1 files changed, 118 insertions, 5 deletions

diff --git a/Documentation/gpio.txt b/Documentation/gpio.txt
index c35ca9e40d4c..8b69811a9642 100644
--- a/Documentation/gpio.txt
+++ b/Documentation/gpio.txt
@@ -347,15 +347,12 @@ necessarily be nonportable.
 Dynamic definition of GPIOs is not currently standard; for example, as
 a side effect of configuring an add-on board with some GPIO expanders.
 
-These calls are purely for kernel space, but a userspace API could be built
-on top of them.
-
 
 GPIO implementor's framework (OPTIONAL)
 =======================================
 As noted earlier, there is an optional implementation framework making it
 easier for platforms to support different kinds of GPIO controller using
-the same programming interface.
+the same programming interface.  This framework is called "gpiolib".
 
 As a debugging aid, if debugfs is available a /sys/kernel/debug/gpio file
 will be found there.  That will list all the controllers registered through
@@ -439,4 +436,120 @@ becomes available.  That may mean the device should not be registered until
 calls for that GPIO can work.  One way to address such dependencies is for
 such gpio_chip controllers to provide setup() and teardown() callbacks to
 board specific code; those board specific callbacks would register devices
-once all the necessary resources are available.
+once all the necessary resources are available, and remove them later when
+the GPIO controller device becomes unavailable.
+
+
+Sysfs Interface for Userspace (OPTIONAL)
+========================================
+Platforms which use the "gpiolib" implementors framework may choose to
+configure a sysfs user interface to GPIOs.  This is different from the
+debugfs interface, since it provides control over GPIO direction and
+value instead of just showing a gpio state summary.  Plus, it could be
+present on production systems without debugging support.
+
+Given approprate hardware documentation for the system, userspace could
+know for example that GPIO #23 controls the write protect line used to
+protect boot loader segments in flash memory.  System upgrade procedures
+may need to temporarily remove that protection, first importing a GPIO,
+then changing its output state, then updating the code before re-enabling
+the write protection.  In normal use, GPIO #23 would never be touched,
+and the kernel would have no need to know about it.
+
+Again depending on appropriate hardware documentation, on some systems
+userspace GPIO can be used to determine system configuration data that
+standard kernels won't know about.  And for some tasks, simple userspace
+GPIO drivers could be all that the system really needs.
+
+Note that standard kernel drivers exist for common "LEDs and Buttons"
+GPIO tasks:  "leds-gpio" and "gpio_keys", respectively.  Use those
+instead of talking directly to the GPIOs; they integrate with kernel
+frameworks better than your userspace code could.
+
+
+Paths in Sysfs
+--------------
+There are three kinds of entry in /sys/class/gpio:
+
+   -    Control interfaces used to get userspace control over GPIOs;
+
+   -    GPIOs themselves; and
+
+   -    GPIO controllers ("gpio_chip" instances).
+
+That's in addition to standard files including the "device" symlink.
+
+The control interfaces are write-only:
+
+    /sys/class/gpio/
+
+        "export" ... Userspace may ask the kernel to export control of
+                a GPIO to userspace by writing its number to this file.
+
+                Example:  "echo 19 > export" will create a "gpio19" node
+                for GPIO #19, if that's not requested by kernel code.
+
+        "unexport" ... Reverses the effect of exporting to userspace.
+
+                Example:  "echo 19 > unexport" will remove a "gpio19"
+                node exported using the "export" file.
+
+GPIO signals have paths like /sys/class/gpio/gpio42/ (for GPIO #42)
+and have the following read/write attributes:
+
+    /sys/class/gpio/gpioN/
+
+        "direction" ... reads as either "in" or "out".  This value may
+                normally be written.  Writing as "out" defaults to
+                initializing the value as low.  To ensure glitch free
+                operation, values "low" and "high" may be written to
+                configure the GPIO as an output with that initial value.
+
+                Note that this attribute *will not exist* if the kernel
+                doesn't support changing the direction of a GPIO, or
+                it was exported by kernel code that didn't explicitly
+                allow userspace to reconfigure this GPIO's direction.
+
+        "value" ... reads as either 0 (low) or 1 (high).  If the GPIO
+                is configured as an output, this value may be written;
+                any nonzero value is treated as high.
+
+GPIO controllers have paths like /sys/class/gpio/chipchip42/ (for the
+controller implementing GPIOs starting at #42) and have the following
+read-only attributes:
+
+    /sys/class/gpio/gpiochipN/
+
+        "base" ... same as N, the first GPIO managed by this chip
+
+        "label" ... provided for diagnostics (not always unique)
+
+        "ngpio" ... how many GPIOs this manges (N to N + ngpio - 1)
+
+Board documentation should in most cases cover what GPIOs are used for
+what purposes.  However, those numbers are not always stable; GPIOs on
+a daughtercard might be different depending on the base board being used,
+or other cards in the stack.  In such cases, you may need to use the
+gpiochip nodes (possibly in conjunction with schematics) to determine
+the correct GPIO number to use for a given signal.
+
+
+Exporting from Kernel code
+--------------------------
+Kernel code can explicitly manage exports of GPIOs which have already been
+requested using gpio_request():
+
+        /* export the GPIO to userspace */
+        int gpio_export(unsigned gpio, bool direction_may_change);
+
+        /* reverse gpio_export() */
+        void gpio_unexport();
+
+After a kernel driver requests a GPIO, it may only be made available in
+the sysfs interface by gpio_export().  The driver can control whether the
+signal direction may change.  This helps drivers prevent userspace code
+from accidentally clobbering important system state.
+
+This explicit exporting can help with debugging (by making some kinds
+of experiments easier), or can provide an always-there interface that's
+suitable for documenting as part of a board support package.