[PATCH] linux-firmware: add MISSING file

[PATCH] linux-firmware: add MISSING file

[Xose Vazquez Perez]

to document the reason why a firmware is not present

Cc: Daniel Drake <dsd@laptop.org>
Cc: Ulrich Kunitz <kune@deine-taler.de>
Cc: David Woodhouse <dwmw2@infradead.org>
Cc: Ben Hutchings <ben@decadent.org.uk>
Cc: <linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org>
Cc: <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Xose Vazquez Perez <xose.vazquez@gmail.com>
---
 MISSING | 20 ++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 20 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 MISSING

diff --git a/MISSING b/MISSING
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f228099
--- /dev/null
+++ b/MISSING
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+             ***********
+             * MISSING *
+             ***********
+
+This file attempts to document the reason why a firmware is not present
+in this bundle.
+
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Driver: zd1211rw -- ZyDAS/Atheros ZD1211/ZD1211B/AR5007UG wireless driver
+
+Trouble: Allegedly GPLv2, but no source visible. Found in hex form in the
+         vendor driver.
+
+URL: http://sf.net/projects/zd1211/files/
+
+Implication: CRITICAL, hardware undetected.
+
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
-- 
1.7.11.7

Re: [PATCH] linux-firmware: add MISSING file

[richard -rw- weinberger]

On Sat, Jan 12, 2013 at 11:39 PM, Xose Vazquez Perez
<xose.vazquez@gmail.com> wrote:
> to document the reason why a firmware is not present
>
> Cc: Daniel Drake <dsd@laptop.org>
> Cc: Ulrich Kunitz <kune@deine-taler.de>
> Cc: David Woodhouse <dwmw2@infradead.org>
> Cc: Ben Hutchings <ben@decadent.org.uk>
> Cc: <linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org>
> Cc: <linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org>
> Signed-off-by: Xose Vazquez Perez <xose.vazquez@gmail.com>
> ---
>  MISSING | 20 ++++++++++++++++++++
>  1 file changed, 20 insertions(+)
>  create mode 100644 MISSING
>
> diff --git a/MISSING b/MISSING
> new file mode 100644
> index 0000000..f228099
> --- /dev/null
> +++ b/MISSING
> @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
> +             ***********
> +             * MISSING *
> +             ***********
> +
> +This file attempts to document the reason why a firmware is not present
> +in this bundle.

>From the user's point of view this not really helpful.
Wouldn't a in-kernel table of known but missing firmware files make more sense?
The kernel could write a log like "Yeah, I know this firmware but
sadly I don't have it because of ..."

-- 
Thanks,
//richard

Re: [PATCH] linux-firmware: add MISSING file

[Pavel Roskin]

On Sun, 13 Jan 2013 00:09:46 +0100
richard -rw- weinberger <richard.weinberger@gmail.com> wrote:

> > +This file attempts to document the reason why a firmware is not
> > present +in this bundle.
> 
> From the user's point of view this not really helpful.
> Wouldn't a in-kernel table of known but missing firmware files make
> more sense? The kernel could write a log like "Yeah, I know this
> firmware but sadly I don't have it because of ..."

The firmware file may be absent on the system even if it's in the
linux-firmware tree.  Conversely, the firmware may be present on the
system but not in the linux-firmware tree.

The kernel doesn't know whether the firmware is missing due to
licensing issues or due to misconfiguration.  The kernel cannot know
that.  And I don't think the kernel should include as much information
as the MISSING file would include.

-- 
Regards,
Pavel Roskin

Re: [PATCH] linux-firmware: add MISSING file

[Ben Hutchings]

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On Mon, 2013-01-14 at 17:55 -0500, Pavel Roskin wrote:
> On Sun, 13 Jan 2013 00:09:46 +0100
> richard -rw- weinberger <richard.weinberger@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> > > +This file attempts to document the reason why a firmware is not
> > > present +in this bundle.
> > 
> > From the user's point of view this not really helpful.
> > Wouldn't a in-kernel table of known but missing firmware files make
> > more sense? The kernel could write a log like "Yeah, I know this
> > firmware but sadly I don't have it because of ..."
> 
> The firmware file may be absent on the system even if it's in the
> linux-firmware tree.  Conversely, the firmware may be present on the
> system but not in the linux-firmware tree.
> 
> The kernel doesn't know whether the firmware is missing due to
> licensing issues or due to misconfiguration.  The kernel cannot know
> that.  And I don't think the kernel should include as much information
> as the MISSING file would include.

I can see some value in an index explaining where to get firmware,
whether it's available from the copyright holder or some licensee or
must be extracted from Windows drivers with a particular tool.

I'm not sure whether linux-firmware.git is the right place for that,
though.  Would distributions include this in their packages and would
users be able to find it there?  Would a wiki page be more useful?

Putting my Debian hat, I can say that we don't distribute any of the
older files that are 'GPL but no source visible', while we do distribute
some files not included in linux-firmware.git that require click-wrap
licences.  I also prune files that aren't referenced by the kernel
version in any current release.  So a file that says what's missing from
linux-firmware.git would not be that useful to Debian users, for
example.

Ben.

-- 
Ben Hutchings
Q.  Which is the greater problem in the world today, ignorance or apathy?
A.  I don't know and I couldn't care less.

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