diff mbox

[1/6,v14] gpio: Add a block GPIO API to gpiolib

Message ID 1358856404-8975-2-git-send-email-stigge@antcom.de (mailing list archive)
State New, archived
Headers show

Commit Message

Roland Stigge Jan. 22, 2013, 12:06 p.m. UTC
The recurring task of providing simultaneous access to GPIO lines (especially
for bit banging protocols) needs an appropriate API.

This patch adds a kernel internal "Block GPIO" API that enables simultaneous
access to several GPIOs. This is done by abstracting GPIOs to an n-bit word:
Once requested, it provides access to a group of GPIOs which can range over
multiple GPIO chips.

Signed-off-by: Roland Stigge <stigge@antcom.de>
---

 Documentation/gpio.txt     |   58 +++++++++++
 drivers/gpio/gpiolib.c     |  227 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 include/asm-generic/gpio.h |   17 +++
 include/linux/gpio.h       |   97 +++++++++++++++++++
 4 files changed, 399 insertions(+)

Comments

Stijn Devriendt Jan. 27, 2013, 1:19 p.m. UTC | #1
On Tue, Jan 22, 2013 at 1:06 PM, Roland Stigge <stigge@antcom.de> wrote:
> The recurring task of providing simultaneous access to GPIO lines (especially
> for bit banging protocols) needs an appropriate API.
>
> This patch adds a kernel internal "Block GPIO" API that enables simultaneous
> access to several GPIOs. This is done by abstracting GPIOs to an n-bit word:
> Once requested, it provides access to a group of GPIOs which can range over
> multiple GPIO chips.
>
> Signed-off-by: Roland Stigge <stigge@antcom.de>
> ---
>
>  Documentation/gpio.txt     |   58 +++++++++++
>  drivers/gpio/gpiolib.c     |  227 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>  include/asm-generic/gpio.h |   17 +++
>  include/linux/gpio.h       |   97 +++++++++++++++++++
>  4 files changed, 399 insertions(+)
>
> --- linux-2.6.orig/Documentation/gpio.txt
> +++ linux-2.6/Documentation/gpio.txt
> @@ -481,6 +481,64 @@ exact name string of pinctrl device has
>  argument to this routine.
>
>
> +Block GPIO
> +----------
> +
> +The above described interface concentrates on handling single GPIOs.  However,
> +in applications where it is critical to set several GPIOs at once, this
> +interface doesn't work well, e.g. bit-banging protocols via grouped GPIO lines.
> +Consider a GPIO controller that is connected via a slow I2C line. When
> +switching two or more GPIOs one after another, there can be considerable time
> +between those events. This is solved by an interface called Block GPIO:
> +
> +struct gpio_block *gpio_block_create(unsigned int *gpios, size_t size,
> +                                    const char *name);
> +
> +This creates a new block of GPIOs as a list of GPIO numbers with the specified
> +size which are accessible via the returned struct gpio_block and the accessor
> +functions described below. Please note that you need to request the GPIOs
> +separately via gpio_request(). Similarly, the direction of the used GPIOs need
> +to be set by the user before using the block.

Is there anything holding you back from letting gpio_block_create() do
the request
for all the pins?
Also, wouldn't it make sense to have a gpio_block_direction_input()
and _output()
variant? On the other hand, for things like I2C and SPI emulation,
some pins will
naturally be always output (like clock lines) while other could be
switched between
in and output (like the i2c data line).

