From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: from mail2.shareable.org ([80.68.89.115]) by bombadil.infradead.org with esmtps (Exim 4.68 #1 (Red Hat Linux)) id 1JVz1h-00019Y-Gc for linux-mtd@lists.infradead.org; Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:59:34 +0000 Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 00:59:31 +0000 From: Jamie Lokier To: Lennert Buytenhek Subject: Re: Global changelogs about Message-ID: <20080303005931.GA25082@shareable.org> References: <1204238252.3435.21.camel@lisa.alm.archives.at> <20080228235048.GA24195@lazybastard.org> <1204274577.3408.25.camel@lisa.alm.archives.at> <20080229085748.GB16507@lazybastard.org> <20080302152136.GA10194@shareable.org> <20080302180601.GA22003@xi.wantstofly.org> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Disposition: inline In-Reply-To: <20080302180601.GA22003@xi.wantstofly.org> Cc: linux-mtd@lists.infradead.org List-Id: Linux MTD discussion mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Lennert Buytenhek wrote: > On Sun, Mar 02, 2008 at 03:21:36PM +0000, Jamie Lokier wrote: > > > (Alternatively, if anyone has forward-ported Sigma Designs ARM support > > to 2.6 kernels, or would like to collaborate with me on that, I would > > be _very_ interested...) > > I don't have the hardware, but I can help. You might have, but not know it, sitting near your TV (if you have one of those archaic old things :-) It's used in high-def media player type devices. > Are docs freely available? Unfortunately there are no freely available docs that I'm aware of. Even I don't have docs. What I do have is GPL kernel code and patches, which can be published in the usual way. (Btw, all companies selling devices containing these chips running Linux should provide the GPL kernel source or an offer of it. Sigma Designs themselves (the chip vendor) do provide it to their downstream product makers, a README which indicates it is provided under GPL terms, and I have confirmed with my upstream supplier that it is ok to distribute. But the consumer product makers and sellers that I'm aware of don't seem to comply by passing it further along... making it surprisingly hard to get from anyone.) Unfortunately, the most interesting parts of this device (media processing) are very well abstracted, so the kernel driver does nothing more than pass along a few generic commands to that part. So, the kernel source doesn't contain much that's interesting to anyone not using these devices. Just: - Serial port hacks. - Usual custom bits and pieces for the board, interrupts, etc. - PATA driver for the unusual Sigma Designs IDE interface and DMA engine. - Various drivers for other legacy things not used in current chips, e.g. their old ethernet interface. - Pass-through driver interfacing to binary blob to handle video, much of which runs on coprocessors on the same chip. - MTD modification which is necessary for correct erasing in cfd_cmdset_0002.c (which a bog standard CFI flash), and which surprises me that it's not in standard kernels, implying nobody else needs it. (Note to self: talk about this sometime). - Parts of 2.5 MTD code back-ported, selectively. - I'm sure there's something else, but nothing to get excited by. -- Jamie