[patch 2.6.21-rc7] kconfig mentioneds 'hibernation' not just swsusp

[patch 2.6.21-rc7] kconfig mentioneds 'hibernation' not just swsusp

[David Brownell]

Clarify that "software suspend" is what's called "hibernation" in most
user interfaces, shrinking a terminology gap.  (Examples include Gnome
and MS-Windows.)

Also provide a more succinct description of what it does, so you won't
have to read the whole novel in Kconfig; and highlights just why the
lack of BIOS requirements for swsusp are a big deal.

Signed-off-by: David Brownell <dbrownell@users.sourceforge.net>
---
 kernel/power/Kconfig |   11 ++++++++---
 1 file changed, 8 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

--- g26.orig/kernel/power/Kconfig	2007-04-21 10:07:18.000000000 -0700
+++ g26/kernel/power/Kconfig	2007-04-21 10:23:24.000000000 -0700
@@ -78,17 +78,22 @@ config PM_SYSFS_DEPRECATED
 	  are likely to be bus or driver specific.
 
 config SOFTWARE_SUSPEND
-	bool "Software Suspend"
+	bool "Software Suspend (Hibernation)"
 	depends on PM && SWAP && ((X86 && (!SMP || SUSPEND_SMP)) || ((FRV || PPC32) && !SMP))
 	---help---
-	  Enable the suspend to disk (STD) functionality.
+	  Enable the suspend to disk (STD) functionality, which is usually
+	  called "hibernation" in user interfaces.  STD checkpoints the
+	  system and powers it off; and restores that checkpoint on reboot.
 
 	  You can suspend your machine with 'echo disk > /sys/power/state'.
 	  Alternatively, you can use the additional userland tools available
 	  from <http://suspend.sf.net>.
 
 	  In principle it does not require ACPI or APM, although for example
-	  ACPI will be used if available.
+	  ACPI will be used for the final steps when it is available.  One
+	  of the reasons to use software suspend is that the firmware hooks
+	  for suspend states like suspend-to-RAM (STR) often don't work very
+	  well with Linux.
 
 	  It creates an image which is saved in your active swap. Upon the next
 	  boot, pass the 'resume=/dev/swappartition' argument to the kernel to

Re: [patch 2.6.21-rc7] kconfig mentioneds 'hibernation' not just swsusp

[Len Brown]

>  	  In principle it does not require ACPI or APM, although for example
> -	  ACPI will be used if available.
> +	  ACPI will be used for the final steps when it is available.  One
> +	  of the reasons to use software suspend is that the firmware hooks
> +	  for suspend states like suspend-to-RAM (STR) often don't work very
> +	  well with Linux.

I don't think the help section of a config options
is a good place for editorial.

-Len

Re: [patch 2.6.21-rc7] kconfig mentions 'hibernation' not just swsusp

[David Brownell]

On Saturday 21 April 2007, Len Brown wrote:
> 
> >  	  In principle it does not require ACPI or APM, although for example
> > -	  ACPI will be used if available.
> > +	  ACPI will be used for the final steps when it is available.  One
> > +	  of the reasons to use software suspend is that the firmware hooks
> > +	  for suspend states like suspend-to-RAM (STR) often don't work very
> > +	  well with Linux.
> 
> I don't think the help section of a config options
> is a good place for editorial.

That doesn't seem "editorial" to me though.  It's a basic
engineering truth that's repeatedly been borne out over many,
many years.  The point of help text in Kconfig is, to my
thought, to help people understand why to choose something
(or not); knowing that firmware hooks (not purely ACPI) are
a factor would seem to be such help.

If I'd wanted to be "editorial", I'd have said something
more like:

	It's too bad chip vendors' video support for S2RAM
	still sucks so badly, and hardly looks to improve,
	since ACPI has improved so much in recent kernels.

	Today the "standby" suspend state works with Linux
	on most systems that support it, as does the "disk"
	(software suspend) state.   But suspend to "mem" is
	what most people want, since it's a lot quieter (and
	more power efficient) than "standby", and comes back
	a lot quicker than "disk".

	Until vendors of graphics silicon start providing
	enough chip specs to let Linux systems reliably
	restart graphics after suspend-to-RAM, anyone who
	wants to us suspend-to-RAM is advised to be VERY
	selective about video card support.  Choose only
	among the following video devices:  <insert short
	list here ... who should be on it??>

See the difference?  :)

... and yes, there are other drivers that may need tweaks to
work better with STR, but video has been the forever-headache.

- Dave

Re: [patch 2.6.21-rc7] kconfig mentioneds 'hibernation' not just swsusp

[Rafael J. Wysocki]

On Sunday, 22 April 2007 05:02, David Brownell wrote:
> Clarify that "software suspend" is what's called "hibernation" in most
> user interfaces, shrinking a terminology gap.  (Examples include Gnome
> and MS-Windows.)
> 
> Also provide a more succinct description of what it does, so you won't
> have to read the whole novel in Kconfig; and highlights just why the
> lack of BIOS requirements for swsusp are a big deal.
> 
> Signed-off-by: David Brownell <dbrownell@users.sourceforge.net>

Fine by me.

Greetings,
Rafael

Re: [patch 2.6.21-rc7] kconfig mentioneds 'hibernation' not just swsusp

[Pavel Machek]

Hi!

> Clarify that "software suspend" is what's called "hibernation" in most
> user interfaces, shrinking a terminology gap.  (Examples include Gnome
> and MS-Windows.)
> 
> Also provide a more succinct description of what it does, so you won't
> have to read the whole novel in Kconfig; and highlights just why the
> lack of BIOS requirements for swsusp are a big deal.
> 
> Signed-off-by: David Brownell <dbrownell@users.sourceforge.net>

ACK.
								Pavel
-- 
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