U-Boot policy on flash protection (was [U-Boot-Users] [PATCH] cfi_flash.c patches)

[Wolfgang Denk]

In message <m2br3klrc8.fsf_-_ at sowhat.denx.de> you wrote:
> 
> To be honest, I share your point of view in this respect but to
> convince Wolfgang, more of the maintainers have to speak up.

And users, please!

> In private communications it turns out that Wolfgang weighs in years
> of experience added to the technical question so the board maintainers
> have to come up with sufficient proof that this really is a point
> where a consensus has to be reached.

It's  not  only  board  maintainers.  Actually  I  don't  care  about
maintainers  :-)  They usually understand the code and know what they
are doing, and why, and why things work as they do.

I also try to care about stupid users, who often don;t even bother to
use the help function of a command, not to mention reading the FAQ or
even the whole manual.

The maintainer is just one person, but his board configuration may be
a pain for many, many users - most of them unheard. Well,  a  few  of
send "bug reports" to me. Maybe more than a few :-(

> This is actually a very strong point - Wolfgang speculates that most
> of the board ports will only make use of the "standard" behaviour of
> the flash driver so that in the end he ends up with a broad range of
> systems working alike.  If many porters are going to deviate from this
> standard then the situation changes fundamentally and it then would
> make sense to adapt a different policy so that more boards work alike.

Right. "Default" should be what is being  used  by  the  overwhelming
majority of the users (read: *users*, not maintainers).

> So in the end it is a question of what the board maintainers will
> choose - if many deviate by including board specific code then

No, it's what users want. The maintainer shall be just a  servant  of
his users. Amen.

> Wolfgang will surely reconsider his position.  If not too many people

I do. Even if I seem to stand like a rock I listen to what the  water
is doing to my ankles :-)

> And by the way - don't forget to consider the "user" of U-Boot also.
> Sometimes things being pleasant for U-Boot porters make life
> unneccessary hard for them.

Indeed.


Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

-- 
Software Engineering:  Embedded and Realtime Systems,  Embedded Linux
Phone: (+49)-8142-66989-10 Fax: (+49)-8142-66989-80 Email: wd at denx.de
A dog always bit deepest on the veterinary hand.
                                    - Terry Pratchett, _Wyrd Sisters_