Re: [Dri-devel] Re: [Linux-fbdev-devel] DRM and pci_driver conversion

[Jeff Garzik <jgarzik@pobox.com>]

Linus Torvalds wrote:
> Quite frankly, I'd much rather see a low-level graphics driver that does
> _two_ things, and those things only:
> 
>  - basic hardware enumeration and setup (and no, "basic setup" does not
>    mean "mode switching": it literally means things like doing the 
>    pci_enable_device() stuff.
> 
>  - serialization and arbitrary command queuing from a _trusted_ party (ie
>    it could take command lists from the X server, but not from untrusted
>    clients). This part basically boils down to "DMA and interrupts". This 
>    is the part that allows others to wait for command completion, "enough 
>    space in the ring buffers" etc. But it does _not_ know or care what the 
>    commands are.

Thank you for saying it.  This is what I have been preaching (quietly) 
for years -- command submission and synchronization (and thus, DMA/irq 
handling) needs to be in the kernel.  Everything else can be in 
userspace (excluding hardware enable/enumerate, of course).

Graphics processors are growing more general, too -- moving towards 
generic vector/data processing engines.  I bet you'll see an optimal 
model emerge where you have some sort of "JIT" for GPU microcode in 
userspace.  Multiple apps pipeline X/GL/hardware commands into the JIT, 
which in turn pipelines data and microcode commands to the GPU kernel 
driver.

	Jeff