1
2			Low Level Serial API
3			--------------------
4
5
6This document is meant as a brief overview of some aspects of the new serial
7driver.  It is not complete, any questions you have should be directed to
8<rmk@arm.linux.org.uk>
9
10The reference implementation is contained within amba_pl011.c.
11
12
13
14Low Level Serial Hardware Driver
15--------------------------------
16
17The low level serial hardware driver is responsible for supplying port
18information (defined by uart_port) and a set of control methods (defined
19by uart_ops) to the core serial driver.  The low level driver is also
20responsible for handling interrupts for the port, and providing any
21console support.
22
23
24Console Support
25---------------
26
27The serial core provides a few helper functions.  This includes identifing
28the correct port structure (via uart_get_console) and decoding command line
29arguments (uart_parse_options).
30
31There is also a helper function (uart_write_console) which performs a
32character by character write, translating newlines to CRLF sequences.
33Driver writers are recommended to use this function rather than implementing
34their own version.
35
36
37Locking
38-------
39
40It is the responsibility of the low level hardware driver to perform the
41necessary locking using port->lock.  There are some exceptions (which
42are described in the uart_ops listing below.)
43
44There are three locks.  A per-port spinlock, a per-port tmpbuf semaphore,
45and an overall semaphore.
46
47From the core driver perspective, the port->lock locks the following
48data:
49
50	port->mctrl
51	port->icount
52	info->xmit.head (circ->head)
53	info->xmit.tail (circ->tail)
54
55The low level driver is free to use this lock to provide any additional
56locking.
57
58The core driver uses the info->tmpbuf_sem lock to prevent multi-threaded
59access to the info->tmpbuf bouncebuffer used for port writes.
60
61The port_sem semaphore is used to protect against ports being added/
62removed or reconfigured at inappropriate times. Since v2.6.27, this
63semaphore has been the 'mutex' member of the tty_port struct, and
64commonly referred to as the port mutex (or port->mutex).
65
66
67uart_ops
68--------
69
70The uart_ops structure is the main interface between serial_core and the
71hardware specific driver.  It contains all the methods to control the
72hardware.
73
74  tx_empty(port)
75	This function tests whether the transmitter fifo and shifter
76	for the port described by 'port' is empty.  If it is empty,
77	this function should return TIOCSER_TEMT, otherwise return 0.
78	If the port does not support this operation, then it should
79	return TIOCSER_TEMT.
80
81	Locking: none.
82	Interrupts: caller dependent.
83	This call must not sleep
84
85  set_mctrl(port, mctrl)
86	This function sets the modem control lines for port described
87	by 'port' to the state described by mctrl.  The relevant bits
88	of mctrl are:
89		- TIOCM_RTS	RTS signal.
90		- TIOCM_DTR	DTR signal.
91		- TIOCM_OUT1	OUT1 signal.
92		- TIOCM_OUT2	OUT2 signal.
93		- TIOCM_LOOP	Set the port into loopback mode.
94	If the appropriate bit is set, the signal should be driven
95	active.  If the bit is clear, the signal should be driven
96	inactive.
97
98	Locking: port->lock taken.
99	Interrupts: locally disabled.
100	This call must not sleep
101
102  get_mctrl(port)
103	Returns the current state of modem control inputs.  The state
104	of the outputs should not be returned, since the core keeps
105	track of their state.  The state information should include:
106		- TIOCM_CAR	state of DCD signal
107		- TIOCM_CTS	state of CTS signal
108		- TIOCM_DSR	state of DSR signal
109		- TIOCM_RI	state of RI signal
110	The bit is set if the signal is currently driven active.  If
111	the port does not support CTS, DCD or DSR, the driver should
112	indicate that the signal is permanently active.  If RI is
113	not available, the signal should not be indicated as active.
114
115	Locking: port->lock taken.
116	Interrupts: locally disabled.
117	This call must not sleep
118
119  stop_tx(port)
120	Stop transmitting characters.  This might be due to the CTS
121	line becoming inactive or the tty layer indicating we want
122	to stop transmission due to an XOFF character.
123
124	The driver should stop transmitting characters as soon as
125	possible.
126
127	Locking: port->lock taken.
128	Interrupts: locally disabled.
129	This call must not sleep
130
131  start_tx(port)
132	Start transmitting characters.
133
134	Locking: port->lock taken.
135	Interrupts: locally disabled.
136	This call must not sleep
137
138  send_xchar(port,ch)
139	Transmit a high priority character, even if the port is stopped.
140	This is used to implement XON/XOFF flow control and tcflow().  If
141	the serial driver does not implement this function, the tty core
142	will append the character to the circular buffer and then call
143	start_tx() / stop_tx() to flush the data out.
144
145	Do not transmit if ch == '\0' (__DISABLED_CHAR).
146
147	Locking: none.
148	Interrupts: caller dependent.
149
150  stop_rx(port)
151	Stop receiving characters; the port is in the process of
152	being closed.
