Re: [PATCH v2 0/2] gpio: create the /sys/class/gpio mount point with GPIO_SYSFS disabled

[Bartosz Golaszewski]

On Tue, Oct 15, 2024 at 2:46 PM Greg Kroah-Hartman
<gregkh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
> On Tue, Oct 15, 2024 at 02:11:45PM +0200, Bartosz Golaszewski wrote:
> > On Tue, Oct 15, 2024 at 11:30 AM Greg Kroah-Hartman
> > <gregkh@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > >
> > > >
> > > > Despite providing a number of user-space tools making using the GPIO
> > > > character device easier, it's become clear that some users just prefer
> > > > how the sysfs interface works and want to keep using it. Unless we can
> > > > provide a drop-in replacement, they will protest any attempts at
> > > > removing it from the kernel. As the GPIO sysfs module is the main user
> > > > of the global GPIO numberspace, we will not be able to remove it from
> > > > the kernel either.
> > >
> > > They should protest it's removal, and you should support it for forever,
> > > as that's the api that they rely on and you need to handle.  That's the
> > > joy of kernel development, you can't drop support for stuff people rely
> > > on, sorry.
> > >
> >
> > Yet every now and then some clearly bad decisions from the past are
> > amended by removing support for older interfaces. I'm not trying to
> > deprive people of something they rely on, I'm trying to provide a
> > drop-in replacement in user-space using an existing, better kernel
> > interface, so that we can get rid of the old one and - in the process
> > - improve the entire in-kernel GPIO support.
>
> How is emulating the existing sysfs api anything "better"?  It's still
> the same api.
>

The existence of the sysfs API in the kernel makes us stick to some
sub-optimal design decisions (like the global GPIO numberspace) that
we'll be able to entirely remove once sysfs is gone. We want people to
use the GPIO character device and if it takes a layer emulating the
old API on top of it to make them switch then it's still better than
keeping the API in the kernel.

> > > Sorry, just live with the kernel code please.  Work to get all userspace
> > > moved off of it if you feel it is so bad, and only then can you remove
> > > it.
> > >
> >
> > What if we just add a Kconfig option allowing to disable the sysfs
> > attributes inside /sys/class/gpio but keep the directory? It's not
> > like it's a new one, it's already there as a baked in interface.
>
> That's up to you, but again, please do not mount a filesystem there,
> that's going to cause nothing but problems in the end (like debugfs and
> tracefs and configfs do all the time when people get confused and start
> poking around in sysfs code looking for the logic involved in other
> places.)
>

Oh, I would never do it! I hope no user-space program ever comes up
with a crazy idea like that! :)

Bart