Regards,
Stijn

> +An arbitrary list of globally
> +valid GPIOs can be specified, even ranging over several gpio_chips. Actual
> +handling of I/O operations will be done on a best effort base, i.e.
> +simultaneous I/O only where possible by hardware and implemented in the
> +respective GPIO driver. The number of GPIOs in one block is limited to the
> +number of bits in an unsigned long, or BITS_PER_LONG, of the respective
> +platform, i.e. typically at least 32 on a 32 bit system, and at least 64 on a
> +64 bit system. However, several blocks can be defined at once.
> +
> +unsigned long gpio_block_get(struct gpio_block *block, unsigned long mask);
> +void gpio_block_set(struct gpio_block *block, unsigned long mask,
> +                   unsigned long values);
> +
> +With those accessor functions, setting and getting the GPIO values is possible,
> +analogous to gpio_get_value() and gpio_set_value(). Each bit in the return
> +value of gpio_block_get() and in the value argument of gpio_block_set()
> +corresponds to a bit specified on gpio_block_create(). The mask parameters
> +specify which bits in the block are acted upon. This is useful to let some bits
> +untouched when doing a set operation on the block.
> +
> +Block operations in hardware are only possible where the respective GPIO driver
> +implements it, falling back to using single GPIO operations where the driver
> +only implements single GPIO access.
> +
> +If a GPIO block includes GPIOs from several chips, the chips are handled one
> +after another in the order of first specification in the list of GPIOs defined
> +in the GPIO block, starting with bit 0. Note that in this case, you typically
> +can't assume simultaneous access.
> +
> +void gpio_block_free(struct gpio_block *block);
> +
> +After the GPIO block isn't used anymore, it should be free'd via
> +gpio_block_free().
> +
> +int gpio_block_register(struct gpio_block *block);
> +void gpio_block_unregister(struct gpio_block *block);
> +
> +These functions can be used to register a GPIO block. Blocks registered this
> +way will be available via userspace API.
> +
> +
>  What do these conventions omit?
>  ===============================
>  One of the biggest things these conventions omit is pin multiplexing, since
> --- linux-2.6.orig/drivers/gpio/gpiolib.c
> +++ linux-2.6/drivers/gpio/gpiolib.c
> @@ -83,6 +83,8 @@ static inline void desc_set_label(struct
>  #endif
>  }
>
> +static LIST_HEAD(gpio_block_list);
> +
>  /* Warn when drivers omit gpio_request() calls -- legal but ill-advised
>   * when setting direction, and otherwise illegal.  Until board setup code
>   * and drivers use explicit requests everywhere (which won't happen when
> @@ -217,6 +219,16 @@ static int gpio_get_direction(unsigned g
>         return status;
>  }
>
> +static bool gpio_block_is_output(struct gpio_block *block)
> +{
> +       int i;
> +
> +       for (i = 0; i < block->ngpio; i++)
> +               if (!test_bit(FLAG_IS_OUT, &gpio_desc[block->gpio[i]].flags))
> +                       return false;
> +       return true;
> +}
> +
>  #ifdef CONFIG_GPIO_SYSFS
>
>  /* lock protects against unexport_gpio() being called while
> @@ -1799,6 +1811,221 @@ void __gpio_set_value(unsigned gpio, int
>  }
>  EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(__gpio_set_value);
>
> +static struct gpio_block_chip *gpio_block_chip_get(struct gpio_block *block,
> +                                                  struct gpio_chip *gc)
> +{
> +       struct gpio_block_chip *i;
> +
> +       list_for_each_entry(i, &block->gbc_list, list)
> +               if (i->gc == gc)
> +                       return i;
> +       return NULL;
> +}
> +
> +struct gpio_block *gpio_block_create(unsigned *gpios, size_t size,
> +                                    const char *name)
> +{
> +       struct gpio_block *block;
> +       struct gpio_block_chip *gbc;
> +       struct gpio_remap *remap;
> +       int i;
> +
> +       if (size < 1 || size > BITS_PER_LONG)
> +               return ERR_PTR(-EINVAL);
> +
> +       for (i = 0; i < size; i++)
> +               if (!gpio_is_valid(gpios[i]))
> +                       return ERR_PTR(-EINVAL);
> +
> +       block = kzalloc(sizeof(struct gpio_block), GFP_KERNEL);
> +       if (!block)
> +               return ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM);
> +
> +       block->name = name;
> +       block->ngpio = size;
> +       INIT_LIST_HEAD(&block->gbc_list);
> +       block->gpio = kzalloc(sizeof(*block->gpio) * size, GFP_KERNEL);
> +       if (!block->gpio)
> +               goto err;
> +
> +       memcpy(block->gpio, gpios, sizeof(*block->gpio) * size);
> +
> +       for (i = 0; i < size; i++) {
> +               struct gpio_chip *gc = gpio_to_chip(gpios[i]);
> +               int bit = gpios[i] - gc->base;
> +               gbc = gpio_block_chip_get(block, gc);
> +
> +               if (!gbc) {
> +                       gbc = kzalloc(sizeof(struct gpio_block_chip),
> +                                     GFP_KERNEL);
> +                       if (!gbc)
> +                               goto err;
> +                       list_add_tail(&gbc->list, &block->gbc_list);
> +                       gbc->gc = gc;
> +                       INIT_LIST_HEAD(&gbc->remap_list);
> +               }
> +
> +               /*
> +                * represents the mask necessary on calls to the driver's
> +                * .get_block() and .set_block()
> +                */
> +               gbc->mask |= BIT(bit);
> +
> +               /*
> +                * collect gpios that are specified together, represented by
> +                * neighboring bits
> +                *
> +                * get last element and create new element if list empty or
> +                * new element necessary
> +                */
> +               remap = list_entry(gbc->remap_list.prev, struct gpio_remap,
> +                                  list);
> +               if (list_empty(&gbc->remap_list) ||
> +                   (bit - i != remap->offset)) {
> +                       remap = kzalloc(sizeof(struct gpio_remap), GFP_KERNEL);
> +                       if (!remap)
> +                               goto err;
> +                       list_add_tail(&remap->list, &gbc->remap_list);
