Re: [RFC PATCH 2/3] power: (regmap:) Add linear_range helper

["Vaittinen, Matti" <Matti.Vaittinen@fi.rohmeurope.com>]

On Fri, 2020-02-14 at 11:47 +0000, Mark Brown wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 12, 2020 at 06:56:37AM +0000, Vaittinen, Matti wrote:
> > On Tue, 2020-02-11 at 19:06 +0000, Mark Brown wrote:
> > > Note also that we already have quite extensive helpers for this
> > > sort
> > > of
> > > stuff in the regulator API which I sense may have been involved
> > > in
> > > this
> > > implementation
> > You sense well xD
> 
> If you're factoring stuff out of an existing implementation it'd be
> good
> to explicitly do that - this both shows where things came from and
> also
> means that you can show that the existing user works with the new
> code
> which is good.

True. But I didn't refactor the regulator code - I stole the idea and
wrote this thing in BD70528 power-supply driver. I didn't think of
creating generic helper until Linus W mentioned we should create one.

So now when I did the BD99954 driver and noticed I needed same helper
in power-supply area again I decided to get the implementation I did in
BD70528 driver and make it available for all. That was a low-hanging
fruit for me as I authored the BD70528 and know the linear-range code
was easy to pull out of the BD70528. Changing the regulator system was
not as easy for me - although it is doable.

> > But another option - which I thought only now - would be to see if
> > current regulator implementation could be re-named to more generic
> > and
> > placed under some more generic component (I thought of regmap but
> > as
> > you pointed out this is equally usefull for devices connected to
> > memory
> > mapped buses - so maybe under lib - if static inline functions in a
> > header are not a good option). I just have a feeling that the
> > linear-
> > ranges is currently kind of embedded in the code which is internal
> > to
> > regulator framework so it is probably not easily extracted from
> > regulator code?
> 
> It is a bit but I think that's solvable with some refactoring in
> place
> (eg, pushing things into a smaller struct embedded in the main
> regulator
> one and then moving them out).  I might look at it myself if nobody
> else
> gets to it first...

I need something like this in order to convert BD99954 current and
voltage values to register values. I will happily use what-ever you do
pull together - but if you don't feel like doing it now I might look at
the regulator part while I am working with BD99954 anyways. Please just
let me know if you want me to see if I can pull the range stuff out of
regulator area.

> > So if we do not start pulling the range code out of regulator
> > framework
> > (for now at least) - and if we do not place this under regmap -
> > then I
> > can drop you out of the recipient list for this charger driver in
> > order
> > to not pollute your inbox ;) How do you feel Mark, do you want to
> > be
> > following this series?
> 
> Well, if there's a refactoring out of the regulator code going on
> I'll
> need to look at that anyway.

My first idea was not to change the regulators now - hence I asked if I
should drop you. But I definitely need your support if we decide to
refactor the regulator code in this series and create these common
helpers out of it.

Br,
	Matti Vaittinen