[PATCH 0/7] Allwinner A64 digital audio codec fixes

[Ricard Wanderlof]

This caught my eye and brought up an issue I've been wondering about for 
some time:

On Fri, 28 Aug 2020, Maxime Ripard wrote:

> On Sat, Jul 25, 2020 at 08:25:50PM -0500, Samuel Holland wrote:

> > ... some DAPM widgets still have incorrect or confusing names; those 
> > and other issues will be fixed in later patch sets.

As a general and firm rule in the Linux kernel when it comes to upgrades 
and fixes is "We do not break userspace". Which means that for instance an 
application must not stop working after a kernel upgrade due to some API 
changing.

So does this mean that the name of an ALSA control, once it's in the 
mainline kernel, can never be changed, for whatever reason?

Or devicetree properties, does the same apply there? Say a property as a 
confusing name, is it possible to change it at all?

Or are these things open to debate, depending on the severity and 
consequences etc?

/Ricard
-- 
Ricard Wolf Wanderlof                           ricardw(at)axis.com
Axis Communications AB, Lund, Sweden            www.axis.com
Phone +46 46 272 2016                           Fax +46 46 13 61 30