> +                       remap->offset = bit - i;
> +               }
> +
> +               /*
> +                * represents the mask necessary for bit reordering between
> +                * gpio_block (i.e. as specified on gpio_block_get() and
> +                * gpio_block_set()) and gpio_chip domain (i.e. as specified on
> +                * the driver's .set_block() and .get_block())
> +                */
> +               remap->mask |= BIT(i);
> +       }
> +
> +       return block;
> +err:
> +       gpio_block_free(block);
> +       return ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM);
> +}
> +EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(gpio_block_create);
> +
> +void gpio_block_free(struct gpio_block *block)
> +{
> +       struct list_head *i, *itmp, *j, *jtmp;
> +       struct gpio_block_chip *gbc;
> +       struct gpio_remap *remap;
> +
> +       list_for_each_safe(i, itmp, &block->gbc_list) {
> +               gbc = list_entry(i, struct gpio_block_chip, list);
> +               list_del(i);
> +               list_for_each_safe(j, jtmp, &gbc->remap_list) {
> +                      remap = list_entry(j, struct gpio_remap, list);
> +                      list_del(j);
> +                      kfree(remap);
> +               }
> +               kfree(gbc);
> +       }
> +
> +       kfree(block->gpio);
> +       kfree(block);
> +}
> +EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(gpio_block_free);
> +
> +unsigned long gpio_block_get(const struct gpio_block *block, unsigned long mask)
> +{
> +       struct gpio_block_chip *gbc;
> +       unsigned long values = 0;
> +
> +       list_for_each_entry(gbc, &block->gbc_list, list) {
> +               struct gpio_remap *remap;
> +               int i;
> +               unsigned long remapped = 0;
> +               unsigned long remapped_mask = 0;
> +
> +               list_for_each_entry(remap, &gbc->remap_list, list)
> +                       remapped_mask |= (mask & remap->mask) << remap->offset;
> +               remapped_mask &= gbc->mask;
> +
> +               if (!remapped_mask)
> +                       continue;
> +
> +               if (gbc->gc->get_block)
> +                       remapped = gbc->gc->get_block(gbc->gc, remapped_mask);
> +               else
> +                       /* emulate */
> +                       for_each_set_bit(i, &remapped_mask, BITS_PER_LONG)
> +                               remapped |= gbc->gc->get(gbc->gc,
> +                                               gbc->gc->base + i) << i;
> +
> +               list_for_each_entry(remap, &gbc->remap_list, list)
> +                       values |= (remapped >> remap->offset) & remap->mask;
> +       }
> +
> +       return values;
> +}
> +EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(gpio_block_get);
> +
> +void gpio_block_set(struct gpio_block *block, unsigned long mask,
> +                   unsigned long values)
> +{
> +       struct gpio_block_chip *gbc;
> +
> +       list_for_each_entry(gbc, &block->gbc_list, list) {
> +               struct gpio_remap *remap;
> +               int i;
> +               unsigned long remapped = 0;
> +               unsigned long remapped_mask = 0;
> +
> +               list_for_each_entry(remap, &gbc->remap_list, list) {
> +                       remapped |= (values & remap->mask) << remap->offset;
> +                       remapped_mask |= (mask & remap->mask) << remap->offset;
> +               }
> +               remapped_mask &= gbc->mask;
> +
> +               if (!remapped_mask)
> +                       continue;
> +
> +               if (gbc->gc->set_block)
> +                       gbc->gc->set_block(gbc->gc, remapped_mask, remapped);
> +               else
> +                       /* emulate */
> +                       for_each_set_bit(i, &remapped_mask, BITS_PER_LONG)
> +                               gbc->gc->set(gbc->gc, gbc->gc->base + i,
> +                                            (remapped >> i) & 1);
> +       }
> +}
> +EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(gpio_block_set);
> +
> +struct gpio_block *gpio_block_find_by_name(const char *name)
> +{
> +       struct gpio_block *i;
> +
> +       list_for_each_entry(i, &gpio_block_list, list)
> +               if (!strcmp(i->name, name))
> +                       return i;
> +       return NULL;
> +}
> +EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(gpio_block_find_by_name);
> +
> +int gpio_block_register(struct gpio_block *block)
> +{
> +       if (gpio_block_find_by_name(block->name))
> +               return -EBUSY;
> +
> +       list_add(&block->list, &gpio_block_list);
> +
> +       return 0;
> +}
> +EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(gpio_block_register);
> +
> +void gpio_block_unregister(struct gpio_block *block)
> +{
> +       struct gpio_block *i;
> +
> +       list_for_each_entry(i, &gpio_block_list, list)
> +               if (i == block) {
> +                       list_del(&i->list);
> +                       break;
> +               }
> +}
> +EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(gpio_block_unregister);
> +
>  /**
>   * __gpio_cansleep() - report whether gpio value access will sleep
>   * @gpio: gpio in question
> --- linux-2.6.orig/include/asm-generic/gpio.h
> +++ linux-2.6/include/asm-generic/gpio.h
> @@ -44,6 +44,7 @@ static inline bool gpio_is_valid(int num
>
>  struct device;
>  struct gpio;
> +struct gpio_block;
>  struct seq_file;
>  struct module;
>  struct device_node;
> @@ -109,6 +110,8 @@ struct gpio_chip {
>                                                 unsigned offset);
>         int                     (*get)(struct gpio_chip *chip,
>                                                 unsigned offset);
> +       unsigned long           (*get_block)(struct gpio_chip *chip,
> +                                            unsigned long mask);
>         int                     (*direction_output)(struct gpio_chip *chip,
>                                                 unsigned offset, int value);
>         int                     (*set_debounce)(struct gpio_chip *chip,
> @@ -116,6 +119,9 @@ struct gpio_chip {
>
>         void                    (*set)(struct gpio_chip *chip,
>                                                 unsigned offset, int value);
