[RFC] staging: ks7010: How to proceed with Spectec SDW-823 microSD driver

[RFC] staging: ks7010: How to proceed with Spectec SDW-823 microSD driver

[Philipp Hortmann]

Hi Wolfram,

you contributed a driver ks7010 to the staging subsystem in 2016.

In the first commit description you stated that you have not been able 
to connect to a WPA-protected network. Did you manage to connect to a 
WPA-protected network at a later time? Have you done any tests with this 
hardware in the years up to today?

I am asking because I tried to find a test device to test it. That is 
difficult in 2024.

Do you think the driver can be removed or should it stay in the mainline 
kernel?

Thanks for your response.

Bye Philipp

Re: [RFC] staging: ks7010: How to proceed with Spectec SDW-823 microSD driver

[Wolfram Sang]

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Hi Philipp,

> In the first commit description you stated that you have not been able to
> connect to a WPA-protected network. Did you manage to connect to a
> WPA-protected network at a later time? Have you done any tests with this
> hardware in the years up to today?

I was about to say I never connected to a WPA-network, but my
documentation says I actually did. Good documentation :)

https://elinux.org/Tests:SDIO-KS7010

About testing, when the first set of staging-cleanup patches came in, I
actually tested them. But after some weeks, I stopped doing that because
the amount of patches was just too high and the developers mostly too
inexperienced to understand potential side-effects of their changes. I
didn't have the bandwidth to educate them.

> I am asking because I tried to find a test device to test it. That is
> difficult in 2024.

I still have one or two cards. You could have one if you want. That
doesn't change the whole situation, of course.

> Do you think the driver can be removed or should it stay in the mainline
> kernel?

Frankly, I think it can be removed. When I upstreamed the code, it
served two purposes:

a) I needed to test SDIO communication on my back then recent boards.
   That worked, but I have other hardware now with SDIO on board.

b) there were different versions of KS7010 drivers floating on the net.
   I combined them into one and made sure it was easy to compile with
   upstream Linux. We have that definitive version in the history now.

As both purposes are fulfilled, I don't think we need to maintain this
code anymore. I couldn't imagine someone wants to convert it from WEXT
to cfg80211/nl80211 which would be needed for mainline.

Thanks and happy hacking,

   Wolfram


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[RFC] staging: gdm724x: How to proceed with drivers gdmtty and gdmulte

[Philipp Hortmann]

Dear Sirs,

Won Kang contributed a driver gdm724x to the Linux kernel staging 
subsystem in 2013. Have you done any tests with this hardware in the 
years up to today?

struct usb_device_id lists the following devices the driver can work with:
PID_GDM7240		0x8000
PID_GDM7243		0x9000

but on http://www.linux-usb.org/usb.ids I can only find:
0x1076  GCT Semiconductor, Inc.
	0x0031  Bluetooth Device
	0x0032  Bluetooth Device
	0x8002  LU150 LTE Modem [Yota LU150]

I am asking because I tried to find a test device to test it. That is 
difficult in 2024.

Do you think the driver can be removed or should it stay in the mainline 
kernel?

Thanks for your response.

Regards,

Philipp Hortmann

Re: [RFC] staging: gdm724x: How to proceed with drivers gdmtty and gdmulte

[Greg Kroah-Hartman]

On Wed, Apr 24, 2024 at 08:33:25PM +0200, Philipp Hortmann wrote:
> Dear Sirs,
> 
> Won Kang contributed a driver gdm724x to the Linux kernel staging subsystem
> in 2013. Have you done any tests with this hardware in the years up to
> today?
> 
> struct usb_device_id lists the following devices the driver can work with:
> PID_GDM7240		0x8000
> PID_GDM7243		0x9000
> 
> but on http://www.linux-usb.org/usb.ids I can only find:
> 0x1076  GCT Semiconductor, Inc.
> 	0x0031  Bluetooth Device
> 	0x0032  Bluetooth Device
> 	0x8002  LU150 LTE Modem [Yota LU150]

Note, not all USB devices (I would guess only a fraction) are listed in
the usb.ids file because USB devices are self-described (i.e. the
strings are in the device itself).  So don't go by the presence or not
of a device in this file to determine if it is "real" or not.

thanks,

greg k-h

[RFC] staging: gdm724x: Proposal to delete drivers gdmtty and gdmulte

[Philipp Hortmann]

Dear Sirs,

Won Kang from gct contributed the driver gdm724x to the Linux kernel 
staging subsystem in 2013.

The following points let me propose to delete the driver:
- This driver generates maintenance workload (for example  CVE)
- The manufacturer is not interested and does not care as Emails or 
inquiries, to support or involved persons of gct, got unanswered.
- Did not find a possibility to buy the chips.
- Did not find minimal documentation on the web.
- Did not find a device where it is build in and the user is able to 
install any Linux. Therefore it is not possible to do any testing of the 
driver from the community.
- No blog entries about anyone using the gdmtty and gdmulte.
- No response about usage of this drivers to the Email from April 2024
https://lore.kernel.org/all/78b521eb-4e89-4c01-8dfc-1fb990e6887d@gmail.com/

Thanks for any response about your thoughts.

Bye Philipp

Re: [RFC] staging: gdm724x: Proposal to delete drivers gdmtty and gdmulte

[Greg Kroah-Hartman]

On Sat, Sep 28, 2024 at 08:41:51AM +0200, Philipp Hortmann wrote:
> Dear Sirs,
> 
> Won Kang from gct contributed the driver gdm724x to the Linux kernel staging
> subsystem in 2013.
> 
> The following points let me propose to delete the driver:
> - This driver generates maintenance workload (for example  CVE)
> - The manufacturer is not interested and does not care as Emails or
> inquiries, to support or involved persons of gct, got unanswered.
> - Did not find a possibility to buy the chips.
> - Did not find minimal documentation on the web.
> - Did not find a device where it is build in and the user is able to install
> any Linux. Therefore it is not possible to do any testing of the driver from
> the community.
> - No blog entries about anyone using the gdmtty and gdmulte.
> - No response about usage of this drivers to the Email from April 2024
> https://lore.kernel.org/all/78b521eb-4e89-4c01-8dfc-1fb990e6887d@gmail.com/
> 
> Thanks for any response about your thoughts.

Sounds good, let's delete it, send me a patch and I'll be glad to take
it.

thanks,

greg k-h