diff mbox series

[V3] dt-bindings: nvmem: add U-Boot environment variables binding

Message ID 20220228131250.16943-1-zajec5@gmail.com
State New
Headers show
Series [V3] dt-bindings: nvmem: add U-Boot environment variables binding | expand

Commit Message

Rafał Miłecki Feb. 28, 2022, 1:12 p.m. UTC
From: Rafał Miłecki <rafal@milecki.pl>

U-Boot uses environment variables for storing device setup data. It
usually needs to be accessed by a bootloader, kernel and often
user-space.

This binding allows describing environment data located in a raw flash
partition. It's treated as NVMEM device and can be reused later for
other storage devices.

Using DT should be cleaner than hardcoding & duplicating such info in
multiple places. Bootloader & kernel can share DTS and user-space can
try reading it too or just have correct data exposed by a kernel.

A custom "compatible" string allows system to automatically load
relevant NVMEM driver but phandle can be also used for reading raw
location.

Signed-off-by: Rafał Miłecki <rafal@milecki.pl>
---
V2: Update descriptions to don't make this binding MTD (flash partition)
    specific. Mention multiple possible storage ways.
V3: Drop
    allOf:
      - $ref: nvmem.yaml#
    as we don't use anything rom the nvmem.yaml. Thanks Rob.
---
 .../devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml | 62 +++++++++++++++++++
 MAINTAINERS                                   |  5 ++
 2 files changed, 67 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml

Comments

Rafał Miłecki March 9, 2022, 2:06 p.m. UTC | #1
On 9.03.2022 14:42, Michal Simek wrote:
> On 2/28/22 14:12, Rafał Miłecki wrote:
>> From: Rafał Miłecki <rafal@milecki.pl>
>>
>> U-Boot uses environment variables for storing device setup data. It
>> usually needs to be accessed by a bootloader, kernel and often
>> user-space.
>>
>> This binding allows describing environment data located in a raw flash
>> partition. It's treated as NVMEM device and can be reused later for
>> other storage devices.
>>
>> Using DT should be cleaner than hardcoding & duplicating such info in
>> multiple places. Bootloader & kernel can share DTS and user-space can
>> try reading it too or just have correct data exposed by a kernel.
>>
>> A custom "compatible" string allows system to automatically load
>> relevant NVMEM driver but phandle can be also used for reading raw
>> location.
>>
>> Signed-off-by: Rafał Miłecki <rafal@milecki.pl>
>> ---
>> V2: Update descriptions to don't make this binding MTD (flash partition)
>>      specific. Mention multiple possible storage ways.
>> V3: Drop
>>      allOf:
>>        - $ref: nvmem.yaml#
>>      as we don't use anything rom the nvmem.yaml. Thanks Rob.
>> ---
>>   .../devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml | 62 +++++++++++++++++++
>>   MAINTAINERS                                   |  5 ++
>>   2 files changed, 67 insertions(+)
>>   create mode 100644 Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml
>>
>> diff --git a/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml b/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml
>> new file mode 100644
>> index 000000000000..e70b2a60cb9a
>> --- /dev/null
>> +++ b/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml
>> @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
>> +# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only OR BSD-2-Clause
>> +%YAML 1.2
>> +---
>> +$id: http://devicetree.org/schemas/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml#
>> +$schema: http://devicetree.org/meta-schemas/core.yaml#
>> +
>> +title: U-Boot environment variables
>> +
>> +description: |
>> +  U-Boot uses environment variables to store device parameters and
>> +  configuration. They may be used for booting process, setup or keeping end user
>> +  info.
>> +
>> +  Data is stored using U-Boot specific formats (variant specific header and NUL
>> +  separated key-value pairs).
>> +
>> +  Environment data can be stored on various storage entities, e.g.:
>> +  1. Raw flash partition
>> +  2. UBI volume
>> +
>> +  This binding allows marking storage device (as containing env data) and
>> +  specifying used format.
>> +
>> +  Right now only flash partition case is covered but it may be extended to e.g.
>> +  UBI volumes in the future.
>> +
>> +maintainers:
>> +  - Rafał Miłecki <rafal@milecki.pl>
>> +
>> +properties:
>> +  compatible:
>> +    oneOf:
>> +      - description: A standalone env data block
>> +        const: u-boot,env
>> +      - description: Two redundant blocks with active one flagged
>> +        const: u-boot,env-redundant-bool
>> +      - description: Two redundant blocks with active having higher counter
>> +        const: u-boot,env-redundant-count
>> +
>> +  reg:
>> +    maxItems: 1
>> +
>> +additionalProperties: false
>> +
>> +examples:
>> +  - |
>> +    partitions {
>> +        compatible = "fixed-partitions";
>> +        #address-cells = <1>;
>> +        #size-cells = <1>;
>> +
>> +        partition@0 {
>> +            reg = <0x0 0x40000>;
>> +            label = "u-boot";
>> +            read-only;
>> +        };
>> +
>> +        env: partition@40000 {
>> +            compatible = "u-boot,env";
>> +            reg = <0x40000 0x10000>;
>> +        };
>> +    };
>> diff --git a/MAINTAINERS b/MAINTAINERS
>> index db8052bc1d26..24fc181a7e6c 100644
>> --- a/MAINTAINERS
>> +++ b/MAINTAINERS
>> @@ -19958,6 +19958,11 @@ W:    http://linuxtv.org
>>   T:    git git://linuxtv.org/media_tree.git
>>   F:    drivers/media/pci/tw686x/
>> +U-BOOT ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
>> +M:    Rafał Miłecki <rafal@milecki.pl>
>> +S:    Maintained
>> +F:    Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml
>> +
>>   UACCE ACCELERATOR FRAMEWORK
>>   M:    Zhangfei Gao <zhangfei.gao@linaro.org>
>>   M:    Zhou Wang <wangzhou1@hisilicon.com>
> 
> I think that parsing these partitions is quite sw intensive process and I can't still see the value to have compatible string here.
> I would prefer to have just any link from u-boot node to partition instead.
> 
> But up to Simon or Tom to decide.

