Re: [PATCH v3 1/3] pps: pps-gpio: split IRQ handler into hardirq and threaded parts

[David Laight]

On Thu, 9 Apr 2026 17:27:21 +0200
Michael Byczkowski <by@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> On PREEMPT_RT, all IRQ handlers are force-threaded. The current
> pps_gpio_irq_handler captures the PPS timestamp via pps_get_ts()
> inside the handler, but on RT this runs in thread context — after
> a scheduling delay that adds variable latency (jitter) to the
> timestamp.
> 
> Split the handler into a hardirq primary (pps_gpio_irq_hardirq)
> that only captures the timestamp, and a threaded handler
> (pps_gpio_irq_thread) that processes the event. With
> request_threaded_irq(), the primary handler runs in hardirq context
> even on PREEMPT_RT, preserving nanosecond timestamp precision.

What happens if the threaded irq handler doesn't run until after
the next (or more than one) hard irq?

Threaded irq really don't work well for timer interrupts at all.
They end up like buses - none come for ages and then they all
arrive at once.

	David

> 
> On non-RT kernels, request_threaded_irq with an explicit primary
> handler behaves identically to the previous request_irq call.