[PATCH 2/2] DTC: Inherit all of the Device Tree Compiler technical descriptions
Jon Loeliger
jdl at freescale.com
Thu Jul 12 07:46:11 EST 2007
From: Jon Loeliger <jdl at freescale.com>
out of the kernel's Documentation/powerpc/booting-without-of.txt.
Signed-off-by: Jon Loeliger <jdl at freescale.com>
---
Documentation/manual.txt | 493 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
1 files changed, 493 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
create mode 100644 Documentation/manual.txt
diff --git a/Documentation/manual.txt b/Documentation/manual.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6f57f16
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/manual.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,493 @@
+Device Tree Compiler Manual
+===========================
+
+ I - "dtc", the device tree compiler
+
+
+ II - The DT block format
+ 1) Header
+ 2) Device tree generalities
+ 3) Device tree "structure" block
+ 4) Device tree "strings" block
+
+
+
+I - "dtc", the device tree compiler
+===================================
+
+dtc source code can be found at
+<http://ozlabs.org/~dgibson/dtc/dtc.tar.gz>
+
+WARNING: This version is still in early development stage; the
+resulting device-tree "blobs" have not yet been validated with the
+kernel. The current generated bloc lacks a useful reserve map (it will
+be fixed to generate an empty one, it's up to the bootloader to fill
+it up) among others. The error handling needs work, bugs are lurking,
+etc...
+
+dtc basically takes a device-tree in a given format and outputs a
+device-tree in another format. The currently supported formats are:
+
+ Input formats:
+ -------------
+
+ - "dtb": "blob" format, that is a flattened device-tree block
+ with
+ header all in a binary blob.
+ - "dts": "source" format. This is a text file containing a
+ "source" for a device-tree. The format is defined later in this
+ chapter.
+ - "fs" format. This is a representation equivalent to the
+ output of /proc/device-tree, that is nodes are directories and
+ properties are files
+
+ Output formats:
+ ---------------
+
+ - "dtb": "blob" format
+ - "dts": "source" format
+ - "asm": assembly language file. This is a file that can be
+ sourced by gas to generate a device-tree "blob". That file can
+ then simply be added to your Makefile. Additionally, the
+ assembly file exports some symbols that can be used.
+
+
+The syntax of the dtc tool is
+
+ dtc [-I <input-format>] [-O <output-format>]
+ [-o output-filename] [-V output_version] input_filename
+
+
+The "output_version" defines what version of the "blob" format will be
+generated. Supported versions are 1,2,3 and 16. The default is
+currently version 3 but that may change in the future to version 16.
+
+Additionally, dtc performs various sanity checks on the tree, like the
+uniqueness of linux, phandle properties, validity of strings, etc...
+
+The format of the .dts "source" file is "C" like, supports C and C++
+style comments.
+
+/ {
+}
+
+The above is the "device-tree" definition. It's the only statement
+supported currently at the toplevel.
+
+/ {
+ property1 = "string_value"; /* define a property containing a 0
+ * terminated string
+ */
+
+ property2 = <1234abcd>; /* define a property containing a
+ * numerical 32-bit value (hexadecimal)
+ */
+
+ property3 = <12345678 12345678 deadbeef>;
+ /* define a property containing 3
+ * numerical 32-bit values (cells) in
+ * hexadecimal
+ */
+ property4 = [0a 0b 0c 0d de ea ad be ef];
+ /* define a property whose content is
+ * an arbitrary array of bytes
+ */
+
+ childnode at addresss { /* define a child node named "childnode"
+ * whose unit name is "childnode at
+ * address"
+ */
+
+ childprop = "hello\n"; /* define a property "childprop" of
+ * childnode (in this case, a string)
+ */
+ };
+};
+
+Nodes can contain other nodes etc... thus defining the hierarchical
+structure of the tree.
+
+Strings support common escape sequences from C: "\n", "\t", "\r",
+"\(octal value)", "\x(hex value)".
+
+It is also suggested that you pipe your source file through cpp (gcc
+preprocessor) so you can use #include's, #define for constants, etc...
+
+Finally, various options are planned but not yet implemented, like
+automatic generation of phandles, labels (exported to the asm file so
+you can point to a property content and change it easily from whatever
+you link the device-tree with), label or path instead of numeric value
+in some cells to "point" to a node (replaced by a phandle at compile
+time), export of reserve map address to the asm file, ability to
+specify reserve map content at compile time, etc...
+
+We may provide a .h include file with common definitions of that
+proves useful for some properties (like building PCI properties or
+interrupt maps) though it may be better to add a notion of struct
+definitions to the compiler...
