[alsa-devel] [PATCH RFC 000/112] HD-audio generic parser improvements

[Takashi Iwai]

At Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:03:23 +0100,
Jaroslav Kysela wrote:
> 
> Date 8.1.2013 12:37, Takashi Iwai wrote:
> > Hi,
> > 
> > this is a large series of patches to implement the really generic
> > HD-audio codec parser usable for various codecs.  It's based on the
> > Realtek codec parser, so I started hacking patch_realtek.c for more
> > generalization and improvements.  Then it's merged to the existing
> > generic parser code, hda_generic.c, and let Realtek parser just uses
> > this new parser code.  In the end, patch_realtek.c contains only
> > the device specific fixups and the call of generic parser functions.
> 
> Great step forward. Thanks.
> 
> In my opinion, it would be great to handle all fixups in some "user
> space" compatible mode. I mean, do not use the C code for fixups, but
> use an universal description code which can be loaded from the user
> space probably as ASCII text (firmware like behaviour), too. This code
> can be buildin to the kernel modules in a default version. I don't mean
> the current implemented patch processing, but full codec initialization.
> I think that it may be last change to bring the HDA code to more
> maintenable state. Just an idea to avoid further HDA code rewrites which
> happen periodically. And now (with your rewrite) it's really good time
> to propose also this change.

Well, most of required fixups are corrections of the wrong BIOS
information and/or the missing information like some extra flags.
They can be well covered by the current "patch" firmware.  And we
can build this text into the kernel driver as a default database
instead of hard-coded C array (although I'm not sure whether this will
give so much benefit).

The rest is some exceptions where some real codes are required.  This
can't be expressed in a static form.  And any byte-code interpreter in
the driver is a bad idea, and it doesn't make the whole maintenance
scheme easier...


> Please, provide the GIT URL with these changes.

Yep, already posted.


thanks,

Takashi