153
154	Locking: port->lock taken.
155	Interrupts: locally disabled.
156	This call must not sleep
157
158  enable_ms(port)
159	Enable the modem status interrupts.
160
161	This method may be called multiple times.  Modem status
162	interrupts should be disabled when the shutdown method is
163	called.
164
165	Locking: port->lock taken.
166	Interrupts: locally disabled.
167	This call must not sleep
168
169  break_ctl(port,ctl)
170	Control the transmission of a break signal.  If ctl is
171	nonzero, the break signal should be transmitted.  The signal
172	should be terminated when another call is made with a zero
173	ctl.
174
175	Locking: none.
176	Interrupts: caller dependent.
177	This call must not sleep
178
179  startup(port)
180	Grab any interrupt resources and initialise any low level driver
181	state.  Enable the port for reception.  It should not activate
182	RTS nor DTR; this will be done via a separate call to set_mctrl.
183
184	This method will only be called when the port is initially opened.
185
186	Locking: port_sem taken.
187	Interrupts: globally disabled.
188
189  shutdown(port)
190	Disable the port, disable any break condition that may be in
191	effect, and free any interrupt resources.  It should not disable
192	RTS nor DTR; this will have already been done via a separate
193	call to set_mctrl.
194
195	Drivers must not access port->info once this call has completed.
196
197	This method will only be called when there are no more users of
198	this port.
199
200	Locking: port_sem taken.
201	Interrupts: caller dependent.
202
203  flush_buffer(port)
204	Flush any write buffers, reset any DMA state and stop any
205	ongoing DMA transfers.
206
207	This will be called whenever the port->info->xmit circular
208	buffer is cleared.
209
210	Locking: port->lock taken.
211	Interrupts: locally disabled.
212	This call must not sleep
213
214  set_termios(port,termios,oldtermios)
215	Change the port parameters, including word length, parity, stop
216	bits.  Update read_status_mask and ignore_status_mask to indicate
217	the types of events we are interested in receiving.  Relevant
218	termios->c_cflag bits are:
219		CSIZE	- word size
220		CSTOPB	- 2 stop bits
221		PARENB	- parity enable
222		PARODD	- odd parity (when PARENB is in force)
223		CREAD	- enable reception of characters (if not set,
224			  still receive characters from the port, but
225			  throw them away.
226		CRTSCTS	- if set, enable CTS status change reporting
227		CLOCAL	- if not set, enable modem status change
228			  reporting.
229	Relevant termios->c_iflag bits are:
230		INPCK	- enable frame and parity error events to be
231			  passed to the TTY layer.
232		BRKINT
233		PARMRK	- both of these enable break events to be
234			  passed to the TTY layer.
235
236		IGNPAR	- ignore parity and framing errors
237		IGNBRK	- ignore break errors,  If IGNPAR is also
238			  set, ignore overrun errors as well.
239	The interaction of the iflag bits is as follows (parity error
240	given as an example):
241	Parity error	INPCK	IGNPAR
242	n/a		0	n/a	character received, marked as
243					TTY_NORMAL
244	None		1	n/a	character received, marked as
245					TTY_NORMAL
246	Yes		1	0	character received, marked as
247					TTY_PARITY
248	Yes		1	1	character discarded
249
250	Other flags may be used (eg, xon/xoff characters) if your
251	hardware supports hardware "soft" flow control.
252
253	Locking: caller holds port->mutex
254	Interrupts: caller dependent.
255	This call must not sleep
256
257  pm(port,state,oldstate)
258	Perform any power management related activities on the specified
259	port.  State indicates the new state (defined by
260	enum uart_pm_state), oldstate indicates the previous state.
261
262	This function should not be used to grab any resources.
263
264	This will be called when the port is initially opened and finally
265	closed, except when the port is also the system console.  This
266	will occur even if CONFIG_PM is not set.
267
268	Locking: none.
269	Interrupts: caller dependent.
270
271  type(port)
272	Return a pointer to a string constant describing the specified
273	port, or return NULL, in which case the string 'unknown' is
274	substituted.
275
276	Locking: none.
277	Interrupts: caller dependent.
278
279  release_port(port)
280	Release any memory and IO region resources currently in use by
281	the port.
282
283	Locking: none.
284	Interrupts: caller dependent.
285
286  request_port(port)
287	Request any memory and IO region resources required by the port.
288	If any fail, no resources should be registered when this function
289	returns, and it should return -EBUSY on failure.
290
291	Locking: none.
292	Interrupts: caller dependent.
293
294  config_port(port,type)
295	Perform any autoconfiguration steps required for the port.  `type`
296	contains a bit mask of the required configuration.  UART_CONFIG_TYPE
297	indicates that the port requires detection and identification.
298	port->type should be set to the type found, or PORT_UNKNOWN if
299	no port was detected.
300
301	UART_CONFIG_IRQ indicates autoconfiguration of the interrupt signal,
302	which should be probed using standard kernel autoprobing techniques.
303	This is not necessary on platforms where ports have interrupts
304	internally hard wired (eg, system on a chip implementations).
305
306	Locking: none.
307	Interrupts: caller dependent.
308
309  verify_port(port,serinfo)
310	Verify the new serial port information contained within serinfo is
311	suitable for this port type.
