FreeBSD/Linux Kernel Cross Reference
sys/Documentation/IRQ-domain.txt

     irq_domain interrupt number mapping library
     
     The current design of the Linux kernel uses a single large number
     space where each separate IRQ source is assigned a different number.
     This is simple when there is only one interrupt controller, but in
     systems with multiple interrupt controllers the kernel must ensure
     that each one gets assigned non-overlapping allocations of Linux
     IRQ numbers.
     
    The number of interrupt controllers registered as unique irqchips
    show a rising tendency: for example subdrivers of different kinds
    such as GPIO controllers avoid reimplementing identical callback
    mechanisms as the IRQ core system by modelling their interrupt
    handlers as irqchips, i.e. in effect cascading interrupt controllers.
    
    Here the interrupt number loose all kind of correspondence to
    hardware interrupt numbers: whereas in the past, IRQ numbers could
    be chosen so they matched the hardware IRQ line into the root
    interrupt controller (i.e. the component actually fireing the
    interrupt line to the CPU) nowadays this number is just a number.
    
    For this reason we need a mechanism to separate controller-local
    interrupt numbers, called hardware irq's, from Linux IRQ numbers.
    
    The irq_alloc_desc*() and irq_free_desc*() APIs provide allocation of
    irq numbers, but they don't provide any support for reverse mapping of
    the controller-local IRQ (hwirq) number into the Linux IRQ number
    space.
    
    The irq_domain library adds mapping between hwirq and IRQ numbers on
    top of the irq_alloc_desc*() API.  An irq_domain to manage mapping is
    preferred over interrupt controller drivers open coding their own
    reverse mapping scheme.
    
    irq_domain also implements translation from Device Tree interrupt
    specifiers to hwirq numbers, and can be easily extended to support
    other IRQ topology data sources.
    
    === irq_domain usage ===
    An interrupt controller driver creates and registers an irq_domain by
    calling one of the irq_domain_add_*() functions (each mapping method
    has a different allocator function, more on that later).  The function
    will return a pointer to the irq_domain on success.  The caller must
    provide the allocator function with an irq_domain_ops structure with
    the .map callback populated as a minimum.
    
    In most cases, the irq_domain will begin empty without any mappings
    between hwirq and IRQ numbers.  Mappings are added to the irq_domain
    by calling irq_create_mapping() which accepts the irq_domain and a
    hwirq number as arguments.  If a mapping for the hwirq doesn't already
    exist then it will allocate a new Linux irq_desc, associate it with
    the hwirq, and call the .map() callback so the driver can perform any
    required hardware setup.
    
    When an interrupt is received, irq_find_mapping() function should
    be used to find the Linux IRQ number from the hwirq number.
    
    The irq_create_mapping() function must be called *atleast once*
    before any call to irq_find_mapping(), lest the descriptor will not
    be allocated.
    
    If the driver has the Linux IRQ number or the irq_data pointer, and
    needs to know the associated hwirq number (such as in the irq_chip
    callbacks) then it can be directly obtained from irq_data->hwirq.
    
    === Types of irq_domain mappings ===
    There are several mechanisms available for reverse mapping from hwirq
    to Linux irq, and each mechanism uses a different allocation function.
    Which reverse map type should be used depends on the use case.  Each
    of the reverse map types are described below:
    
    ==== Linear ====
    irq_domain_add_linear()
    
    The linear reverse map maintains a fixed size table indexed by the
    hwirq number.  When a hwirq is mapped, an irq_desc is allocated for
    the hwirq, and the IRQ number is stored in the table.
    
    The Linear map is a good choice when the maximum number of hwirqs is
    fixed and a relatively small number (~ < 256).  The advantages of this
    map are fixed time lookup for IRQ numbers, and irq_descs are only
    allocated for in-use IRQs.  The disadvantage is that the table must be
    as large as the largest possible hwirq number.
    
    The majority of drivers should use the linear map.
    
    ==== Tree ====
    irq_domain_add_tree()
    
    The irq_domain maintains a radix tree map from hwirq numbers to Linux
    IRQs.  When an hwirq is mapped, an irq_desc is allocated and the
    hwirq is used as the lookup key for the radix tree.
    
    The tree map is a good choice if the hwirq number can be very large
    since it doesn't need to allocate a table as large as the largest
    hwirq number.  The disadvantage is that hwirq to IRQ number lookup is
    dependent on how many entries are in the table.
    
    Very few drivers should need this mapping.  At the moment, powerpc
   iseries is the only user.
   
   ==== No Map ===-
   irq_domain_add_nomap()
   
   The No Map mapping is to be used when the hwirq number is
   programmable in the hardware.  In this case it is best to program the
   Linux IRQ number into the hardware itself so that no mapping is
   required.  Calling irq_create_direct_mapping() will allocate a Linux
   IRQ number and call the .map() callback so that driver can program the
   Linux IRQ number into the hardware.
   
   Most drivers cannot use this mapping.
   
   ==== Legacy ====
   irq_domain_add_simple()
   irq_domain_add_legacy()
   irq_domain_add_legacy_isa()
   
   The Legacy mapping is a special case for drivers that already have a
   range of irq_descs allocated for the hwirqs.  It is used when the
   driver cannot be immediately converted to use the linear mapping.  For
   example, many embedded system board support files use a set of #defines
   for IRQ numbers that are passed to struct device registrations.  In that
   case the Linux IRQ numbers cannot be dynamically assigned and the legacy
   mapping should be used.
   
   The legacy map assumes a contiguous range of IRQ numbers has already
   been allocated for the controller and that the IRQ number can be
   calculated by adding a fixed offset to the hwirq number, and
   visa-versa.  The disadvantage is that it requires the interrupt
   controller to manage IRQ allocations and it requires an irq_desc to be
   allocated for every hwirq, even if it is unused.
   
   The legacy map should only be used if fixed IRQ mappings must be
   supported.  For example, ISA controllers would use the legacy map for
   mapping Linux IRQs 0-15 so that existing ISA drivers get the correct IRQ
   numbers.
   
   Most users of legacy mappings should use irq_domain_add_simple() which
   will use a legacy domain only if an IRQ range is supplied by the
   system and will otherwise use a linear domain mapping. The semantics
   of this call are such that if an IRQ range is specified then
   descriptors will be allocated on-the-fly for it, and if no range is
   specified it will fall through to irq_domain_add_linear() which meand
   *no* irq descriptors will be allocated.
   
   A typical use case for simple domains is where an irqchip provider
   is supporting both dynamic and static IRQ assignments.
   
   In order to avoid ending up in a situation where a linear domain is
   used and no descriptor gets allocated it is very important to make sure
   that the driver using the simple domain call irq_create_mapping()
   before any irq_find_mapping() since the latter will actually work
   for the static IRQ assignment case.

Cache object: 00ff351cbae790f99b8a30e6ce161d17