Proposal: new device-tree syntax and semantics for extendinginformation from included dts files

Grant Likely grant.likely at secretlab.ca
Sat Oct 16 07:11:53 EST 2010


On Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 1:59 PM, Stephen Neuendorffer
<stephen.neuendorffer at xilinx.com> wrote:
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: glikely at secretlab.ca [mailto:glikely at secretlab.ca] On Behalf Of Grant Likely
>> Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 12:56 PM
>> To: Stephen Neuendorffer
>> Cc: David Gibson; John Bonesio; devicetree-discuss at lists.ozlabs.org
>> Subject: Re: Proposal: new device-tree syntax and semantics for extendinginformation from included dts
>> files
>>
>> On Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 1:48 PM, Stephen Neuendorffer
>> <stephen.neuendorffer at xilinx.com> wrote:
>> >
>> >
>> >> -----Original Message-----
>> >> From: glikely at secretlab.ca [mailto:glikely at secretlab.ca] On Behalf Of Grant Likely
>> >> Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 12:33 PM
>> >> To: Stephen Neuendorffer
>> >> Cc: David Gibson; John Bonesio; devicetree-discuss at lists.ozlabs.org
>> >> Subject: Re: Proposal: new device-tree syntax and semantics for extendinginformation from included
>> dts
>> >> files
>> >>
>> >> On Fri, Oct 15, 2010 at 10:10 AM, Stephen Neuendorffer
>> >> <stephen.neuendorffer at xilinx.com> wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> >> -----Original Message-----
>> >> >> From: Grant Likely [mailto:glikely at secretlab.ca] On Behalf Of Grant
>> >> > Likely
>> >> >> Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 8:19 AM
>> >> >> To: Stephen Neuendorffer
>> >> >> Cc: David Gibson; John Bonesio; devicetree-discuss at lists.ozlabs.org
>> >> >> Subject: Re: Proposal: new device-tree syntax and semantics for
>> >> > extendinginformation from included dts
>> >> >> files
>> >> >>
>> >> >> On Thu, Oct 14, 2010 at 09:38:44AM -0700, Stephen Neuendorffer wrote:
>> >> >> [fixed quoting header]
>> >> >> > On Wed, Oct 13, 2010 5:46 PM, David Gibson wrote:
>> >> >> > > On Wed, Oct 13, 2010 at 04:41:59PM -0700, Stephen Neuendorffer
>> >> > wrote:
>> >> >> > > [snip]
>> >> >> > > > Or better yet, outside of the braces?
>> >> >> [...]
>> >> >> > > >             /remove/ {
>> >> >> > > >                                 serial at 2600 { };
>> >> > // PSC4
>> >> >> > > >
>> >> >> > > >                                 serial at 2800 { };
>> >> > // PSC5
>> >> >> > > >                 };
>> >> >> > >
>> >> >> > > Um.. no.  That makes even less sense in the conceptual framework
>> >> > of a
>> >> >> > > stack of overlays.
>> >> >> >
>> >> >> > Why exactly?  Instead of being a stack of overlays, it seems to me
>> >> > like
>> >> >> > a stack of trees with operators..
>> >> >> > The point is exactly that operators make most sense at the stack of
>> >> >> > trees level and not
>> >> >> > at the individual node level.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> I don't think I'm understanding what you're trying to say.  How do you
>> >> > differentiate "stack of
>> >> >> overlays" and "stack of trees"?
>> >> >>
>> >> >> The reason I don't like this approach is that in many cases many
>> >> >> things will need to be changed by a single overlay, and not all those
>> >> >> changes will be the same operation.  For example, an overlay for a
>> >> >> board could add a bunch of nodes for i2c devices, and at the same time
>> >> >> remove an unused spi bus device.
>> >> >
>> >> > So why not have two trees stacked to do the job?
>> >>
>> >> Umm, isn't the suggestion currently on the table?
>> >>
>> >> >> The "stack of overlays" conceptual model that we've settled on uses
>> >> >> the concept that subsequent top level trees stack on top of the
>> >> >> preceding tree and can mask out or add/change nodes and properties.
>> >> >> The trees are merged together before going on to the next top level
>> >> >> tree.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> g.
>> >> >>
>> >> >
>> >> > I guess I'm stuck on 'overlay' to me implies '/extend/', so I associate
>> >> > the operations being on trees, not individual nodes.
>> >> > (Although, there's still the tough part about /remove-node/ vs
>> >> > /remove-property/,
>> >> > which might meant that the operations have to be in the trees to
>> >> > distinguish that).
>> >>
>> >> Yes, the operations would need to be on the individual nodes; whether
>> >> operating on the top level node, or on one of the child nodes.  I
>> >> think some examples are in order....
>> >>
>> >> Just for argument, I'm going to assume that we define two new
>> >> keywords; /trim-property/ and /trim-node/.  The sole purpose of
>> >> /trim-property/ is to remove a property.  /trim-node/ can be used
>> >> either to either remove or replace a node.  We can still argue about