+
+
+
+II - The DT block format
+========================
+
+This chapter defines the actual format of the flattened device-tree
+passed to the kernel. The actual content of it and kernel requirements
+are described later. You can find example of code manipulating that
+format in various places, including arch/powerpc/kernel/prom_init.c
+which will generate a flattened device-tree from the Open Firmware
+representation, or the fs2dt utility which is part of the kexec tools
+which will generate one from a filesystem representation. It is
+expected that a bootloader like uboot provides a bit more support,
+that will be discussed later as well.
+
+Note: The block has to be in main memory. It has to be accessible in
+both real mode and virtual mode with no mapping other than main
+memory. If you are writing a simple flash bootloader, it should copy
+the block to RAM before passing it to the kernel.
+
+
+1) Header
+---------
+
+ The kernel is entered with r3 pointing to an area of memory that is
+ roughly described in include/asm-powerpc/prom.h by the structure
+ boot_param_header:
+
+struct boot_param_header {
+ u32 magic; /* magic word OF_DT_HEADER */
+ u32 totalsize; /* total size of DT block */
+ u32 off_dt_struct; /* offset to structure */
+ u32 off_dt_strings; /* offset to strings */
+ u32 off_mem_rsvmap; /* offset to memory reserve map
+ */
+ u32 version; /* format version */
+ u32 last_comp_version; /* last compatible version */
+
+ /* version 2 fields below */
+ u32 boot_cpuid_phys; /* Which physical CPU id we're
+ booting on */
+ /* version 3 fields below */
+ u32 size_dt_strings; /* size of the strings block */
+
+ /* version 17 fields below */
+ u32 size_dt_struct; /* size of the DT structure block */
+};
+
+ Along with the constants:
+
+/* Definitions used by the flattened device tree */
+#define OF_DT_HEADER 0xd00dfeed /* 4: version,
+ 4: total size */
+#define OF_DT_BEGIN_NODE 0x1 /* Start node: full name
+ */
+#define OF_DT_END_NODE 0x2 /* End node */
+#define OF_DT_PROP 0x3 /* Property: name off,
+ size, content */
+#define OF_DT_END 0x9
+
+ All values in this header are in big endian format, the various
+ fields in this header are defined more precisely below. All
+ "offset" values are in bytes from the start of the header; that is
+ from the value of r3.
+
+ - magic
+
+ This is a magic value that "marks" the beginning of the
+ device-tree block header. It contains the value 0xd00dfeed and is
+ defined by the constant OF_DT_HEADER
+
+ - totalsize
+
+ This is the total size of the DT block including the header. The
+ "DT" block should enclose all data structures defined in this
+ chapter (who are pointed to by offsets in this header). That is,
+ the device-tree structure, strings, and the memory reserve map.
+
+ - off_dt_struct
+
+ This is an offset from the beginning of the header to the start
+ of the "structure" part the device tree. (see 2) device tree)
+
+ - off_dt_strings
+
+ This is an offset from the beginning of the header to the start
+ of the "strings" part of the device-tree
+
+ - off_mem_rsvmap
+
+ This is an offset from the beginning of the header to the start
+ of the reserved memory map. This map is a list of pairs of 64-
+ bit integers. Each pair is a physical address and a size. The
+ list is terminated by an entry of size 0. This map provides the
+ kernel with a list of physical memory areas that are "reserved"
+ and thus not to be used for memory allocations, especially during
+ early initialization. The kernel needs to allocate memory during
+ boot for things like un-flattening the device-tree, allocating an
+ MMU hash table, etc... Those allocations must be done in such a
+ way to avoid overriding critical things like, on Open Firmware
+ capable machines, the RTAS instance, or on some pSeries, the TCE
+ tables used for the iommu. Typically, the reserve map should
+ contain _at least_ this DT block itself (header,total_size). If
+ you are passing an initrd to the kernel, you should reserve it as
+ well. You do not need to reserve the kernel image itself. The map
+ should be 64-bit aligned.
+
+ - version
+
+ This is the version of this structure. Version 1 stops
+ here. Version 2 adds an additional field boot_cpuid_phys.
+ Version 3 adds the size of the strings block, allowing the kernel
+ to reallocate it easily at boot and free up the unused flattened
+ structure after expansion. Version 16 introduces a new more
+ "compact" format for the tree itself that is however not backward
+ compatible. Version 17 adds an additional field, size_dt_struct,
+ allowing it to be reallocated or moved more easily (this is
+ particularly useful for bootloaders which need to make
+ adjustments to a device tree based on probed information). You
+ should always generate a structure of the highest version defined
+ at the time of your implementation. Currently that is version 17,
+ unless you explicitly aim at being backward compatible.