> +       void                    (*set_block)(struct gpio_chip *chip,
> +                                            unsigned long mask,
> +                                            unsigned long values);
>
>         int                     (*to_irq)(struct gpio_chip *chip,
>                                                 unsigned offset);
> @@ -184,6 +190,17 @@ extern void gpio_set_value_cansleep(unsi
>  extern int __gpio_get_value(unsigned gpio);
>  extern void __gpio_set_value(unsigned gpio, int value);
>
> +extern struct gpio_block *gpio_block_create(unsigned *gpio, size_t size,
> +                                           const char *name);
> +extern void gpio_block_free(struct gpio_block *block);
> +extern unsigned long gpio_block_get(const struct gpio_block *block,
> +                                   unsigned long mask);
> +extern void gpio_block_set(struct gpio_block *block, unsigned long mask,
> +                          unsigned long values);
> +extern struct gpio_block *gpio_block_find_by_name(const char *name);
> +extern int gpio_block_register(struct gpio_block *block);
> +extern void gpio_block_unregister(struct gpio_block *block);
> +
>  extern int __gpio_cansleep(unsigned gpio);
>
>  extern int __gpio_to_irq(unsigned gpio);
> --- linux-2.6.orig/include/linux/gpio.h
> +++ linux-2.6/include/linux/gpio.h
> @@ -2,6 +2,8 @@
>  #define __LINUX_GPIO_H
>
>  #include <linux/errno.h>
> +#include <linux/types.h>
> +#include <linux/list.h>
>
>  /* see Documentation/gpio.txt */
>
> @@ -39,6 +41,64 @@ struct gpio {
>         const char      *label;
>  };
>
> +/**
> + * struct gpio_remap - a structure for describing a bit mapping
> + * @mask:      a bit mask, relevant for a (partial) mapping
> + * @offset:    how many bits to shift to the left (negative: to the right)
> + * @list:      several remappings are internally collected in a list
> + *
> + * When we are mapping bit values from one word to another (here: from GPIO
> + * block domain to GPIO driver domain) we first mask them out with mask and
> + * shift them as specified with offset. More complicated mappings are done by
> + * grouping several of those structs and adding the results together.
> + */
> +struct gpio_remap {
> +       unsigned long           mask;
> +       int                     offset;
> +
> +       struct list_head        list;
> +};
> +
> +/**
> + * struct gpio_block_chip - a structure representing chip specific data in a
> + *                          gpio block
> + * @gc:          the chip
> + * @remap_list:  list of remappings, there are several necessary if the bits
> + *               are not consecutive
> + * @mask:        chip specific mask, used for propagating to the driver's
> + *               get_block() and set_block() functions
> + * @list:        list collecting potentially multiple chips in one block
> + *
> + * This structure holds information about remapping and masking of gpios within
> + * one chip. There can be several of those in one block.
> + */
> +struct gpio_block_chip {
> +       struct gpio_chip        *gc;
> +       struct list_head        remap_list;
> +       unsigned long           mask;
> +
> +       struct list_head        list;
> +};
> +
> +/**
> + * struct gpio_block - a structure describing a list of GPIOs for simultaneous
> + *                     operations
> + * @gbc_list:   list of chips in this block, typically just one
> + * @name:       the name of this block
> + * @ngpio:      number of gpios in this block
> + * @gpio:       list of gpios in this block
> + * @list:       global list of blocks, maintained by gpiolib
> + */
> +struct gpio_block {
> +       struct list_head        gbc_list;
> +       const char              *name;
> +
> +       int                     ngpio;
> +       unsigned                *gpio;
> +
> +       struct list_head        list;
> +};
> +
>  #ifdef CONFIG_GENERIC_GPIO
>
>  #ifdef CONFIG_ARCH_HAVE_CUSTOM_GPIO_H
> @@ -169,6 +229,43 @@ static inline void gpio_set_value(unsign
>         WARN_ON(1);
>  }
>
> +static inline
> +struct gpio_block *gpio_block_create(unsigned *gpios, size_t size,
> +                                    const char *name)
> +{
> +       WARN_ON(1);
> +       return NULL;
> +}
> +
> +static inline void gpio_block_free(struct gpio_block *block)
> +{
> +       WARN_ON(1);
> +}
> +
> +static inline unsigned long gpio_block_get(const struct gpio_block *block,
> +                                          unsigned long mask)
> +{
> +       WARN_ON(1);
> +       return 0;
> +}
> +
> +static inline void gpio_block_set(struct gpio_block *block, unsigned long mask,
> +                                 unsigned long values)
> +{
> +       WARN_ON(1);
> +}
> +
> +static inline int gpio_block_register(struct gpio_block *block)
> +{
> +       WARN_ON(1);
> +       return 0;
> +}
> +
> +static inline void gpio_block_unregister(struct gpio_block *block)
> +{
> +       WARN_ON(1);
> +}
> +
>  static inline int gpio_cansleep(unsigned gpio)
>  {
>         /* GPIO can never have been requested or set as {in,out}put */
Roland Stigge Jan. 27, 2013, 1:58 p.m. UTC | #2
On 27/01/13 14:19, Stijn Devriendt wrote:
>> +Block GPIO
>> +----------
>> +
>> +The above described interface concentrates on handling single GPIOs.  However,
>> +in applications where it is critical to set several GPIOs at once, this
>> +interface doesn't work well, e.g. bit-banging protocols via grouped GPIO lines.
>> +Consider a GPIO controller that is connected via a slow I2C line. When
>> +switching two or more GPIOs one after another, there can be considerable time
>> +between those events. This is solved by an interface called Block GPIO:
>> +
>> +struct gpio_block *gpio_block_create(unsigned int *gpios, size_t size,
>> +                                    const char *name);
>> +
>> +This creates a new block of GPIOs as a list of GPIO numbers with the specified
>> +size which are accessible via the returned struct gpio_block and the accessor
>> +functions described below. Please note that you need to request the GPIOs
>> +separately via gpio_request(). Similarly, the direction of the used GPIOs need
>> +to be set by the user before using the block.
> 
> Is there anything holding you back from letting gpio_block_create() do
> the request
> for all the pins?

