android_kernel_samsung_msm8976/Documentation/ABI
Stephen Boyd cfc16dd4db msm: SSR: Make restart level per-subsystem instead of global
Each subsystem would like to have its own say on what the restart
level should be for their particular device. Instead of having a
global knob that chooses the subsystem restart level, have a per
subsystem restart level so that each subsystem can choose their
own restart level. Do this by introducing a per-device sysfs knob
that can be written with a string indicating the restart level
for that device.

"SYSTEM" will reset the entire system when a subsystem crashes,
while "RELATED" will restart the subsystem and the group of
subsystems related to the subsystem that crashed. Independent
used to be possible, but we remove it here because it is
equivalent to "RELATED". Also independent restart can cause
confusion if the hardware really doesn't support independent
restart and the user attempts to choose the independent restart
level. Let's not expose broken options to userspace.

Some code was using get_restart_level() to determine the global
restart level. Luckily most of that code was doing purely
debugging things so just remove it and update the last few
callers to use a new device call, subsys_get_restart_level(), so
they can determine what userspace has chosen for their device.

Change-Id: If8f1d57a465cd1c763f1dd6b2cbd6083ff94bb99
Signed-off-by: Stephen Boyd <sboyd@codeaurora.org>
2013-09-04 16:09:25 -07:00
..
obsolete
removed
stable
testing msm: SSR: Make restart level per-subsystem instead of global 2013-09-04 16:09:25 -07:00
README

This directory attempts to document the ABI between the Linux kernel and
userspace, and the relative stability of these interfaces.  Due to the
everchanging nature of Linux, and the differing maturity levels, these
interfaces should be used by userspace programs in different ways.

We have four different levels of ABI stability, as shown by the four
different subdirectories in this location.  Interfaces may change levels
of stability according to the rules described below.

The different levels of stability are:

  stable/
	This directory documents the interfaces that the developer has
	defined to be stable.  Userspace programs are free to use these
	interfaces with no restrictions, and backward compatibility for
	them will be guaranteed for at least 2 years.  Most interfaces
	(like syscalls) are expected to never change and always be
	available.

  testing/
	This directory documents interfaces that are felt to be stable,
	as the main development of this interface has been completed.
	The interface can be changed to add new features, but the
	current interface will not break by doing this, unless grave
	errors or security problems are found in them.  Userspace
	programs can start to rely on these interfaces, but they must be
	aware of changes that can occur before these interfaces move to
	be marked stable.  Programs that use these interfaces are
	strongly encouraged to add their name to the description of
	these interfaces, so that the kernel developers can easily
	notify them if any changes occur (see the description of the
	layout of the files below for details on how to do this.)

  obsolete/
  	This directory documents interfaces that are still remaining in
	the kernel, but are marked to be removed at some later point in
	time.  The description of the interface will document the reason
	why it is obsolete and when it can be expected to be removed.

  removed/
	This directory contains a list of the old interfaces that have
	been removed from the kernel.

Every file in these directories will contain the following information:

What:		Short description of the interface
Date:		Date created
KernelVersion:	Kernel version this feature first showed up in.
Contact:	Primary contact for this interface (may be a mailing list)
Description:	Long description of the interface and how to use it.
Users:		All users of this interface who wish to be notified when
		it changes.  This is very important for interfaces in
		the "testing" stage, so that kernel developers can work
		with userspace developers to ensure that things do not
		break in ways that are unacceptable.  It is also
		important to get feedback for these interfaces to make
		sure they are working in a proper way and do not need to
		be changed further.


How things move between levels:

Interfaces in stable may move to obsolete, as long as the proper
notification is given.

Interfaces may be removed from obsolete and the kernel as long as the
documented amount of time has gone by.

Interfaces in the testing state can move to the stable state when the
developers feel they are finished.  They cannot be removed from the
kernel tree without going through the obsolete state first.

It's up to the developer to place their interfaces in the category they
wish for it to start out in.