Re: [PATCH] drm/doc: Add section in the introduction page about learning material

[Thomas Zimmermann <tzimmermann@suse.de>]

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Hi Javier,

thanks for this patch.

Acked-by: Thomas Zimmermann <tzimmermann@suse.de>

Find some ideas for consideration below.

Am 27.01.22 um 09:20 schrieb Javier Martinez Canillas:
> The Linux DRM subsystem supports complex graphics devices and it could be
> quite overwhelming for newcomers to learn about the subsystem's internals.
> 
> There are lots of useful talks, slides and articles available that can be
> used to get familiar with the needed concepts and ease the learning curve.
> 
> Add a section to the intro that contains these DRM introductory materials.
> 
> Suggested-by: Daniel Vetter <daniel.vetter@ffwll.ch>
> Signed-off-by: Javier Martinez Canillas <javierm@redhat.com>
> ---
> 
>   Documentation/gpu/introduction.rst | 36 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>   1 file changed, 36 insertions(+)
> 
> diff --git a/Documentation/gpu/introduction.rst b/Documentation/gpu/introduction.rst
> index 25a56e9c0cfd..35986784f916 100644
> --- a/Documentation/gpu/introduction.rst
> +++ b/Documentation/gpu/introduction.rst
> @@ -112,3 +112,39 @@ Please conduct yourself in a respectful and civilised manner when
>   interacting with community members on mailing lists, IRC, or bug
>   trackers. The community represents the project as a whole, and abusive
>   or bullying behaviour is not tolerated by the project.
> +
> +Learning material
> +=================

Maybe 'External References'.

> +
> +Since the Linux DRM layer supports complex graphics devices, it can be quite
> +overwhelming for newcomers to get familiar with all the needed concepts and
> +learn the subsystem's internals.

It sounds a bit intimdating to me. Can we give it a positive spin?

IMHO we could add a separate section that talks about complexity and 
provides guidelines about how to deal with it:  trivial HW? use simple 
pipe;  dedicated VRAM? try TTM;  awkward color formats?  see 
drm_format_helper.c

Best regards
Thomas

> +
> +To shallow the learning curve, this section contains a list of presentations
> +and documents that can be used to learn about DRM/KMS and graphics in general.
> +
> +The list is sorted in reverse chronological order, to keep the most up-to-date
> +material at the top. But all of them contain useful information, and it can be
> +valuable to go through older material to understand the rationale and context
> +in which the recent changes to the DRM subsystem were made.
> +
> +Talks
> +-----
> +
> +* `An Overview of the Linux and Userspace Graphics Stack <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjAJmqwg47k>`_ - Paul Kocialkowski (2020)
> +* `Getting pixels on screen on Linux: introduction to Kernel Mode Setting <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haes4_Xnc5Q>`_ - Simon Ser (2020)
> +* `An introduction to the Linux DRM subsystem <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbDOCJcDRoo>`_ - Maxime Ripard (2017)
> +* `Embrace the Atomic (Display) Age <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjiB_JeDn2M>`_ - Daniel Vetter (2016)
> +* `Anatomy of an Atomic KMS Driver <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lihqR9sENpc>`_ - Laurent Pinchart (2015)
> +* `Atomic Modesetting for Drivers <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kl9suFgbTc8>`_ - Daniel Vetter (2015)
> +* `Anatomy of an Embedded KMS Driver <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja8fM7rTae4>`_ - Laurent Pinchart (2013
> +
> +Slides and articles
> +-------------------
> +
> +* `Understanding the Linux Graphics Stack <https://bootlin.com/doc/training/graphics/graphics-slides.pdf>`_ - Bootlin (2022)
> +* `DRM KMS overview <https://wiki.st.com/stm32mpu/wiki/DRM_KMS_overview>`_ - STMicroelectronics (2021)
> +* `Linux graphic stack <https://studiopixl.com/2017-05-13/linux-graphic-stack-an-overview>`_ - Nathan Gauër (2017)
> +* `The DRM/KMS subsystem from a newbie’s point of view <https://bootlin.com/pub/conferences/2014/elce/brezillon-drm-kms/brezillon-drm-kms.pdf>`_ - Boris Brezillon (2014)
> +* `A brief introduction to the Linux graphics stack <https://blogs.igalia.com/itoral/2014/07/29/a-brief-introduction-to-the-linux-graphics-stack/>`_ - Iago Toral (2014)
> +* `The Linux Graphics Stack <https://blog.mecheye.net/2012/06/the-linux-graphics-stack/>`_ - Jasper St. Pierre (2012)

-- 
Thomas Zimmermann
Graphics Driver Developer
SUSE Software Solutions Germany GmbH
Maxfeldstr. 5, 90409 Nürnberg, Germany
(HRB 36809, AG Nürnberg)
Geschäftsführer: Ivo Totev

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