linux/Documentation/ABI
Linus Torvalds a157b3aaa4 pwm: Changes for v4.8-rc1
This set of changes improve some aspects of the atomic API as well as
 make use of this new API in the regulator framework to allow properly
 dealing with critical regulators controlled by a PWM.
 
 Aside from that there's a bunch of updates and cleanups for existing
 drivers, as well as the addition of new drivers for the Broadcom iProc,
 STMPE and ChromeOS EC controllers.
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Merge tag 'pwm/for-4.8-rc1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/thierry.reding/linux-pwm

Pull pwm updates from Thierry Reding:
 "This set of changes improve some aspects of the atomic API as well as
  make use of this new API in the regulator framework to allow properly
  dealing with critical regulators controlled by a PWM.

  Aside from that there's a bunch of updates and cleanups for existing
  drivers, as well as the addition of new drivers for the Broadcom
  iProc, STMPE and ChromeOS EC controllers"

* tag 'pwm/for-4.8-rc1' of git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/thierry.reding/linux-pwm: (44 commits)
  regulator: pwm: Document pwm-dutycycle-unit and pwm-dutycycle-range
  regulator: pwm: Support extra continuous mode cases
  pwm: Add ChromeOS EC PWM driver
  dt-bindings: pwm: Add binding for ChromeOS EC PWM
  mfd: cros_ec: Add EC_PWM function definitions
  mfd: cros_ec: Add cros_ec_cmd_xfer_status() helper
  pwm: atmel: Use of_device_get_match_data()
  pwm: atmel: Fix checkpatch warnings
  pwm: atmel: Fix disabling of PWM channels
  dt-bindings: pwm: Add R-Car H3 device tree bindings
  pwm: rcar: Use ARCH_RENESAS
  pwm: tegra: Add support for Tegra186
  dt-bindings: pwm: tegra: Add compatible string for Tegra186
  pwm: tegra: Avoid overflow when calculating duty cycle
  pwm: tegra: Allow 100 % duty cycle
  pwm: tegra: Add support for reset control
  pwm: tegra: Rename mmio_base to regs
  pwm: tegra: Remove useless padding
  pwm: tegra: Drop NUM_PWM macro
  pwm: lpc32xx: Set PWM_PIN_LEVEL bit to default value
  ...
2016-08-06 00:01:33 -04:00
..
obsolete Documentation: fix common spelling mistakes 2016-04-28 07:51:59 -06:00
removed rfkill: Remove obsolete "claim" sysfs interface 2016-02-24 09:04:24 +01:00
stable UBI: Add ro-mode sysfs attribute 2016-05-24 15:15:26 +02:00
testing pwm: Changes for v4.8-rc1 2016-08-06 00:01:33 -04:00
README Documentation/ABI: document the non-ABI status of Kconfig and symbols 2013-11-13 12:09:32 +09:00

README

This directory attempts to document the ABI between the Linux kernel and
userspace, and the relative stability of these interfaces.  Due to the
everchanging nature of Linux, and the differing maturity levels, these
interfaces should be used by userspace programs in different ways.

We have four different levels of ABI stability, as shown by the four
different subdirectories in this location.  Interfaces may change levels
of stability according to the rules described below.

The different levels of stability are:

  stable/
	This directory documents the interfaces that the developer has
	defined to be stable.  Userspace programs are free to use these
	interfaces with no restrictions, and backward compatibility for
	them will be guaranteed for at least 2 years.  Most interfaces
	(like syscalls) are expected to never change and always be
	available.

  testing/
	This directory documents interfaces that are felt to be stable,
	as the main development of this interface has been completed.
	The interface can be changed to add new features, but the
	current interface will not break by doing this, unless grave
	errors or security problems are found in them.  Userspace
	programs can start to rely on these interfaces, but they must be
	aware of changes that can occur before these interfaces move to
	be marked stable.  Programs that use these interfaces are
	strongly encouraged to add their name to the description of
	these interfaces, so that the kernel developers can easily
	notify them if any changes occur (see the description of the
	layout of the files below for details on how to do this.)

  obsolete/
  	This directory documents interfaces that are still remaining in
	the kernel, but are marked to be removed at some later point in
	time.  The description of the interface will document the reason
	why it is obsolete and when it can be expected to be removed.

  removed/
	This directory contains a list of the old interfaces that have
	been removed from the kernel.

Every file in these directories will contain the following information:

What:		Short description of the interface
Date:		Date created
KernelVersion:	Kernel version this feature first showed up in.
Contact:	Primary contact for this interface (may be a mailing list)
Description:	Long description of the interface and how to use it.
Users:		All users of this interface who wish to be notified when
		it changes.  This is very important for interfaces in
		the "testing" stage, so that kernel developers can work
		with userspace developers to ensure that things do not
		break in ways that are unacceptable.  It is also
		important to get feedback for these interfaces to make
		sure they are working in a proper way and do not need to
		be changed further.


How things move between levels:

Interfaces in stable may move to obsolete, as long as the proper
notification is given.

Interfaces may be removed from obsolete and the kernel as long as the
documented amount of time has gone by.

Interfaces in the testing state can move to the stable state when the
developers feel they are finished.  They cannot be removed from the
kernel tree without going through the obsolete state first.

It's up to the developer to place their interfaces in the category they
wish for it to start out in.


Notable bits of non-ABI, which should not under any circumstances be considered
stable:

- Kconfig.  Userspace should not rely on the presence or absence of any
  particular Kconfig symbol, in /proc/config.gz, in the copy of .config
  commonly installed to /boot, or in any invocation of the kernel build
  process.

- Kernel-internal symbols.  Do not rely on the presence, absence, location, or
  type of any kernel symbol, either in System.map files or the kernel binary
  itself.  See Documentation/stable_api_nonsense.txt.