It's analoguous to plain GPIOs: They exist, but are not requested (by
whom?) by default.

> Also, wouldn't it make sense to have a gpio_block_direction_input()
> and _output()
> variant? On the other hand, for things like I2C and SPI emulation,
> some pins will
> naturally be always output (like clock lines) while other could be
> switched between
> in and output (like the i2c data line).

Right. Current implementation emphasizes on switching, not direction or
other convenience functions, which could be added, nevertheless.

Roland
Stijn Devriendt Jan. 28, 2013, 11:30 a.m. UTC | #3
On Sun, Jan 27, 2013 at 2:58 PM, Roland Stigge <stigge@antcom.de> wrote:
> On 27/01/13 14:19, Stijn Devriendt wrote:
>>> +Block GPIO
>>> +----------
>>> +
>>> +The above described interface concentrates on handling single GPIOs.  However,
>>> +in applications where it is critical to set several GPIOs at once, this
>>> +interface doesn't work well, e.g. bit-banging protocols via grouped GPIO lines.
>>> +Consider a GPIO controller that is connected via a slow I2C line. When
>>> +switching two or more GPIOs one after another, there can be considerable time
>>> +between those events. This is solved by an interface called Block GPIO:
>>> +
>>> +struct gpio_block *gpio_block_create(unsigned int *gpios, size_t size,
>>> +                                    const char *name);
>>> +
>>> +This creates a new block of GPIOs as a list of GPIO numbers with the specified
>>> +size which are accessible via the returned struct gpio_block and the accessor
>>> +functions described below. Please note that you need to request the GPIOs
>>> +separately via gpio_request(). Similarly, the direction of the used GPIOs need
>>> +to be set by the user before using the block.
>>
>> Is there anything holding you back from letting gpio_block_create() do
>> the request
>> for all the pins?
>
> It's analoguous to plain GPIOs: They exist, but are not requested (by
> whom?) by default.
>

This is one of the warts of the GPIO API, if you ask me (and probably
others too).
Using a resource without allocating it first is just asking for
trouble. It's one of those
things pinctl was designed to solve... I've been thinking about
spending spare time
sending out patches converting all implicit requests and then removing
the implicit
request, but spare time is limited...

Regards,
Stijn

>> Also, wouldn't it make sense to have a gpio_block_direction_input()
>> and _output()
>> variant? On the other hand, for things like I2C and SPI emulation,
>> some pins will
>> naturally be always output (like clock lines) while other could be
>> switched between
>> in and output (like the i2c data line).
>
> Right. Current implementation emphasizes on switching, not direction or
> other convenience functions, which could be added, nevertheless.
>
> Roland
Linus Walleij Jan. 31, 2013, 8:56 p.m. UTC | #4
On Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 12:30 PM, Stijn Devriendt <highguy@gmail.com> wrote:

> This is one of the warts of the GPIO API, if you ask me (and probably
> others too).
> Using a resource without allocating it first is just asking for
> trouble. It's one of those
> things pinctl was designed to solve... I've been thinking about
> spending spare time
> sending out patches converting all implicit requests and then removing
> the implicit
> request, but spare time is limited...

It would be much appreciated. We can make good use of all
help we can get in this area...

Yours,
Linus Walleij
diff mbox

Patch

--- linux-2.6.orig/Documentation/gpio.txt
+++ linux-2.6/Documentation/gpio.txt
@@ -481,6 +481,64 @@  exact name string of pinctrl device has
 argument to this routine.
 
