Hi Bill,
Comments below...
[cc'ing Greg Kay regarding the use of device class (comment near the bottom)]
On Thu, Mar 31, 2011 at 9:59 PM, Bill Gatliff b...@billgatliff.com wrote:
Updates the existing PWM-related functions to support multiple
and/or hotplugged PWM devices, and adds a sysfs interface.
Moves the code to drivers/pwm.
For now, this new code can exist alongside the current PWM
implementations; the existing implementations will be migrated
to this new framework as time permits. Eventually, the current
PWM implementation will be deprecated and then expunged.
Signed-off-by: Bill Gatliff b...@billgatliff.com
---
Documentation/pwm.txt | 276 ++
MAINTAINERS | 8 +
drivers/Kconfig | 2 +
drivers/Makefile | 2 +
drivers/pwm/Kconfig | 10 +
drivers/pwm/Makefile | 4 +
drivers/pwm/pwm.c | 580
+++
include/linux/pwm/pwm.h | 140
8 files changed, 1022 insertions(+), 0 deletions(-)
create mode 100644 Documentation/pwm.txt
create mode 100644 drivers/pwm/Kconfig
create mode 100644 drivers/pwm/Makefile
create mode 100644 drivers/pwm/pwm.c
create mode 100644 include/linux/pwm/pwm.h
diff --git a/Documentation/pwm.txt b/Documentation/pwm.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000..6a0c95d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/pwm.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,276 @@
+ Generic PWM Device API
+
+ February 7, 2011
+ Bill Gatliff
+ b...@billgatliff.com
+
+
+
+The code in drivers/pwm and include/linux/pwm/ implements an API for
+applications involving pulse-width-modulation signals. This document
+describes how the API implementation facilitates both PWM-generating
+devices, and users of those devices.
Good documentation!
+
+
+Motivation
+
+The primary goals for implementing the generic PWM API are to
+consolidate the various PWM implementations within a consistent and
+redundancy-reducing framework, and to facilitate the use of
+hotpluggable PWM devices.
+
+Previous PWM-related implementations within the Linux kernel achieved
+their consistency via cut-and-paste, but did not need to (and didn't)
+facilitate more than one PWM-generating device within the system---
+hotplug or otherwise. The Generic PWM Device API might be most
+appropriately viewed as an update to those implementations, rather
+than a complete rewrite.
+
+
+Challenges
+
+One of the difficulties in implementing a generic PWM framework is the
+fact that pulse-width-modulation applications involve real-world
+signals, which often must be carefully managed to prevent destruction
+of hardware that is linked to those signals. A DC motor that
+experiences a brief interruption in the PWM signal controlling it
+might destructively overheat; it could suddenly change speed, losing
+synchronization with a sensor; it could even suddenly change direction
+or torque, breaking the mechanical device connected to it.
+
+(A generic PWM device framework is not directly responsible for
+preventing the above scenarios: that responsibility lies with the
+hardware designer, and the application and driver authors. But it
+must to the greatest extent possible make it easy to avoid such
+problems).
+
+A generic PWM device framework must accommodate the substantial
+differences between available PWM-generating hardware devices, without
+becoming sub-optimal for any of them.
+
+Finally, a generic PWM device framework must be relatively
+lightweight, computationally speaking. Some PWM users demand
+high-speed outputs, plus the ability to regulate those outputs
+quickly. A device framework must be able to keep up with such
+hardware, while still leaving time to do real work.
+
+The Generic PWM Device API is an attempt to meet all of the above
+requirements. At its initial publication, the API was already in use
+managing small DC motors, sensors and solenoids through a
+custom-designed, optically-isolated H-bridge driver.
+
+
+Functional Overview
+
+The Generic PWM Device API framework is implemented in
+include/linux/pwm/pwm.h and drivers/pwm/pwm.c. The functions therein
+use information from pwm_device and pwm_config structures to invoke
+services in PWM peripheral device drivers. Consult
+drivers/pwm/atmel-pwmc.c for an example driver for the Atmel PWMC
+peripheral.
+
+There are two classes of adopters of the PWM framework:
+
+ Users -- those wishing to employ the API merely to produce PWM
+ signals; once they have identified the appropriate physical output
+ on the platform in question, they don't care about the details of
+ the underlying hardware
+
+ Driver authors -- those wishing to bind devices that can generate
+ PWM signals to the Generic PWM Device API, so that the services of
+ those devices become available to users.