>> >> the name and the ordering, but the principle remains the same.
>> >>
>> >> Example 1: using full tree overlay
>> >> ---------
>> >> The following .dts file:
>> >>
>> >>       / {
>> >>               the-red: red {
>> >>                       rgb = <255 0 0>;
>> >>               };
>> >>               the-blue: blue {
>> >>                       rgb = <0 0 255>;
>> >>                       favourite-colour;
>> >>               };
>> >>               the-green: green {
>> >>                       rgb = <0 255 0>;
>> >>               };
>> >>       };
>> >>
>> >>       / {
>> >>               blue {
>> >>                       rgb = <0 0 127>;
>> >>                       /trim-property/ favourite-color;
>> >>               };
>> >>
>> >>               /trim-node/ green;
>> >>
>> >>               /trim-node/ red {
>> >>                       vendor = "Benjamin Moore"
>> >>               };
>> >>       };
>> >>
>> >> This example uses only one overlay tree.  It removes (trims) the
>> >> 'favourite-colour' property from the blue node.  It removes the
>> >> green node outright, and it replaced the red node.
>> >>
>> >> Would be collapse to:
>> >>
>> >>       / {
>> >>               the-red: red {
>> >>                       vendor = "Benjamin Moore"
>> >>               };
>> >>               the-blue: blue {
>> >>                       rgb = <0 0 127>;
>> >>               };
>> >>       };
>> >>
>> >> Example 2: using label references
>> >> ---------
>> >> The following .dts file:
>> >>
>> >>       / {
>> >>               the-red: red {
>> >>                       rgb = <255 0 0>;
>> >>                       firebrick {
>> >>                               rgb = <178 34 34>;
>> >>                       };
>> >>               };
>> >>               the-blue: blue {
>> >>                       rgb = <0 0 255>;
>> >>                       favourite-colour;
>> >>               };
>> >>               the-green: green {
>> >>                       rgb = <0 255 0>;
>> >>               };
>> >>       };
>> >>
>> >>       &the-red {
>> >>               rgb = <127 0 0>;
>> >>               pink {
>> >>                       rgb = <255 192 203;
>> >>               };
>> >>               /trim-node/ firebrick {
>> >>                       ugly-colour;
>> >>               };
>> >>       };
>> >>
>> >>       /trim-node/ &the-blue;
>> >>
>> >>       /trim-node/ &the-green {
>> >>               shade = "radioactive slime"
>> >>       };
>> >>
>> >> This example uses three overlay trees.  The first overlay
>> >> modified the node pointed to by the label "the-red". It changes the
>> >> rgb property, it adds a 'pink' node, and it *replaces* the firebrick
>> >> node (by using both the /trim-node/ keyword and a set of { }  braces).
>> >>
>> >> The second removes the node pointed to by "the-blue".
>> >>
>> >> The third replaces the node pointed to by "the-green".
>> >>
>> >> This tree collapses to:
>> >>
>> >>       / {
>> >>               the-red: red {
>> >>                       rgb = <127 0 0>;
>> >>                       pink {
>> >>                               rgb = <255 192 203>;
>> >>                       };
>> >>                       firebrick {
>> >>                               ugly-colour;
>> >>                       };
>> >>               };
>> >>               green {
>> >>                       shade = "radioactive slime"
>> >>               };
>> >>       };
>> >>
>> >> The /trim-node/ keyword in this model is valid at both the top level
>> >> and inside a node.  Properties can never be defined at the top level,
>> >> so /trim-property/ only makes sense inside a node.
>> >
>> > I think this all makes sense.. :)
>> >
>> > Maybe I can try to sum up in one sentence:
>> > The mental model is still one of overlays, but if a /trim-*/ attribute is present
>> > before a node or property, then the existing node or property is deleted before
>> > continuing the overlay.
>>
>> Good summary.
>>
>> g.
>
> Does
>
> / {
>     foo {
>         bar;
>     }
> }
>
> mean add an empty attribute bar or reference a possibly existing node bar and don't do anything to it?
> Or does it assert that a node bar exists?

It adds an empty attribute bar, or changes an existing bar property to be empty.

Both the forms "bar = foo;" and "bar;" always operate on a property.

foo {...}; is always a node.

The only exception is for the removal of a node.  ie. "/trim-node/
foo;"  The primary reason being it be confusing to show the braces
when the node will no longer exist.  There is also a syntactic
difference between "/trim-node/ foo" and "/trim-node/ foo { }" where
the former removes the node entirely and the later replaces it with an
empty node.

The grammer remains parse-able because the syntax only comes into play
when the /trim-node/ keyword appears at the beginning of a statement.

g.


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