD`` stops the watchdog timer. The driver will cease
+pinging the hardware watchdog, allowing a controlled shutdown without
+a forced reboot. This is equivalent to the watchdog being disarmed.
+
+``WDIOS_ENABLECARD`` starts the watchdog timer. If the watchdog was
+previously stopped via ``WDIOS_DISABLECARD``, this will re-enable it. The
+hardware watchdog will begin counting down from the configured timeout.
+
+``WDIOS_TEMPPANIC`` enables temperature-based kernel panic. When set,
+the driver will call ``panic()`` (or ``kernel_power_off()`` on some
+drivers) if the hardware temperature sensor exceeds its threshold,
+rather than only setting the ``WDIOF_OVERHEAT`` status bit. Support
+for this option is driver-specific; not all watchdog drivers implement
+temperature monitoring.
+
+.. note::
+	``WDIOS_TEMPPANIC`` is not implemented by the watchdog core and is
+	considered deprecated. It is only present in a small number of
+	legacy drivers. New drivers should not implement it.
-- 
2.43.0