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- .. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
- =========================
- Generic Counter Interface
- =========================
- Introduction
- ============
- Counter devices are prevalent among a diverse spectrum of industries.
- The ubiquitous presence of these devices necessitates a common interface
- and standard of interaction and exposure. This driver API attempts to
- resolve the issue of duplicate code found among existing counter device
- drivers by introducing a generic counter interface for consumption. The
- Generic Counter interface enables drivers to support and expose a common
- set of components and functionality present in counter devices.
- Theory
- ======
- Counter devices can vary greatly in design, but regardless of whether
- some devices are quadrature encoder counters or tally counters, all
- counter devices consist of a core set of components. This core set of
- components, shared by all counter devices, is what forms the essence of
- the Generic Counter interface.
- There are three core components to a counter:
- * Signal:
- Stream of data to be evaluated by the counter.
- * Synapse:
- Association of a Signal, and evaluation trigger, with a Count.
- * Count:
- Accumulation of the effects of connected Synapses.
- SIGNAL
- ------
- A Signal represents a stream of data. This is the input data that is
- evaluated by the counter to determine the count data; e.g. a quadrature
- signal output line of a rotary encoder. Not all counter devices provide
- user access to the Signal data, so exposure is optional for drivers.
- When the Signal data is available for user access, the Generic Counter
- interface provides the following available signal values:
- * SIGNAL_LOW:
- Signal line is in a low state.
- * SIGNAL_HIGH:
- Signal line is in a high state.
- A Signal may be associated with one or more Counts.
- SYNAPSE
- -------
- A Synapse represents the association of a Signal with a Count. Signal
- data affects respective Count data, and the Synapse represents this
- relationship.
- The Synapse action mode specifies the Signal data condition that
- triggers the respective Count's count function evaluation to update the
- count data. The Generic Counter interface provides the following
- available action modes:
- * None:
- Signal does not trigger the count function. In Pulse-Direction count
- function mode, this Signal is evaluated as Direction.
- * Rising Edge:
- Low state transitions to high state.
- * Falling Edge:
- High state transitions to low state.
- * Both Edges:
- Any state transition.
- A counter is defined as a set of input signals associated with count
- data that are generated by the evaluation of the state of the associated
- input signals as defined by the respective count functions. Within the
- context of the Generic Counter interface, a counter consists of Counts
- each associated with a set of Signals, whose respective Synapse
- instances represent the count function update conditions for the
- associated Counts.
- A Synapse associates one Signal with one Count.
- COUNT
- -----
- A Count represents the accumulation of the effects of connected
- Synapses; i.e. the count data for a set of Signals. The Generic
- Counter interface represents the count data as a natural number.
- A Count has a count function mode which represents the update behavior
- for the count data. The Generic Counter interface provides the following
- available count function modes:
- * Increase:
- Accumulated count is incremented.
- * Decrease:
- Accumulated count is decremented.
- * Pulse-Direction:
- Rising edges on signal A updates the respective count. The input level
- of signal B determines direction.
- * Quadrature:
- A pair of quadrature encoding signals are evaluated to determine
- position and direction. The following Quadrature modes are available:
- - x1 A:
- If direction is forward, rising edges on quadrature pair signal A
- updates the respective count; if the direction is backward, falling
- edges on quadrature pair signal A updates the respective count.
- Quadrature encoding determines the direction.
- - x1 B:
- If direction is forward, rising edges on quadrature pair signal B
- updates the respective count; if the direction is backward, falling
- edges on quadrature pair signal B updates the respective count.
- Quadrature encoding determines the direction.
- - x2 A:
- Any state transition on quadrature pair signal A updates the
- respective count. Quadrature encoding determines the direction.
- - x2 B:
- Any state transition on quadrature pair signal B updates the
- respective count. Quadrature encoding determines the direction.
- - x4:
- Any state transition on either quadrature pair signals updates the
- respective count. Quadrature encoding determines the direction.
- A Count has a set of one or more associated Synapses.
- Paradigm
- ========
- The most basic counter device may be expressed as a single Count
- associated with a single Signal via a single Synapse. Take for example
- a counter device which simply accumulates a count of rising edges on a
- source input line::
- Count Synapse Signal
- ----- ------- ------
- +---------------------+
- | Data: Count | Rising Edge ________
- | Function: Increase | <------------- / Source \
- | | ____________
- +---------------------+
- In this example, the Signal is a source input line with a pulsing
- voltage, while the Count is a persistent count value which is repeatedly
- incremented. The Signal is associated with the respective Count via a
- Synapse. The increase function is triggered by the Signal data condition
- specified by the Synapse -- in this case a rising edge condition on the
- voltage input line. In summary, the counter device existence and
- behavior is aptly represented by respective Count, Signal, and Synapse
- components: a rising edge condition triggers an increase function on an
- accumulating count datum.
