From 1668be71ccae5a9610fc8a224bd80fbe852f93ae Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: David Brownell Date: Wed, 11 Apr 2007 23:28:42 -0700 Subject: [PATCH] doc: gpio.txt describes open-drain emulation Update the GPIO docs to describe the idiom whereby open drain signals are emulated by toggling the GPIO direction. Signed-off-by: David Brownell Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton Signed-off-by: Linus Torvalds --- Documentation/gpio.txt | 31 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++- 1 file changed, 30 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/Documentation/gpio.txt b/Documentation/gpio.txt index 989f1130f4f3..f8528db967fa 100644 --- a/Documentation/gpio.txt +++ b/Documentation/gpio.txt @@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ The exact capabilities of GPIOs vary between systems. Common options: - Output values are writable (high=1, low=0). Some chips also have options about how that value is driven, so that for example only one value might be driven ... supporting "wire-OR" and similar schemes - for the other value. + for the other value (notably, "open drain" signaling). - Input values are likewise readable (1, 0). Some chips support readback of pins configured as "output", which is very useful in such "wire-OR" @@ -247,6 +247,35 @@ with gpio_get_value(), for example to initialize or update driver state when the IRQ is edge-triggered. +Emulating Open Drain Signals +---------------------------- +Sometimes shared signals need to use "open drain" signaling, where only the +low signal level is actually driven. (That term applies to CMOS transistors; +"open collector" is used for TTL.) A pullup resistor causes the high signal +level. This is sometimes called a "wire-AND"; or more practically, from the +negative logic (low=true) perspective this is a "wire-OR". + +One common example of an open drain signal is a shared active-low IRQ line. +Also, bidirectional data bus signals sometimes use open drain signals. + +Some GPIO controllers directly support open drain outputs; many don't. When +you need open drain signaling but your hardware doesn't directly support it, +there's a common idiom you can use to emulate it with any GPIO pin that can +be used as either an input or an output: + + LOW: gpio_direction_output(gpio, 0) ... this drives the signal + and overrides the pullup. + + HIGH: gpio_direction_input(gpio) ... this turns off the output, + so the pullup (or some other device) controls the signal. + +If you are "driving" the signal high but gpio_get_value(gpio) reports a low +value (after the appropriate rise time passes), you know some other component +is driving the shared signal low. That's not necessarily an error. As one +common example, that's how I2C clocks are stretched: a slave that needs a +slower clock delays the rising edge of SCK, and the I2C master adjusts its +signaling rate accordingly. + What do these conventions omit? =============================== -- cgit v1.2.2