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+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<!DOCTYPE book PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.1.2//EN"
+ "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.1.2/docbookx.dtd" []>
+
+<book id="Generic-IRQ-Guide">
+ <bookinfo>
+ <title>Linux generic IRQ handling</title>
+
+ <authorgroup>
+ <author>
+ <firstname>Thomas</firstname>
+ <surname>Gleixner</surname>
+ <affiliation>
+ <address>
+ <email>tglx@linutronix.de</email>
+ </address>
+ </affiliation>
+ </author>
+ <author>
+ <firstname>Ingo</firstname>
+ <surname>Molnar</surname>
+ <affiliation>
+ <address>
+ <email>mingo@elte.hu</email>
+ </address>
+ </affiliation>
+ </author>
+ </authorgroup>
+
+ <copyright>
+ <year>2005-2006</year>
+ <holder>Thomas Gleixner</holder>
+ </copyright>
+ <copyright>
+ <year>2005-2006</year>
+ <holder>Ingo Molnar</holder>
+ </copyright>
+
+ <legalnotice>
+ <para>
+ This documentation is free software; you can redistribute
+ it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public
+ License version 2 as published by the Free Software Foundation.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ This program is distributed in the hope that it will be
+ useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied
+ warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
+ See the GNU General Public License for more details.
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public
+ License along with this program; if not, write to the Free
+ Software Foundation, Inc., 59 Temple Place, Suite 330, Boston,
+ MA 02111-1307 USA
+ </para>
+
+ <para>
+ For more details see the file COPYING in the source
+ distribution of Linux.
+ </para>
+ </legalnotice>
+ </bookinfo>
+
+<toc></toc>
+
+ <chapter id="intro">
+ <title>Introduction</title>
+ <para>
+ The generic interrupt handling layer is designed to provide a
+ complete abstraction of interrupt handling for device drivers.
+ It is able to handle all the different types of interrupt controller
+ hardware. Device drivers use generic API functions to request, enable,
+ disable and free interrupts. The drivers do not have to know anything
+ about interrupt hardware details, so they can be used on different
+ platforms without code changes.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ This documentation is provided to developers who want to implement
+ an interrupt subsystem based for their architecture, with the help
+ of the generic IRQ handling layer.
+ </para>
+ </chapter>
+
+ <chapter id="rationale">
+ <title>Rationale</title>
+ <para>
+ The original implementation of interrupt handling in Linux is using
+ the __do_IRQ() super-handler, which is able to deal with every
+ type of interrupt logic.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Originally, Russell King identified different types of handlers to
+ build a quite universal set for the ARM interrupt handler
+ implementation in Linux 2.5/2.6. He distinguished between:
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem><para>Level type</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>Edge type</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>Simple type</para></listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ In the SMP world of the __do_IRQ() super-handler another type
+ was identified:
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem><para>Per CPU type</para></listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ This split implementation of highlevel IRQ handlers allows us to
+ optimize the flow of the interrupt handling for each specific
+ interrupt type. This reduces complexity in that particular codepath
+ and allows the optimized handling of a given type.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The original general IRQ implementation used hw_interrupt_type
+ structures and their ->ack(), ->end() [etc.] callbacks to
+ differentiate the flow control in the super-handler. This leads to
+ a mix of flow logic and lowlevel hardware logic, and it also leads
+ to unnecessary code duplication: for example in i386, there is a
+ ioapic_level_irq and a ioapic_edge_irq irq-type which share many
+ of the lowlevel details but have different flow handling.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ A more natural abstraction is the clean separation of the
+ 'irq flow' and the 'chip details'.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Analysing a couple of architecture's IRQ subsystem implementations
+ reveals that most of them can use a generic set of 'irq flow'
+ methods and only need to add the chip level specific code.
+ The separation is also valuable for (sub)architectures
+ which need specific quirks in the irq flow itself but not in the
+ chip-details - and thus provides a more transparent IRQ subsystem
+ design.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Each interrupt descriptor is assigned its own highlevel flow
+ handler, which is normally one of the generic
+ implementations. (This highlevel flow handler implementation also
+ makes it simple to provide demultiplexing handlers which can be
+ found in embedded platforms on various architectures.)
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The separation makes the generic interrupt handling layer more
+ flexible and extensible. For example, an (sub)architecture can
+ use a generic irq-flow implementation for 'level type' interrupts
+ and add a (sub)architecture specific 'edge type' implementation.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ To make the transition to the new model easier and prevent the
+ breakage of existing implementations, the __do_IRQ() super-handler
+ is still available. This leads to a kind of duality for the time
+ being. Over time the new model should be used in more and more
+ architectures, as it enables smaller and cleaner IRQ subsystems.
+ </para>
+ </chapter>
+ <chapter id="bugs">
+ <title>Known Bugs And Assumptions</title>
+ <para>
+ None (knock on wood).