- A counter device is not limited to a single Signal; in fact, in theory
- many Signals may be associated with even a single Count. For example, a
- quadrature encoder counter device can keep track of position based on
- the states of two input lines::
- Count Synapse Signal
- ----- ------- ------
- +-------------------------+
- | Data: Position | Both Edges ___
- | Function: Quadrature x4 | <------------ / A \
- | | _______
- | |
- | | Both Edges ___
- | | <------------ / B \
- | | _______
- +-------------------------+
- In this example, two Signals (quadrature encoder lines A and B) are
- associated with a single Count: a rising or falling edge on either A or
- B triggers the "Quadrature x4" function which determines the direction
- of movement and updates the respective position data. The "Quadrature
- x4" function is likely implemented in the hardware of the quadrature
- encoder counter device; the Count, Signals, and Synapses simply
- represent this hardware behavior and functionality.
- Signals associated with the same Count can have differing Synapse action
- mode conditions. For example, a quadrature encoder counter device
- operating in a non-quadrature Pulse-Direction mode could have one input
- line dedicated for movement and a second input line dedicated for
- direction::
- Count Synapse Signal
- ----- ------- ------
- +---------------------------+
- | Data: Position | Rising Edge ___
- | Function: Pulse-Direction | <------------- / A \ (Movement)
- | | _______
- | |
- | | None ___
- | | <------------- / B \ (Direction)
- | | _______
- +---------------------------+
- Only Signal A triggers the "Pulse-Direction" update function, but the
- instantaneous state of Signal B is still required in order to know the
- direction so that the position data may be properly updated. Ultimately,
- both Signals are associated with the same Count via two respective
- Synapses, but only one Synapse has an active action mode condition which
- triggers the respective count function while the other is left with a
- "None" condition action mode to indicate its respective Signal's
- availability for state evaluation despite its non-triggering mode.
- Keep in mind that the Signal, Synapse, and Count are abstract
- representations which do not need to be closely married to their
- respective physical sources. This allows the user of a counter to
- divorce themselves from the nuances of physical components (such as
- whether an input line is differential or single-ended) and instead focus
- on the core idea of what the data and process represent (e.g. position
- as interpreted from quadrature encoding data).
- Driver API
- ==========
- Driver authors may utilize the Generic Counter interface in their code
- by including the include/linux/counter.h header file. This header file
- provides several core data structures, function prototypes, and macros
- for defining a counter device.
- .. kernel-doc:: include/linux/counter.h
- :internal:
- .. kernel-doc:: drivers/counter/counter-core.c
- :export:
- .. kernel-doc:: drivers/counter/counter-chrdev.c
- :export:
- Driver Implementation
- =====================
- To support a counter device, a driver must first allocate the available
- Counter Signals via counter_signal structures. These Signals should
- be stored as an array and set to the signals array member of an
- allocated counter_device structure before the Counter is registered to
- the system.
- Counter Counts may be allocated via counter_count structures, and
- respective Counter Signal associations (Synapses) made via
- counter_synapse structures. Associated counter_synapse structures are
- stored as an array and set to the synapses array member of the
- respective counter_count structure. These counter_count structures are
- set to the counts array member of an allocated counter_device structure
- before the Counter is registered to the system.
- Driver callbacks must be provided to the counter_device structure in
- order to communicate with the device: to read and write various Signals
- and Counts, and to set and get the "action mode" and "function mode" for
- various Synapses and Counts respectively.
- A counter_device structure is allocated using counter_alloc() and then
- registered to the system by passing it to the counter_add() function, and
- unregistered by passing it to the counter_unregister function. There are
- device managed variants of these functions: devm_counter_alloc() and
- devm_counter_add().
- The struct counter_comp structure is used to define counter extensions
- for Signals, Synapses, and Counts.
- The "type" member specifies the type of high-level data (e.g. BOOL,
- COUNT_DIRECTION, etc.) handled by this extension. The "``*_read``" and
- "``*_write``" members can then be set by the counter device driver with
- callbacks to handle that data using native C data types (i.e. u8, u64,
- etc.).
- Convenience macros such as ``COUNTER_COMP_COUNT_U64`` are provided for
- use by driver authors. In particular, driver authors are expected to use
- the provided macros for standard Counter subsystem attributes in order
- to maintain a consistent interface for userspace. For example, a counter
- device driver may define several standard attributes like so::
- struct counter_comp count_ext[] = {
- COUNTER_COMP_DIRECTION(count_direction_read),
- COUNTER_COMP_ENABLE(count_enable_read, count_enable_write),
- COUNTER_COMP_CEILING(count_ceiling_read, count_ceiling_write),
- };
- This makes it simple to see, add, and modify the attributes that are
- supported by this driver ("direction", "enable", and "ceiling") and to
- maintain this code without getting lost in a web of struct braces.