312
313	Locking: none.
314	Interrupts: caller dependent.
315
316  ioctl(port,cmd,arg)
317	Perform any port specific IOCTLs.  IOCTL commands must be defined
318	using the standard numbering system found in <asm/ioctl.h>
319
320	Locking: none.
321	Interrupts: caller dependent.
322
323  poll_init(port)
324	Called by kgdb to perform the minimal hardware initialization needed
325	to support poll_put_char() and poll_get_char().  Unlike ->startup()
326	this should not request interrupts.
327
328	Locking: tty_mutex and tty_port->mutex taken.
329	Interrupts: n/a.
330
331  poll_put_char(port,ch)
332	Called by kgdb to write a single character directly to the serial
333	port.  It can and should block until there is space in the TX FIFO.
334
335	Locking: none.
336	Interrupts: caller dependent.
337	This call must not sleep
338
339  poll_get_char(port)
340	Called by kgdb to read a single character directly from the serial
341	port.  If data is available, it should be returned; otherwise
342	the function should return NO_POLL_CHAR immediately.
343
344	Locking: none.
345	Interrupts: caller dependent.
346	This call must not sleep
347
348Other functions
349---------------
350
351uart_update_timeout(port,cflag,baud)
352	Update the FIFO drain timeout, port->timeout, according to the
353	number of bits, parity, stop bits and baud rate.
354
355	Locking: caller is expected to take port->lock
356	Interrupts: n/a
357
358uart_get_baud_rate(port,termios,old,min,max)
359	Return the numeric baud rate for the specified termios, taking
360	account of the special 38400 baud "kludge".  The B0 baud rate
361	is mapped to 9600 baud.
362
363	If the baud rate is not within min..max, then if old is non-NULL,
364	the original baud rate will be tried.  If that exceeds the
365	min..max constraint, 9600 baud will be returned.  termios will
366	be updated to the baud rate in use.
367
368	Note: min..max must always allow 9600 baud to be selected.
369
370	Locking: caller dependent.
371	Interrupts: n/a
372
373uart_get_divisor(port,baud)
374	Return the divsor (baud_base / baud) for the specified baud
375	rate, appropriately rounded.
376
377	If 38400 baud and custom divisor is selected, return the
378	custom divisor instead.
379
380	Locking: caller dependent.
381	Interrupts: n/a
382
383uart_match_port(port1,port2)
384	This utility function can be used to determine whether two
385	uart_port structures describe the same port.
386
387	Locking: n/a
388	Interrupts: n/a
389
390uart_write_wakeup(port)
391	A driver is expected to call this function when the number of
392	characters in the transmit buffer have dropped below a threshold.
393
394	Locking: port->lock should be held.
395	Interrupts: n/a
396
397uart_register_driver(drv)
398	Register a uart driver with the core driver.  We in turn register
399	with the tty layer, and initialise the core driver per-port state.
400
401	drv->port should be NULL, and the per-port structures should be
402	registered using uart_add_one_port after this call has succeeded.
403
404	Locking: none
405	Interrupts: enabled
406
407uart_unregister_driver()
408	Remove all references to a driver from the core driver.  The low
409	level driver must have removed all its ports via the
410	uart_remove_one_port() if it registered them with uart_add_one_port().
411
412	Locking: none
413	Interrupts: enabled
414
415uart_suspend_port()
416
417uart_resume_port()
418
419uart_add_one_port()
420
421uart_remove_one_port()
422
423Other notes
424-----------
425
426It is intended some day to drop the 'unused' entries from uart_port, and
427allow low level drivers to register their own individual uart_port's with
428the core.  This will allow drivers to use uart_port as a pointer to a
429structure containing both the uart_port entry with their own extensions,
430thus:
431
432	struct my_port {
433		struct uart_port	port;
434		int			my_stuff;
435	};
436
437Modem control lines via GPIO
438----------------------------
439
440Some helpers are provided in order to set/get modem control lines via GPIO.
441
442mctrl_gpio_init(port, idx):
443	This will get the {cts,rts,...}-gpios from device tree if they are
444	present and request them, set direction etc, and return an
445	allocated structure. devm_* functions are used, so there's no need
446	to call mctrl_gpio_free().
447	As this sets up the irq handling make sure to not handle changes to the
448	gpio input lines in your driver, too.
449
450mctrl_gpio_free(dev, gpios):
451	This will free the requested gpios in mctrl_gpio_init().
452	As devm_* function are used, there's generally no need to call
453	this function.
454
455mctrl_gpio_to_gpiod(gpios, gidx)
456	This returns the gpio structure associated to the modem line index.
457
458mctrl_gpio_set(gpios, mctrl):
459	This will sets the gpios according to the mctrl state.
460
461mctrl_gpio_get(gpios, mctrl):
462	This will update mctrl with the gpios values.
463
464mctrl_gpio_enable_ms(gpios):
465	Enables irqs and handling of changes to the ms lines.
466
467mctrl_gpio_disable_ms(gpios):
468	Disables irqs and handling of changes to the ms lines.
469