 
+Block GPIO
+----------
+
+The above described interface concentrates on handling single GPIOs.  However,
+in applications where it is critical to set several GPIOs at once, this
+interface doesn't work well, e.g. bit-banging protocols via grouped GPIO lines.
+Consider a GPIO controller that is connected via a slow I2C line. When
+switching two or more GPIOs one after another, there can be considerable time
+between those events. This is solved by an interface called Block GPIO:
+
+struct gpio_block *gpio_block_create(unsigned int *gpios, size_t size,
+				     const char *name);
+
+This creates a new block of GPIOs as a list of GPIO numbers with the specified
+size which are accessible via the returned struct gpio_block and the accessor
+functions described below. Please note that you need to request the GPIOs
+separately via gpio_request(). Similarly, the direction of the used GPIOs need
+to be set by the user before using the block. An arbitrary list of globally
+valid GPIOs can be specified, even ranging over several gpio_chips. Actual
+handling of I/O operations will be done on a best effort base, i.e.
+simultaneous I/O only where possible by hardware and implemented in the
+respective GPIO driver. The number of GPIOs in one block is limited to the
+number of bits in an unsigned long, or BITS_PER_LONG, of the respective
+platform, i.e. typically at least 32 on a 32 bit system, and at least 64 on a
+64 bit system. However, several blocks can be defined at once.
+
+unsigned long gpio_block_get(struct gpio_block *block, unsigned long mask);
+void gpio_block_set(struct gpio_block *block, unsigned long mask,
+		    unsigned long values);
+
+With those accessor functions, setting and getting the GPIO values is possible,
+analogous to gpio_get_value() and gpio_set_value(). Each bit in the return
+value of gpio_block_get() and in the value argument of gpio_block_set()
+corresponds to a bit specified on gpio_block_create(). The mask parameters
+specify which bits in the block are acted upon. This is useful to let some bits
+untouched when doing a set operation on the block.
+
+Block operations in hardware are only possible where the respective GPIO driver
+implements it, falling back to using single GPIO operations where the driver
+only implements single GPIO access.
+
+If a GPIO block includes GPIOs from several chips, the chips are handled one
+after another in the order of first specification in the list of GPIOs defined
+in the GPIO block, starting with bit 0. Note that in this case, you typically
+can't assume simultaneous access.
+
+void gpio_block_free(struct gpio_block *block);
+
+After the GPIO block isn't used anymore, it should be free'd via
+gpio_block_free().
+
+int gpio_block_register(struct gpio_block *block);
+void gpio_block_unregister(struct gpio_block *block);
+
+These functions can be used to register a GPIO block. Blocks registered this
+way will be available via userspace API.
+
+
 What do these conventions omit?
 ===============================
 One of the biggest things these conventions omit is pin multiplexing, since
--- linux-2.6.orig/drivers/gpio/gpiolib.c
+++ linux-2.6/drivers/gpio/gpiolib.c
@@ -83,6 +83,8 @@  static inline void desc_set_label(struct
 #endif
 }
 
+static LIST_HEAD(gpio_block_list);
+
 /* Warn when drivers omit gpio_request() calls -- legal but ill-advised
  * when setting direction, and otherwise illegal.  Until board setup code
  * and drivers use explicit requests everywhere (which won't happen when
@@ -217,6 +219,16 @@  static int gpio_get_direction(unsigned g
 	return status;
 }
 
+static bool gpio_block_is_output(struct gpio_block *block)
+{
+	int i;
+
+	for (i = 0; i < block->ngpio; i++)
+		if (!test_bit(FLAG_IS_OUT, &gpio_desc[block->gpio[i]].flags))
+			return false;
+	return true;
+}
+
 #ifdef CONFIG_GPIO_SYSFS
 
 /* lock protects against unexport_gpio() being called while
@@ -1799,6 +1811,221 @@  void __gpio_set_value(unsigned gpio, int
 }
 EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(__gpio_set_value);
 