- Callbacks must match the function type expected for the respective
- component or extension. These function types are defined in the struct
- counter_comp structure as the "``*_read``" and "``*_write``" union
- members.
- The corresponding callback prototypes for the extensions mentioned in
- the previous example above would be::
- int count_direction_read(struct counter_device *counter,
- struct counter_count *count,
- enum counter_count_direction *direction);
- int count_enable_read(struct counter_device *counter,
- struct counter_count *count, u8 *enable);
- int count_enable_write(struct counter_device *counter,
- struct counter_count *count, u8 enable);
- int count_ceiling_read(struct counter_device *counter,
- struct counter_count *count, u64 *ceiling);
- int count_ceiling_write(struct counter_device *counter,
- struct counter_count *count, u64 ceiling);
- Determining the type of extension to create is a matter of scope.
- * Signal extensions are attributes that expose information/control
- specific to a Signal. These types of attributes will exist under a
- Signal's directory in sysfs.
- For example, if you have an invert feature for a Signal, you can have
- a Signal extension called "invert" that toggles that feature:
- /sys/bus/counter/devices/counterX/signalY/invert
- * Count extensions are attributes that expose information/control
- specific to a Count. These type of attributes will exist under a
- Count's directory in sysfs.
- For example, if you want to pause/unpause a Count from updating, you
- can have a Count extension called "enable" that toggles such:
- /sys/bus/counter/devices/counterX/countY/enable
- * Device extensions are attributes that expose information/control
- non-specific to a particular Count or Signal. This is where you would
- put your global features or other miscellaneous functionality.
- For example, if your device has an overtemp sensor, you can report the
- chip overheated via a device extension called "error_overtemp":
- /sys/bus/counter/devices/counterX/error_overtemp
- Subsystem Architecture
- ======================
- Counter drivers pass and take data natively (i.e. ``u8``, ``u64``, etc.)
- and the shared counter module handles the translation between the sysfs
- interface. This guarantees a standard userspace interface for all
- counter drivers, and enables a Generic Counter chrdev interface via a
- generalized device driver ABI.
- A high-level view of how a count value is passed down from a counter
- driver is exemplified by the following. The driver callbacks are first
- registered to the Counter core component for use by the Counter
- userspace interface components::
- Driver callbacks registration:
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- +----------------------------+
- | Counter device driver |
- +----------------------------+
- | Processes data from device |
- +----------------------------+
- |
- -------------------
- / driver callbacks /
- -------------------
- |
- V
- +----------------------+
- | Counter core |
- +----------------------+
- | Routes device driver |
- | callbacks to the |
- | userspace interfaces |
- +----------------------+
- |
- -------------------
- / driver callbacks /
- -------------------
- |
- +---------------+---------------+
- | |
- V V
- +--------------------+ +---------------------+
- | Counter sysfs | | Counter chrdev |
- +--------------------+ +---------------------+
- | Translates to the | | Translates to the |
- | standard Counter | | standard Counter |
- | sysfs output | | character device |
- +--------------------+ +---------------------+
- Thereafter, data can be transferred directly between the Counter device
- driver and Counter userspace interface::
- Count data request:
- ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- ----------------------
- / Counter device \
- +----------------------+
- | Count register: 0x28 |
- +----------------------+
- |
- -----------------
- / raw count data /
- -----------------
- |
- V
- +----------------------------+
- | Counter device driver |
- +----------------------------+
- | Processes data from device |
- |----------------------------|
- | Type: u64 |
- | Value: 42 |
- +----------------------------+
- |
- ----------
- / u64 /
- ----------
- |
- +---------------+---------------+
- | |
- V V
- +--------------------+ +---------------------+
- | Counter sysfs | | Counter chrdev |
- +--------------------+ +---------------------+
- | Translates to the | | Translates to the |
- | standard Counter | | standard Counter |
- | sysfs output | | character device |
- |--------------------| |---------------------|
- | Type: const char * | | Type: u64 |
- | Value: "42" | | Value: 42 |
- +--------------------+ +---------------------+
- | |
- --------------- -----------------------
- / const char * / / struct counter_event /
- --------------- -----------------------
- | |
- | V
- | +-----------+
- | | read |
- | +-----------+
- | \ Count: 42 /
- | -----------
- |
- V
- +--------------------------------------------------+
- | `/sys/bus/counter/devices/counterX/countY/count` |
- +--------------------------------------------------+
- \ Count: "42" /
- --------------------------------------------------
- There are four primary components involved:
- Counter device driver
- ---------------------
- Communicates with the hardware device to read/write data; e.g. counter
- drivers for quadrature encoders, timers, etc.
