Re: [v4l-dvb-maintainer] Options depending on STANDALONE

[Adrian Bunk]

On Mon, Aug 14, 2006 at 02:15:26PM -0700, Trent Piepho wrote:
> On Sun, 13 Aug 2006, Adrian Bunk wrote:
> > On Sun, Aug 06, 2006 at 01:18:59PM +0200, Oliver Endriss wrote:
> > > Adrian Bunk wrote:
> > > > On Thu, Aug 03, 2006 at 04:40:25PM -0700, Trent Piepho wrote:
> > > > > On Thu, 3 Aug 2006, Adrian Bunk wrote:
> > > > > > On Thu, Aug 03, 2006 at 03:56:17PM -0400, Dave Jones wrote:
> > > > > > > You're describing PREVENT_FIRMWARE_BUILD.  The text Zach quoted is from
> > > > > > > STANDALONE, which is something else completely.  That allows us to not
> > > > > > > build drivers that pull in things from /etc and the like during compile.
> > > > > > > (Whoever thought that was a good idea?)
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Is DVB_AV7110_FIRMWARE really still required?
> > > > > > ALL other drivers work without such an option.
> > > > >
> > > > > The other DVB drivers that need firmware load it when the device is opened
> > > > > or used (ie.  a channel is tuned).  At least for the ones I'm familiar
> > > > > with.  If they are compiled directly into the kernel, they can still use
> > > > > FW_LOADER since the loading won't happen until utill well after booting is
> > > > > done.
> > > > >
> > > > > For AV7110, it looks like the firmware loading is done when the driver is
> > > > > first initialized.  If AV7110 is compiled into the kernel, FW_LOADER can
> > > > > not be used.  The filesystem with the firmware won't be mounted yet.
> > > > >
> > > > > So AV7110 has an option to compile a firmware file into the driver.
> > > >
> > > > But is there a technical reason why this has to be done this way?
> 
> Is there another way to load firmware in a driver compiled into the kernel?

The CONFIG_DVB_AV7110_FIRMWARE=n code should work fine.

> > > > This is the onle (non-OSS) driver doing it this way, and Zach has a
> > > > point that this is legally questionable.
> 
> I know there are other DVB drivers that can have firmware compiled in
> instead of using FW_LOADER.  They just don't show that ability in Kconfig,
> you have to edit the driver to enable compiled in firmware.
> 
> > > This option _is_ useful because it allows allows a user to build an
> > > av7110 driver without hotplug etc. I NAK any attempt to remove it.
> >
> > If you look at the dependencies of DVB_AV7110 and the code in av7110.c
> > you'll note that your statement "it allows allows a user to build an
> > av7110 driver without hotplug" is not true.
> 
> Looks like a mistake in the Kconfig file:
> -	select FW_LOADER
> +	select FW_LOADER if DVB_AV7110_FIRMWARE=n

Sure, it could be fixed.

But the fact that it didn't work doesn't create a strong reason for 
keeping it.

And the whole "kernel without hotplug" is anyway no longer possible in 
the usual CONFIG_EMBEDDED=n case.

cu
Adrian

-- 

       "Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out
        of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days.
       "Only a promise," Lao Er said.
                                       Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed

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