[PATCH] RFC, watchdog: add generic wdt driver API

[Wolfram Sang]

Hi Wolfgang,

> > right, this additional API needs new drivers for all the watchdogs? Also, I
> > didn't fully get what you are missing from the combination of the current API
> > and additional userspace-handling? (check [1] for one example, not really

...

> But as Heikow wrote; this is a RFC patch, and the main purpose is to
> try to find out if it has a chance to go into mainline - several
> earlier attempts (which go back as far as 2002 - see for example [1],
> [2]) all failed with similar arguments like yours: "It's too complex,
> we already have watchdog support, nobody needs this". Funny enough
> that we have a number of customers who consider the existing wdt
> support unsufficient for their use cases.  We've been using it on all
> kinds on PPC systems, and now on ARM as well.

I never said the features are useless. I also didn't say you should do
everything in userspace. I asked because I wanted to know what exactly are the
things you are missing from what is possible today. So, this could maybe be
added to the current watchdog frameworks. Adding a new framework (with lots of
issues) and requiring a new set of drivers won't cut it.

Regards,

   Wolfram

-- 
Pengutronix e.K.                           | Wolfram Sang                |
Industrial Linux Solutions                 | http://www.pengutronix.de/  |
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