+ </para>
+ </chapter>
+
+ <chapter id="Abstraction">
+ <title>Abstraction layers</title>
+ <para>
+ There are three main levels of abstraction in the interrupt code:
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem><para>Highlevel driver API</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>Highlevel IRQ flow handlers</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>Chiplevel hardware encapsulation</para></listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
+ </para>
+ <sect1>
+ <title>Interrupt control flow</title>
+ <para>
+ Each interrupt is described by an interrupt descriptor structure
+ irq_desc. The interrupt is referenced by an 'unsigned int' numeric
+ value which selects the corresponding interrupt decription structure
+ in the descriptor structures array.
+ The descriptor structure contains status information and pointers
+ to the interrupt flow method and the interrupt chip structure
+ which are assigned to this interrupt.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Whenever an interrupt triggers, the lowlevel arch code calls into
+ the generic interrupt code by calling desc->handle_irq().
+ This highlevel IRQ handling function only uses desc->chip primitives
+ referenced by the assigned chip descriptor structure.
+ </para>
+ </sect1>
+ <sect1>
+ <title>Highlevel Driver API</title>
+ <para>
+ The highlevel Driver API consists of following functions:
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem><para>request_irq()</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>free_irq()</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>disable_irq()</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>enable_irq()</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>disable_irq_nosync() (SMP only)</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>synchronize_irq() (SMP only)</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>set_irq_type()</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>set_irq_wake()</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>set_irq_data()</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>set_irq_chip()</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>set_irq_chip_data()</para></listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ See the autogenerated function documentation for details.
+ </para>
+ </sect1>
+ <sect1>
+ <title>Highlevel IRQ flow handlers</title>
+ <para>
+ The generic layer provides a set of pre-defined irq-flow methods:
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem><para>handle_level_irq</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>handle_edge_irq</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>handle_simple_irq</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>handle_percpu_irq</para></listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ The interrupt flow handlers (either predefined or architecture
+ specific) are assigned to specific interrupts by the architecture
+ either during bootup or during device initialization.
+ </para>
+ <sect2>
+ <title>Default flow implementations</title>
+ <sect3>
+ <title>Helper functions</title>
+ <para>
+ The helper functions call the chip primitives and
+ are used by the default flow implementations.
+ The following helper functions are implemented (simplified excerpt):
+ <programlisting>
+default_enable(irq)
+{
+ desc->chip->unmask(irq);
+}
+
+default_disable(irq)
+{
+ if (!delay_disable(irq))
+ desc->chip->mask(irq);
+}
+
+default_ack(irq)
+{
+ chip->ack(irq);
+}
+
+default_mask_ack(irq)
+{
+ if (chip->mask_ack) {
+ chip->mask_ack(irq);
+ } else {
+ chip->mask(irq);
+ chip->ack(irq);
+ }
+}
+
+noop(irq)
+{
+}
+
+ </programlisting>
+ </para>
+ </sect3>
+ </sect2>
+ <sect2>
+ <title>Default flow handler implementations</title>
+ <sect3>
+ <title>Default Level IRQ flow handler</title>
+ <para>
+ handle_level_irq provides a generic implementation
+ for level-triggered interrupts.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The following control flow is implemented (simplified excerpt):
+ <programlisting>
+desc->chip->start();
+handle_IRQ_event(desc->action);
+desc->chip->end();
+ </programlisting>
+ </para>
+ </sect3>
+ <sect3>
+ <title>Default Edge IRQ flow handler</title>
+ <para>
+ handle_edge_irq provides a generic implementation
+ for edge-triggered interrupts.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The following control flow is implemented (simplified excerpt):
+ <programlisting>
+if (desc->status & running) {
+ desc->chip->hold();
+ desc->status |= pending | masked;
+ return;
+}
+desc->chip->start();
+desc->status |= running;
+do {
+ if (desc->status & masked)
+ desc->chip->enable();
+ desc-status &= ~pending;
+ handle_IRQ_event(desc->action);
+} while (status & pending);
+desc-status &= ~running;
+desc->chip->end();
+ </programlisting>
+ </para>
+ </sect3>
+ <sect3>
+ <title>Default simple IRQ flow handler</title>
+ <para>
+ handle_simple_irq provides a generic implementation
+ for simple interrupts.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Note: The simple flow handler does not call any
+ handler/chip primitives.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The following control flow is implemented (simplified excerpt):
+ <programlisting>
+handle_IRQ_event(desc->action);
+ </programlisting>
+ </para>
+ </sect3>
+ <sect3>
+ <title>Default per CPU flow handler</title>
+ <para>
+ handle_percpu_irq provides a generic implementation
+ for per CPU interrupts.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ Per CPU interrupts are only available on SMP and
+ the handler provides a simplified version without
+ locking.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ The following control flow is implemented (simplified excerpt):
+ <programlisting>
+desc->chip->start();
+handle_IRQ_event(desc->action);
+desc->chip->end();
+ </programlisting>
+ </para>
+ </sect3>
+ </sect2>
+ <sect2>
+ <title>Quirks and optimizations</title>
+ <para>
+ The generic functions are intended for 'clean' architectures and chips,
+ which have no platform-specific IRQ handling quirks. If an architecture
+ needs to implement quirks on the 'flow' level then it can do so by
+ overriding the highlevel irq-flow handler.