In the first place DT should describe hardware / platform / device as it
is. Without taking shortcuts. If environment data can be stored in flash
device partition it should be described exactly as that.

Systems like Linux can benefit from that.

If some systems (e.g. a bootloader - U-Boot or any other one) can't
afford parsing / covering whole DT structure due to some limitations -
then we can come with helpers. I've no objections here.

In dt-schema [1] we have place for U-Boot specific options. Please see
0986f729eff0 ("dt-bindings: u-boot: Add an initial binding for config").

We can add support e.g. for
u-boot {
         (...)
         u-boot,env = <&env>;
};

[1] https://github.com/devicetree-org/dt-schema
[2] https://github.com/devicetree-org/dt-schema/commit/0986f729eff0f40a66e85ab9dfb37681bf025ac4
Rob Herring (Arm) March 9, 2022, 3:40 p.m. UTC | #2
On Wed, Mar 09, 2022 at 02:42:43PM +0100, Michal Simek wrote:
> 
> 
> On 2/28/22 14:12, Rafał Miłecki wrote:
> > From: Rafał Miłecki <rafal@milecki.pl>
> > 
> > U-Boot uses environment variables for storing device setup data. It
> > usually needs to be accessed by a bootloader, kernel and often
> > user-space.
> > 
> > This binding allows describing environment data located in a raw flash
> > partition. It's treated as NVMEM device and can be reused later for
> > other storage devices.
> > 
> > Using DT should be cleaner than hardcoding & duplicating such info in
> > multiple places. Bootloader & kernel can share DTS and user-space can
> > try reading it too or just have correct data exposed by a kernel.
> > 
> > A custom "compatible" string allows system to automatically load
> > relevant NVMEM driver but phandle can be also used for reading raw
> > location.
> > 
> > Signed-off-by: Rafał Miłecki <rafal@milecki.pl>
> > ---
> > V2: Update descriptions to don't make this binding MTD (flash partition)
> >      specific. Mention multiple possible storage ways.
> > V3: Drop
> >      allOf:
> >        - $ref: nvmem.yaml#
> >      as we don't use anything rom the nvmem.yaml. Thanks Rob.
> > ---
> >   .../devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml | 62 +++++++++++++++++++
> >   MAINTAINERS                                   |  5 ++
> >   2 files changed, 67 insertions(+)
> >   create mode 100644 Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml
> > 
> > diff --git a/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml b/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml
> > new file mode 100644
> > index 000000000000..e70b2a60cb9a
> > --- /dev/null
> > +++ b/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml
> > @@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
> > +# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only OR BSD-2-Clause
> > +%YAML 1.2
> > +---
> > +$id: http://devicetree.org/schemas/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml#
> > +$schema: http://devicetree.org/meta-schemas/core.yaml#
> > +
> > +title: U-Boot environment variables
> > +
> > +description: |
> > +  U-Boot uses environment variables to store device parameters and
> > +  configuration. They may be used for booting process, setup or keeping end user
> > +  info.
> > +
> > +  Data is stored using U-Boot specific formats (variant specific header and NUL
> > +  separated key-value pairs).
> > +
> > +  Environment data can be stored on various storage entities, e.g.:
> > +  1. Raw flash partition
> > +  2. UBI volume
> > +
> > +  This binding allows marking storage device (as containing env data) and
> > +  specifying used format.
> > +
> > +  Right now only flash partition case is covered but it may be extended to e.g.
> > +  UBI volumes in the future.
> > +
> > +maintainers:
> > +  - Rafał Miłecki <rafal@milecki.pl>
> > +
> > +properties:
> > +  compatible:
> > +    oneOf:
> > +      - description: A standalone env data block
> > +        const: u-boot,env
> > +      - description: Two redundant blocks with active one flagged
> > +        const: u-boot,env-redundant-bool
> > +      - description: Two redundant blocks with active having higher counter
> > +        const: u-boot,env-redundant-count
> > +
> > +  reg:
> > +    maxItems: 1
> > +
> > +additionalProperties: false
> > +
> > +examples:
> > +  - |
> > +    partitions {
> > +        compatible = "fixed-partitions";
> > +        #address-cells = <1>;
> > +        #size-cells = <1>;
> > +
> > +        partition@0 {
> > +            reg = <0x0 0x40000>;
> > +            label = "u-boot";
> > +            read-only;
> > +        };
> > +
> > +        env: partition@40000 {
> > +            compatible = "u-boot,env";
> > +            reg = <0x40000 0x10000>;
> > +        };
> > +    };
> > diff --git a/MAINTAINERS b/MAINTAINERS
> > index db8052bc1d26..24fc181a7e6c 100644
> > --- a/MAINTAINERS
> > +++ b/MAINTAINERS
> > @@ -19958,6 +19958,11 @@ W:	http://linuxtv.org
> >   T:	git git://linuxtv.org/media_tree.git
> >   F:	drivers/media/pci/tw686x/
> > +U-BOOT ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
> > +M:	Rafał Miłecki <rafal@milecki.pl>
> > +S:	Maintained
> > +F:	Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml
> > +
> >   UACCE ACCELERATOR FRAMEWORK
> >   M:	Zhangfei Gao <zhangfei.gao@linaro.org>
> >   M:	Zhou Wang <wangzhou1@hisilicon.com>
> 
> I think that parsing these partitions is quite sw intensive process and I
> can't still see the value to have compatible string here.

