Re: [MAINTAINERS SUMMIT] State of dt-bindings and DT source files, and invitation request

["Arınç ÜNAL" <arinc.unal@arinc9.com>]

On 11/09/2024 00:53, Conor Dooley wrote:
> On Tue, Sep 10, 2024 at 10:46:03AM -0500, Rob Herring wrote:
>> On Tue, Sep 10, 2024 at 5:53 AM Arınç ÜNAL <arinc.unal@arinc9.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hello.
>>>
>>> I maintain the MediaTek DSA subdriver and some devicetree bindings and
>>> source files for MediaTek hardware.
>>>
>>> I am especially interested in the best practices of maintaining dt-bindings
>>> and DT source files.
>>>
>>> There's this false impression with some maintainers that, as the
>>> dt-bindings and the DT source files are being hosted on the Linux
>>> repository, Linux drivers have influence over the design of bindings or
> 
>>> fixing DT source files that did not comply with the bindings.
> 
> What does "fixing DT source files that did not comply" have to do with
> Linux, I'm afraid I do not understand what your point is there. The
> bindings are the ABI, and fixing incorrect source files would happen
> regardless of how the project is hosted?

That's exactly what I think. I had a maintainer that argued otherwise is my
point. Which is why I want to strengthen the Linux documentation.

> 
>>> I'd be very interested to be involved in or kick start the efforts to take
>>> dt-bindings and DT source files out of the Linux repository into its own,
>>> separate repository. I believe, this would be a great step in addressing
>>> all the project-dependent bindings of Linux, U-Boot, OpenWrt, and all other
>>> projects, to have a single, unified repository to describe all the hardware
>>> that exists in the world.
>>
>> This! This is precisely why we don't move things out of the kernel.
>> The kernel is the location that has the most hardware support in the
>> world by far. It is not even close. Really, the only h/w missing are
>> things too small to run Linux. And with all that h/w support, comes
>> the people who understand the various classes of h/w. Those people are
>> not going to come along to a separate project. It would be more work
>> and there aren't any maintainers looking for extra work.
>>
>> We already have a separate repository[1]. U-boot has recently
>> incorporated it and is happily (AFAIK) using it. It happens to be
>> generated from the kernel tree, but what doesn't work for you there?
>> I'm happy to discuss what it needs to work better.
>>
>>> I am already working towards this goal by
>>> improving the dt-bindings and DT source files on the Linux repository
>>> whenever I can.
>>
>> That's great, still plenty of work to do there no matter what
>> repository is hosting it.
>>
>>> I must be quite late to make a topic suggestion but I'd be very happy to be
>>> able to attend to the maintainers summit. I've already registered for the
>>> Linux Plumbers Conference 2024.
>>
>> This is probably not a maintainers summit topic. There's a DT BoF
>> scheduled already that Krzysztof is running and supporting other
>> projects is on the agenda already. I won't be there in person nor will
>> I be awake at the scheduled time.
> 
> FWIW, I will be there.

Me too, I'd be very happy to meet you!

Arınç