+
+ - last_comp_version
+
+ Last compatible version. This indicates down to what version of
+ the DT block you are backward compatible. For example, version 2
+ is backward compatible with version 1 (that is, a kernel build
+ for version 1 will be able to boot with a version 2 format). You
+ should put a 1 in this field if you generate a device tree of
+ version 1 to 3, or 16 if you generate a tree of version 16 or 17
+ using the new unit name format.
+
+ - boot_cpuid_phys
+
+ This field only exist on version 2 headers. It indicate which
+ physical CPU ID is calling the kernel entry point. This is used,
+ among others, by kexec. If you are on an SMP system, this value
+ should match the content of the "reg" property of the CPU node in
+ the device-tree corresponding to the CPU calling the kernel entry
+ point (see further chapters for more informations on the required
+ device-tree contents)
+
+ - size_dt_strings
+
+ This field only exists on version 3 and later headers. It
+ gives the size of the "strings" section of the device tree (which
+ starts at the offset given by off_dt_strings).
+
+ - size_dt_struct
+
+ This field only exists on version 17 and later headers. It gives
+ the size of the "structure" section of the device tree (which
+ starts at the offset given by off_dt_struct).
+
+ So the typical layout of a DT block (though the various parts don't
+ need to be in that order) looks like this (addresses go from top to
+ bottom):
+
+
+ ------------------------------
+ r3 -> | struct boot_param_header |
+ ------------------------------
+ | (alignment gap) (*) |
+ ------------------------------
+ | memory reserve map |
+ ------------------------------
+ | (alignment gap) |
+ ------------------------------
+ | |
+ | device-tree structure |
+ | |
+ ------------------------------
+ | (alignment gap) |
+ ------------------------------
+ | |
+ | device-tree strings |
+ | |
+ -----> ------------------------------
+ |
+ |
+ --- (r3 + totalsize)
+
+ (*) The alignment gaps are not necessarily present; their presence
+ and size are dependent on the various alignment requirements of
+ the individual data blocks.
+
+
+2) Device tree generalities
+---------------------------
+
+This device-tree itself is separated in two different blocks, a
+structure block and a strings block. Both need to be aligned to a 4
+byte boundary.
+
+First, let's quickly describe the device-tree concept before detailing
+the storage format. This chapter does _not_ describe the detail of the
+required types of nodes & properties for the kernel, this is done
+later in chapter III.
+
+The device-tree layout is strongly inherited from the definition of
+the Open Firmware IEEE 1275 device-tree. It's basically a tree of
+nodes, each node having two or more named properties. A property can
+have a value or not.
+
+It is a tree, so each node has one and only one parent except for the
+root node who has no parent.
+
+A node has 2 names. The actual node name is generally contained in a
+property of type "name" in the node property list whose value is a
+zero terminated string and is mandatory for version 1 to 3 of the
+format definition (as it is in Open Firmware). Version 16 makes it
+optional as it can generate it from the unit name defined below.
+
+There is also a "unit name" that is used to differentiate nodes with
+the same name at the same level, it is usually made of the node
+names, the "@" sign, and a "unit address", which definition is
+specific to the bus type the node sits on.
+
+The unit name doesn't exist as a property per-se but is included in
+the device-tree structure. It is typically used to represent "path" in
+the device-tree. More details about the actual format of these will be
+below.
+
+The kernel powerpc generic code does not make any formal use of the
+unit address (though some board support code may do) so the only real
+requirement here for the unit address is to ensure uniqueness of
+the node unit name at a given level of the tree. Nodes with no notion
+of address and no possible sibling of the same name (like /memory or
+/cpus) may omit the unit address in the context of this specification,
+or use the "@0" default unit address. The unit name is used to define
+a node "full path", which is the concatenation of all parent node
+unit names separated with "/".
+
+The root node doesn't have a defined name, and isn't required to have
+a name property either if you are using version 3 or earlier of the
+format. It also has no unit address (no @ symbol followed by a unit
+address). The root node unit name is thus an empty string. The full
+path to the root node is "/".
+
+Every node which actually represents an actual device (that is, a node
+which isn't only a virtual "container" for more nodes, like "/cpus"
+is) is also required to have a "device_type" property indicating the
+type of node .
+
+Finally, every node that can be referenced from a property in another
+node is required to have a "linux,phandle" property. Real open
+firmware implementations provide a unique "phandle" value for every
+node that the "prom_init()" trampoline code turns into
+"linux,phandle" properties. However, this is made optional if the
+flattened device tree is used directly. An example of a node
+referencing another node via "phandle" is when laying out the
+interrupt tree which will be described in a further version of this
+document.