It's always good to know what a node represents.

> I would prefer to have just any link from u-boot node to partition instead.

That's a separate issue and having 'compatible' in no way disallows 
that.

Rob
diff mbox series

Patch

diff --git a/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml b/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..e70b2a60cb9a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@ 
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only OR BSD-2-Clause
+%YAML 1.2
+---
+$id: http://devicetree.org/schemas/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml#
+$schema: http://devicetree.org/meta-schemas/core.yaml#
+
+title: U-Boot environment variables
+
+description: |
+  U-Boot uses environment variables to store device parameters and
+  configuration. They may be used for booting process, setup or keeping end user
+  info.
+
+  Data is stored using U-Boot specific formats (variant specific header and NUL
+  separated key-value pairs).
+
+  Environment data can be stored on various storage entities, e.g.:
+  1. Raw flash partition
+  2. UBI volume
+
+  This binding allows marking storage device (as containing env data) and
+  specifying used format.
+
+  Right now only flash partition case is covered but it may be extended to e.g.
+  UBI volumes in the future.
+
+maintainers:
+  - Rafał Miłecki <rafal@milecki.pl>
+
+properties:
+  compatible:
+    oneOf:
+      - description: A standalone env data block
+        const: u-boot,env
+      - description: Two redundant blocks with active one flagged
+        const: u-boot,env-redundant-bool
+      - description: Two redundant blocks with active having higher counter
+        const: u-boot,env-redundant-count
+
+  reg:
+    maxItems: 1
+
+additionalProperties: false
+
+examples:
+  - |
+    partitions {
+        compatible = "fixed-partitions";
+        #address-cells = <1>;
+        #size-cells = <1>;
+
+        partition@0 {
+            reg = <0x0 0x40000>;
+            label = "u-boot";
+            read-only;
+        };
+
+        env: partition@40000 {
+            compatible = "u-boot,env";
+            reg = <0x40000 0x10000>;
+        };
+    };
diff --git a/MAINTAINERS b/MAINTAINERS
index db8052bc1d26..24fc181a7e6c 100644
--- a/MAINTAINERS
+++ b/MAINTAINERS
@@ -19958,6 +19958,11 @@  W:	http://linuxtv.org
 T:	git git://linuxtv.org/media_tree.git
 F:	drivers/media/pci/tw686x/
 
+U-BOOT ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
+M:	Rafał Miłecki <rafal@milecki.pl>
+S:	Maintained
+F:	Documentation/devicetree/bindings/nvmem/u-boot,env.yaml
+
 UACCE ACCELERATOR FRAMEWORK
 M:	Zhangfei Gao <zhangfei.gao@linaro.org>
 M:	Zhou Wang <wangzhou1@hisilicon.com>