- Counter core
- ------------
- Registers the counter device driver to the system so that the respective
- callbacks are called during userspace interaction.
- Counter sysfs
- -------------
- Translates counter data to the standard Counter sysfs interface format
- and vice versa.
- Please refer to the ``Documentation/ABI/testing/sysfs-bus-counter`` file
- for a detailed breakdown of the available Generic Counter interface
- sysfs attributes.
- Counter chrdev
- --------------
- Translates Counter events to the standard Counter character device; data
- is transferred via standard character device read calls, while Counter
- events are configured via ioctl calls.
- Sysfs Interface
- ===============
- Several sysfs attributes are generated by the Generic Counter interface,
- and reside under the ``/sys/bus/counter/devices/counterX`` directory,
- where ``X`` is to the respective counter device id. Please see
- ``Documentation/ABI/testing/sysfs-bus-counter`` for detailed information
- on each Generic Counter interface sysfs attribute.
- Through these sysfs attributes, programs and scripts may interact with
- the Generic Counter paradigm Counts, Signals, and Synapses of respective
- counter devices.
- Counter Character Device
- ========================
- Counter character device nodes are created under the ``/dev`` directory
- as ``counterX``, where ``X`` is the respective counter device id.
- Defines for the standard Counter data types are exposed via the
- userspace ``include/uapi/linux/counter.h`` file.
- Counter events
- --------------
- Counter device drivers can support Counter events by utilizing the
- ``counter_push_event`` function::
- void counter_push_event(struct counter_device *const counter, const u8 event,
- const u8 channel);
- The event id is specified by the ``event`` parameter; the event channel
- id is specified by the ``channel`` parameter. When this function is
- called, the Counter data associated with the respective event is
- gathered, and a ``struct counter_event`` is generated for each datum and
- pushed to userspace.
- Counter events can be configured by users to report various Counter
- data of interest. This can be conceptualized as a list of Counter
- component read calls to perform. For example:
- +------------------------+------------------------+
- | COUNTER_EVENT_OVERFLOW | COUNTER_EVENT_INDEX |
- +========================+========================+
- | Channel 0 | Channel 0 |
- +------------------------+------------------------+
- | * Count 0 | * Signal 0 |
- | * Count 1 | * Signal 0 Extension 0 |
- | * Signal 3 | * Extension 4 |
- | * Count 4 Extension 2 +------------------------+
- | * Signal 5 Extension 0 | Channel 1 |
- | +------------------------+
- | | * Signal 4 |
- | | * Signal 4 Extension 0 |
- | | * Count 7 |
- +------------------------+------------------------+
- When ``counter_push_event(counter, COUNTER_EVENT_INDEX, 1)`` is called
- for example, it will go down the list for the ``COUNTER_EVENT_INDEX``
- event channel 1 and execute the read callbacks for Signal 4, Signal 4
- Extension 0, and Count 7 -- the data returned for each is pushed to a
- kfifo as a ``struct counter_event``, which userspace can retrieve via a
- standard read operation on the respective character device node.
- Userspace
- ---------
- Userspace applications can configure Counter events via ioctl operations
- on the Counter character device node. There following ioctl codes are
- supported and provided by the ``linux/counter.h`` userspace header file:
- * :c:macro:`COUNTER_ADD_WATCH_IOCTL`
- * :c:macro:`COUNTER_ENABLE_EVENTS_IOCTL`
- * :c:macro:`COUNTER_DISABLE_EVENTS_IOCTL`
- To configure events to gather Counter data, users first populate a
- ``struct counter_watch`` with the relevant event id, event channel id,
- and the information for the desired Counter component from which to
- read, and then pass it via the ``COUNTER_ADD_WATCH_IOCTL`` ioctl
- command.
- Note that an event can be watched without gathering Counter data by
- setting the ``component.type`` member equal to
- ``COUNTER_COMPONENT_NONE``. With this configuration the Counter
- character device will simply populate the event timestamps for those
- respective ``struct counter_event`` elements and ignore the component
- value.
- The ``COUNTER_ADD_WATCH_IOCTL`` command will buffer these Counter
- watches. When ready, the ``COUNTER_ENABLE_EVENTS_IOCTL`` ioctl command
- may be used to activate these Counter watches.
- Userspace applications can then execute a ``read`` operation (optionally
- calling ``poll`` first) on the Counter character device node to retrieve
- ``struct counter_event`` elements with the desired data.
|