+ </para>
+ </sect2>
+ <sect2>
+ <title>Delayed interrupt disable</title>
+ <para>
+ This per interrupt selectable feature, which was introduced by Russell
+ King in the ARM interrupt implementation, does not mask an interrupt
+ at the hardware level when disable_irq() is called. The interrupt is
+ kept enabled and is masked in the flow handler when an interrupt event
+ happens. This prevents losing edge interrupts on hardware which does
+ not store an edge interrupt event while the interrupt is disabled at
+ the hardware level. When an interrupt arrives while the IRQ_DISABLED
+ flag is set, then the interrupt is masked at the hardware level and
+ the IRQ_PENDING bit is set. When the interrupt is re-enabled by
+ enable_irq() the pending bit is checked and if it is set, the
+ interrupt is resent either via hardware or by a software resend
+ mechanism. (It's necessary to enable CONFIG_HARDIRQS_SW_RESEND when
+ you want to use the delayed interrupt disable feature and your
+ hardware is not capable of retriggering an interrupt.)
+ The delayed interrupt disable can be runtime enabled, per interrupt,
+ by setting the IRQ_DELAYED_DISABLE flag in the irq_desc status field.
+ </para>
+ </sect2>
+ </sect1>
+ <sect1>
+ <title>Chiplevel hardware encapsulation</title>
+ <para>
+ The chip level hardware descriptor structure irq_chip
+ contains all the direct chip relevant functions, which
+ can be utilized by the irq flow implementations.
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <listitem><para>ack()</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>mask_ack() - Optional, recommended for performance</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>mask()</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>unmask()</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>retrigger() - Optional</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>set_type() - Optional</para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>set_wake() - Optional</para></listitem>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ These primitives are strictly intended to mean what they say: ack means
+ ACK, masking means masking of an IRQ line, etc. It is up to the flow
+ handler(s) to use these basic units of lowlevel functionality.
+ </para>
+ </sect1>
+ </chapter>
+
+ <chapter id="doirq">
+ <title>__do_IRQ entry point</title>
+ <para>
+ The original implementation __do_IRQ() is an alternative entry
+ point for all types of interrupts.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ This handler turned out to be not suitable for all
+ interrupt hardware and was therefore reimplemented with split
+ functionality for egde/level/simple/percpu interrupts. This is not
+ only a functional optimization. It also shortens code paths for
+ interrupts.
+ </para>
+ <para>
+ To make use of the split implementation, replace the call to
+ __do_IRQ by a call to desc->chip->handle_irq() and associate
+ the appropriate handler function to desc->chip->handle_irq().
+ In most cases the generic handler implementations should
+ be sufficient.
+ </para>
+ </chapter>
+
+ <chapter id="locking">
+ <title>Locking on SMP</title>
+ <para>
+ The locking of chip registers is up to the architecture that
+ defines the chip primitives. There is a chip->lock field that can be used
+ for serialization, but the generic layer does not touch it. The per-irq
+ structure is protected via desc->lock, by the generic layer.
+ </para>
+ </chapter>
+ <chapter id="structs">
+ <title>Structures</title>
+ <para>
+ This chapter contains the autogenerated documentation of the structures which are
+ used in the generic IRQ layer.
+ </para>
+!Iinclude/linux/irq.h
+ </chapter>
+
+ <chapter id="pubfunctions">
+ <title>Public Functions Provided</title>
+ <para>
+ This chapter contains the autogenerated documentation of the kernel API functions
+ which are exported.
+ </para>
+!Ekernel/irq/manage.c
+!Ekernel/irq/chip.c
+ </chapter>
+
+ <chapter id="intfunctions">
+ <title>Internal Functions Provided</title>
+ <para>
+ This chapter contains the autogenerated documentation of the internal functions.
+ </para>
+!Ikernel/irq/handle.c
+!Ikernel/irq/chip.c
+ </chapter>
+
+ <chapter id="credits">
+ <title>Credits</title>
+ <para>
+ The following people have contributed to this document:
+ <orderedlist>
+ <listitem><para>Thomas Gleixner<email>tglx@linutronix.de</email></para></listitem>
+ <listitem><para>Ingo Molnar<email>mingo@elte.hu</email></para></listitem>
+ </orderedlist>
+ </para>
+ </chapter>
+</book>
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