linux-next/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.