+static struct gpio_block_chip *gpio_block_chip_get(struct gpio_block *block,
+						   struct gpio_chip *gc)
+{
+	struct gpio_block_chip *i;
+
+	list_for_each_entry(i, &block->gbc_list, list)
+		if (i->gc == gc)
+			return i;
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+struct gpio_block *gpio_block_create(unsigned *gpios, size_t size,
+				     const char *name)
+{
+	struct gpio_block *block;
+	struct gpio_block_chip *gbc;
+	struct gpio_remap *remap;
+	int i;
+
+	if (size < 1 || size > BITS_PER_LONG)
+		return ERR_PTR(-EINVAL);
+
+	for (i = 0; i < size; i++)
+		if (!gpio_is_valid(gpios[i]))
+			return ERR_PTR(-EINVAL);
+
+	block = kzalloc(sizeof(struct gpio_block), GFP_KERNEL);
+	if (!block)
+		return ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM);
+
+	block->name = name;
+	block->ngpio = size;
+	INIT_LIST_HEAD(&block->gbc_list);
+	block->gpio = kzalloc(sizeof(*block->gpio) * size, GFP_KERNEL);
+	if (!block->gpio)
+		goto err;
+
+	memcpy(block->gpio, gpios, sizeof(*block->gpio) * size);
+
+	for (i = 0; i < size; i++) {
+		struct gpio_chip *gc = gpio_to_chip(gpios[i]);
+		int bit = gpios[i] - gc->base;
+		gbc = gpio_block_chip_get(block, gc);
+
+		if (!gbc) {
+			gbc = kzalloc(sizeof(struct gpio_block_chip),
+				      GFP_KERNEL);
+			if (!gbc)
+				goto err;
+			list_add_tail(&gbc->list, &block->gbc_list);
+			gbc->gc = gc;
+			INIT_LIST_HEAD(&gbc->remap_list);
+		}
+
+		/*
+		 * represents the mask necessary on calls to the driver's
+		 * .get_block() and .set_block()
+		 */
+		gbc->mask |= BIT(bit);
+
+		/*
+		 * collect gpios that are specified together, represented by
+		 * neighboring bits
+		 *
+		 * get last element and create new element if list empty or
+		 * new element necessary
+		 */
+		remap = list_entry(gbc->remap_list.prev, struct gpio_remap,
+				   list);
+		if (list_empty(&gbc->remap_list) ||
+		    (bit - i != remap->offset)) {
+			remap = kzalloc(sizeof(struct gpio_remap), GFP_KERNEL);
+			if (!remap)
+				goto err;
+			list_add_tail(&remap->list, &gbc->remap_list);
+			remap->offset = bit - i;
+		}
+
+		/*
+		 * represents the mask necessary for bit reordering between
+		 * gpio_block (i.e. as specified on gpio_block_get() and
+		 * gpio_block_set()) and gpio_chip domain (i.e. as specified on
+		 * the driver's .set_block() and .get_block())
+		 */
+		remap->mask |= BIT(i);
+	}
+
+	return block;
+err:
+	gpio_block_free(block);
+	return ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM);
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(gpio_block_create);
+
+void gpio_block_free(struct gpio_block *block)
+{
+	struct list_head *i, *itmp, *j, *jtmp;
+	struct gpio_block_chip *gbc;
+	struct gpio_remap *remap;
+
+	list_for_each_safe(i, itmp, &block->gbc_list) {
+		gbc = list_entry(i, struct gpio_block_chip, list);
+		list_del(i);
+		list_for_each_safe(j, jtmp, &gbc->remap_list) {
+		       remap = list_entry(j, struct gpio_remap, list);
+		       list_del(j);
+		       kfree(remap);
+		}
+		kfree(gbc);
+	}
+
+	kfree(block->gpio);
+	kfree(block);
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(gpio_block_free);
+
+unsigned long gpio_block_get(const struct gpio_block *block, unsigned long mask)
+{
+	struct gpio_block_chip *gbc;
+	unsigned long values = 0;
+
+	list_for_each_entry(gbc, &block->gbc_list, list) {
+		struct gpio_remap *remap;
+		int i;
+		unsigned long remapped = 0;
+		unsigned long remapped_mask = 0;
+
+		list_for_each_entry(remap, &gbc->remap_list, list)
+			remapped_mask |= (mask & remap->mask) << remap->offset;
+		remapped_mask &= gbc->mask;
+
+		if (!remapped_mask)
+			continue;
+
+		if (gbc->gc->get_block)
+			remapped = gbc->gc->get_block(gbc->gc, remapped_mask);
+		else
+			/* emulate */
+			for_each_set_bit(i, &remapped_mask, BITS_PER_LONG)
+				remapped |= gbc->gc->get(gbc->gc,
+						gbc->gc->base + i) << i;
+
+		list_for_each_entry(remap, &gbc->remap_list, list)
+			values |= (remapped >> remap->offset) & remap->mask;
+	}
+
+	return values;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(gpio_block_get);
+
+void gpio_block_set(struct gpio_block *block, unsigned long mask,
+		    unsigned long values)
+{
+	struct gpio_block_chip *gbc;
+
+	list_for_each_entry(gbc, &block->gbc_list, list) {
+		struct gpio_remap *remap;
+		int i;
+		unsigned long remapped = 0;
+		unsigned long remapped_mask = 0;
+
+		list_for_each_entry(remap, &gbc->remap_list, list) {
+			remapped |= (values & remap->mask) << remap->offset;
+			remapped_mask |= (mask & remap->mask) << remap->offset;
+		}
+		remapped_mask &= gbc->mask;
+
+		if (!remapped_mask)
+			continue;
+
+		if (gbc->gc->set_block)
+			gbc->gc->set_block(gbc->gc, remapped_mask, remapped);
+		else
+			/* emulate */
+			for_each_set_bit(i, &remapped_mask, BITS_PER_LONG)
+				gbc->gc->set(gbc->gc, gbc->gc->base + i,
+					     (remapped >> i) & 1);
+	}
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(gpio_block_set);
+
+struct gpio_block *gpio_block_find_by_name(const char *name)
+{
+	struct gpio_block *i;
+
+	list_for_each_entry(i, &gpio_block_list, list)
+		if (!strcmp(i->name, name))
+			return i;
+	return NULL;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(gpio_block_find_by_name);
+
+int gpio_block_register(struct gpio_block *block)
+{
+	if (gpio_block_find_by_name(block->name))
+		return -EBUSY;
+
+	list_add(&block->list, &gpio_block_list);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(gpio_block_register);
+
+void gpio_block_unregister(struct gpio_block *block)
+{
+	struct gpio_block *i;
+
+	list_for_each_entry(i, &gpio_block_list, list)
+		if (i == block) {
+			list_del(&i->list);
+			break;
+		}
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(gpio_block_unregister);
+
 /**
  * __gpio_cansleep() - report whether gpio value access will sleep
  * @gpio: gpio in question
--- linux-2.6.orig/include/asm-generic/gpio.h
+++ linux-2.6/include/asm-generic/gpio.h
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@  static inline bool gpio_is_valid(int num
 