+
+This "linux, phandle" property is a 32-bit value that uniquely
+identifies a node. You are free to use whatever values or system of
+values, internal pointers, or whatever to generate these, the only
+requirement is that every node for which you provide that property has
+a unique value for it.
+
+Here is an example of a simple device-tree. In this example, an "o"
+designates a node followed by the node unit name. Properties are
+presented with their name followed by their content. "content"
+represents an ASCII string (zero terminated) value, while <content>
+represents a 32-bit hexadecimal value. The various nodes in this
+example will be discussed in a later chapter. At this point, it is
+only meant to give you a idea of what a device-tree looks like. I have
+purposefully kept the "name" and "linux,phandle" properties which
+aren't necessary in order to give you a better idea of what the tree
+looks like in practice.
+
+ / o device-tree
+ |- name = "device-tree"
+ |- model = "MyBoardName"
+ |- compatible = "MyBoardFamilyName"
+ |- #address-cells = <2>
+ |- #size-cells = <2>
+ |- linux,phandle = <0>
+ |
+ o cpus
+ | | - name = "cpus"
+ | | - linux,phandle = <1>
+ | | - #address-cells = <1>
+ | | - #size-cells = <0>
+ | |
+ | o PowerPC,970 at 0
+ | |- name = "PowerPC,970"
+ | |- device_type = "cpu"
+ | |- reg = <0>
+ | |- clock-frequency = <5f5e1000>
+ | |- 64-bit
+ | |- linux,phandle = <2>
+ |
+ o memory at 0
+ | |- name = "memory"
+ | |- device_type = "memory"
+ | |- reg = <00000000 00000000 00000000 20000000>
+ | |- linux,phandle = <3>
+ |
+ o chosen
+ |- name = "chosen"
+ |- bootargs = "root=/dev/sda2"
+ |- linux,phandle = <4>
+
+This tree is almost a minimal tree. It pretty much contains the
+minimal set of required nodes and properties to boot a linux kernel;
+that is, some basic model informations at the root, the CPUs, and the
+physical memory layout. It also includes misc information passed
+through /chosen, like in this example, the platform type (mandatory)
+and the kernel command line arguments (optional).
+
+The /cpus/PowerPC,970 at 0/64-bit property is an example of a
+property without a value. All other properties have a value. The
+significance of the #address-cells and #size-cells properties will be
+explained in chapter IV which defines precisely the required nodes and
+properties and their content.
+
+
+3) Device tree "structure" block
+
+The structure of the device tree is a linearized tree structure. The
+"OF_DT_BEGIN_NODE" token starts a new node, and the "OF_DT_END_NODE"
+ends that node definition. Child nodes are simply defined before
+"OF_DT_END_NODE" (that is nodes within the node). A 'token' is a 32
+bit value. The tree has to be "finished" with a OF_DT_END token
+
+Here's the basic structure of a single node:
+
+ * token OF_DT_BEGIN_NODE (that is 0x00000001)
+ * for version 1 to 3, this is the node full path as a zero
+ terminated string, starting with "/". For version 16 and later,
+ this is the node unit name only (or an empty string for the
+ root node)
+ * [align gap to next 4 bytes boundary]
+ * for each property:
+ * token OF_DT_PROP (that is 0x00000003)
+ * 32-bit value of property value size in bytes (or 0 if no
+ value)
+ * 32-bit value of offset in string block of property name
+ * property value data if any
+ * [align gap to next 4 bytes boundary]
+ * [child nodes if any]
+ * token OF_DT_END_NODE (that is 0x00000002)
+
+So the node content can be summarized as a start token, a full path,
+a list of properties, a list of child nodes, and an end token. Every
+child node is a full node structure itself as defined above.
+
+NOTE: The above definition requires that all property definitions for
+a particular node MUST precede any subnode definitions for that node.
+Although the structure would not be ambiguous if properties and
+subnodes were intermingled, the kernel parser requires that the
+properties come first (up until at least 2.6.22). Any tools
+manipulating a flattened tree must take care to preserve this
+constraint.
+
+4) Device tree "strings" block
+
+In order to save space, property names, which are generally redundant,
+are stored separately in the "strings" block. This block is simply the
+whole bunch of zero terminated strings for all property names
+concatenated together. The device-tree property definitions in the
+structure block will contain offset values from the beginning of the
+strings block.
--
1.5.0.3
More information about the Linuxppc-dev
mailing list