Return-Path: Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org via listexpand id S1754543AbYGOO4y (ORCPT ); Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:56:54 -0400 Received: (majordomo@vger.kernel.org) by vger.kernel.org id S1751935AbYGOO4p (ORCPT ); Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:56:45 -0400 Received: from smtp1.linux-foundation.org ([140.211.169.13]:56398 "EHLO smtp1.linux-foundation.org" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1751863AbYGOO4p (ORCPT ); Tue, 15 Jul 2008 10:56:45 -0400 Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2008 07:55:37 -0700 (PDT) From: Linus Torvalds To: Willy Tarreau cc: David Miller , jeff@garzik.org, arjan@infradead.org, akpm@linux-foundation.org, dwmw2@infradead.org, alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Subject: Re: [GIT *] Allow request_firmware() to be satisfied from in-kernel, use it in more drivers. In-Reply-To: <20080715045848.GG1369@1wt.eu> Message-ID: References: <487C09EB.1050903@garzik.org> <20080714.194032.117461306.davem@davemloft.net> <20080715045848.GG1369@1wt.eu> User-Agent: Alpine 1.10 (LFD 962 2008-03-14) MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org List-ID: X-Mailing-List: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org Content-Length: 1718 Lines: 44 On Tue, 15 Jul 2008, Willy Tarreau wrote: > > > > But once you can load a module, you can load the firmware. You just have > > to _remember_ to move it along with the module. > > In order to transfer it, right now you feed it through a working device. > When that device itself requires firmware to work, you will suddenly > discover that it becomes harder and harder to get any communication device > to work on your target system. Willy, stop this blathering. I suspect I will have to just delete this thread unread because it's so full of total crap. This whole "working device" argument is total bullshit. If the driver was a module before, it needed a module load to become working. If you could load the module, you could load the firmware. Thus the transfer is non-issue. And if the driver was built-in, you can still build in the firmware. And by proof of induction - your "now you feed it through a working device" - this also holds for that "a working device" driver. The device you load the module off has exactly the same rules: you can build in the firmware. So it didn't get any harder at all. Except for the fact that you need to remember to install the firmware. Which is just about the same thing as asking people to remember to do "make modules_install" to get a working system. Yes, if you have a driver as a module, you need to install that module for the device to work. Yes, it's definitely "harder", but seriously.. Linus -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/