 struct device;
 struct gpio;
+struct gpio_block;
 struct seq_file;
 struct module;
 struct device_node;
@@ -109,6 +110,8 @@  struct gpio_chip {
 						unsigned offset);
 	int			(*get)(struct gpio_chip *chip,
 						unsigned offset);
+	unsigned long		(*get_block)(struct gpio_chip *chip,
+					     unsigned long mask);
 	int			(*direction_output)(struct gpio_chip *chip,
 						unsigned offset, int value);
 	int			(*set_debounce)(struct gpio_chip *chip,
@@ -116,6 +119,9 @@  struct gpio_chip {
 
 	void			(*set)(struct gpio_chip *chip,
 						unsigned offset, int value);
+	void			(*set_block)(struct gpio_chip *chip,
+					     unsigned long mask,
+					     unsigned long values);
 
 	int			(*to_irq)(struct gpio_chip *chip,
 						unsigned offset);
@@ -184,6 +190,17 @@  extern void gpio_set_value_cansleep(unsi
 extern int __gpio_get_value(unsigned gpio);
 extern void __gpio_set_value(unsigned gpio, int value);
 
+extern struct gpio_block *gpio_block_create(unsigned *gpio, size_t size,
+					    const char *name);
+extern void gpio_block_free(struct gpio_block *block);
+extern unsigned long gpio_block_get(const struct gpio_block *block,
+				    unsigned long mask);
+extern void gpio_block_set(struct gpio_block *block, unsigned long mask,
+			   unsigned long values);
+extern struct gpio_block *gpio_block_find_by_name(const char *name);
+extern int gpio_block_register(struct gpio_block *block);
+extern void gpio_block_unregister(struct gpio_block *block);
+
 extern int __gpio_cansleep(unsigned gpio);
 
 extern int __gpio_to_irq(unsigned gpio);
--- linux-2.6.orig/include/linux/gpio.h
+++ linux-2.6/include/linux/gpio.h
@@ -2,6 +2,8 @@ 
 #define __LINUX_GPIO_H
 
 #include <linux/errno.h>
+#include <linux/types.h>
+#include <linux/list.h>
 
 /* see Documentation/gpio.txt */
 
@@ -39,6 +41,64 @@  struct gpio {
 	const char	*label;
 };
 
+/**
+ * struct gpio_remap - a structure for describing a bit mapping
+ * @mask:	a bit mask, relevant for a (partial) mapping
+ * @offset:	how many bits to shift to the left (negative: to the right)
+ * @list:	several remappings are internally collected in a list
+ *
+ * When we are mapping bit values from one word to another (here: from GPIO
+ * block domain to GPIO driver domain) we first mask them out with mask and
+ * shift them as specified with offset. More complicated mappings are done by
+ * grouping several of those structs and adding the results together.
+ */
+struct gpio_remap {
+	unsigned long		mask;
+	int			offset;
+
+	struct list_head	list;
+};
+
+/**
+ * struct gpio_block_chip - a structure representing chip specific data in a
+ *                          gpio block
+ * @gc:          the chip
+ * @remap_list:  list of remappings, there are several necessary if the bits
+ *               are not consecutive
+ * @mask:        chip specific mask, used for propagating to the driver's
+ *               get_block() and set_block() functions
+ * @list:        list collecting potentially multiple chips in one block
+ *
+ * This structure holds information about remapping and masking of gpios within
+ * one chip. There can be several of those in one block.
+ */
+struct gpio_block_chip {
+	struct gpio_chip	*gc;
+	struct list_head	remap_list;
+	unsigned long		mask;
+
+	struct list_head	list;
+};
+
+/**
+ * struct gpio_block - a structure describing a list of GPIOs for simultaneous
+ *                     operations
+ * @gbc_list:   list of chips in this block, typically just one
+ * @name:       the name of this block
+ * @ngpio:      number of gpios in this block
+ * @gpio:       list of gpios in this block
+ * @list:       global list of blocks, maintained by gpiolib
+ */
+struct gpio_block {
+	struct list_head	gbc_list;
+	const char		*name;
+
+	int			ngpio;
+	unsigned		*gpio;
+
+	struct list_head	list;
+};
+
 #ifdef CONFIG_GENERIC_GPIO
 
 #ifdef CONFIG_ARCH_HAVE_CUSTOM_GPIO_H
@@ -169,6 +229,43 @@  static inline void gpio_set_value(unsign
 	WARN_ON(1);
 }
 
+static inline
+struct gpio_block *gpio_block_create(unsigned *gpios, size_t size,
+				     const char *name)
+{
+	WARN_ON(1);
+	return NULL;
+}
+
+static inline void gpio_block_free(struct gpio_block *block)
+{
+	WARN_ON(1);
+}
+
+static inline unsigned long gpio_block_get(const struct gpio_block *block,
+					   unsigned long mask)
+{
+	WARN_ON(1);
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static inline void gpio_block_set(struct gpio_block *block, unsigned long mask,
+				  unsigned long values)
+{
+	WARN_ON(1);
+}
+
+static inline int gpio_block_register(struct gpio_block *block)
+{
+	WARN_ON(1);
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static inline void gpio_block_unregister(struct gpio_block *block)
+{
+	WARN_ON(1);
+}
+
 static inline int gpio_cansleep(unsigned gpio)
 {
 	/* GPIO can never have been requested or set as {in,out}put */