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@@ -13,6 +13,30 @@ Documentation/DocBook/v4l/media-controller.xml. This document will focus on
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the kernel-side implementation of the media framework.
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+Abstract media device model
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+---------------------------
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+
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+Discovering a device internal topology, and configuring it at runtime, is one
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+of the goals of the media framework. To achieve this, hardware devices are
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+modeled as an oriented graph of building blocks called entities connected
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+through pads.
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+
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+An entity is a basic media hardware building block. It can correspond to
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+a large variety of logical blocks such as physical hardware devices
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+(CMOS sensor for instance), logical hardware devices (a building block
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+in a System-on-Chip image processing pipeline), DMA channels or physical
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+connectors.
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+
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+A pad is a connection endpoint through which an entity can interact with
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+other entities. Data (not restricted to video) produced by an entity
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+flows from the entity's output to one or more entity inputs. Pads should
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+not be confused with physical pins at chip boundaries.
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+
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+A link is a point-to-point oriented connection between two pads, either
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+on the same entity or on different entities. Data flows from a source
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+pad to a sink pad.
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+
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+
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Media device
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------------
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@@ -65,3 +89,130 @@ Drivers unregister media device instances by calling
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media_device_unregister(struct media_device *mdev);
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Unregistering a media device that hasn't been registered is *NOT* safe.
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+
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+
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+Entities, pads and links
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+------------------------
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+
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+- Entities
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+
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+Entities are represented by a struct media_entity instance, defined in
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+include/media/media-entity.h. The structure is usually embedded into a
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+higher-level structure, such as a v4l2_subdev or video_device instance,
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+although drivers can allocate entities directly.
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+
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+Drivers initialize entities by calling
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+
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+ media_entity_init(struct media_entity *entity, u16 num_pads,
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+ struct media_pad *pads, u16 extra_links);
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+
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+The media_entity name, type, flags, revision and group_id fields can be
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+initialized before or after calling media_entity_init. Entities embedded in
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+higher-level standard structures can have some of those fields set by the
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+higher-level framework.
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+
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+As the number of pads is known in advance, the pads array is not allocated
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+dynamically but is managed by the entity driver. Most drivers will embed the
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+pads array in a driver-specific structure, avoiding dynamic allocation.
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+
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+Drivers must set the direction of every pad in the pads array before calling
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+media_entity_init. The function will initialize the other pads fields.
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+
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+Unlike the number of pads, the total number of links isn't always known in
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+advance by the entity driver. As an initial estimate, media_entity_init
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+pre-allocates a number of links equal to the number of pads plus an optional
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+number of extra links. The links array will be reallocated if it grows beyond
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+the initial estimate.
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+
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+Drivers register entities with a media device by calling
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+
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+ media_device_register_entity(struct media_device *mdev,
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+ struct media_entity *entity);
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+
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+Entities are identified by a unique positive integer ID. Drivers can provide an
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+ID by filling the media_entity id field prior to registration, or request the
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+media controller framework to assign an ID automatically. Drivers that provide
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+IDs manually must ensure that all IDs are unique. IDs are not guaranteed to be
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+contiguous even when they are all assigned automatically by the framework.
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+
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+Drivers unregister entities by calling
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+
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+ media_device_unregister_entity(struct media_entity *entity);
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+
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+Unregistering an entity will not change the IDs of the other entities, and the
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+ID will never be reused for a newly registered entity.
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+
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+When a media device is unregistered, all its entities are unregistered
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+automatically. No manual entities unregistration is then required.
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+
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+Drivers free resources associated with an entity by calling
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+
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+ media_entity_cleanup(struct media_entity *entity);
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+
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+This function must be called during the cleanup phase after unregistering the
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+entity. Note that the media_entity instance itself must be freed explicitly by
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+the driver if required.
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+
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+Entities have flags that describe the entity capabilities and state.
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+
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+ MEDIA_ENT_FL_DEFAULT indicates the default entity for a given type.
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+ This can be used to report the default audio and video devices or the
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+ default camera sensor.
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+
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+Logical entity groups can be defined by setting the group ID of all member
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+entities to the same non-zero value. An entity group serves no purpose in the
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+kernel, but is reported to userspace during entities enumeration. The group_id
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+field belongs to the media device driver and must not by touched by entity
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+drivers.
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+
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+Media device drivers should define groups if several entities are logically
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+bound together. Example usages include reporting
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+
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+ - ALSA, VBI and video nodes that carry the same media stream
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+ - lens and flash controllers associated with a sensor
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+
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+- Pads
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+
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+Pads are represented by a struct media_pad instance, defined in
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+include/media/media-entity.h. Each entity stores its pads in a pads array
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+managed by the entity driver. Drivers usually embed the array in a
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+driver-specific structure.
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+
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+Pads are identified by their entity and their 0-based index in the pads array.
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+Both information are stored in the media_pad structure, making the media_pad
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+pointer the canonical way to store and pass link references.
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+
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+Pads have flags that describe the pad capabilities and state.
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+
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+ MEDIA_PAD_FL_SINK indicates that the pad supports sinking data.
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+ MEDIA_PAD_FL_SOURCE indicates that the pad supports sourcing data.
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+
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+One and only one of MEDIA_PAD_FL_SINK and MEDIA_PAD_FL_SOURCE must be set for
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+each pad.
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+
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+- Links
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+
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+Links are represented by a struct media_link instance, defined in
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+include/media/media-entity.h. Each entity stores all links originating at or
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+targetting any of its pads in a links array. A given link is thus stored
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+twice, once in the source entity and once in the target entity. The array is
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+pre-allocated and grows dynamically as needed.
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+
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+Drivers create links by calling
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+
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+ media_entity_create_link(struct media_entity *source, u16 source_pad,
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+ struct media_entity *sink, u16 sink_pad,
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+ u32 flags);
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+
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+An entry in the link array of each entity is allocated and stores pointers
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+to source and sink pads.
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+
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+Links have flags that describe the link capabilities and state.
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+
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+ MEDIA_LNK_FL_ENABLED indicates that the link is enabled and can be used
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+ to transfer media data. When two or more links target a sink pad, only
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+ one of them can be enabled at a time.
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+ MEDIA_LNK_FL_IMMUTABLE indicates that the link enabled state can't be
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+ modified at runtime. If MEDIA_LNK_FL_IMMUTABLE is set, then
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+ MEDIA_LNK_FL_ENABLED must also be set since an immutable link is always
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+ enabled.
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