[U-Boot] [PATCH 1/4] net: extend the netdev to have a common way to set the hw mac address

[Wolfgang Denk]

Dear Jean-Christophe PLAGNIOL-VILLARD,

In message <20090511142454.GB1812 at game.jcrosoft.org> you wrote:
>
> > > Unfortunatly we need it to set the enetaddr in the register of the soc evenif
> > > there is no ethernet transfer as for the macb on at91 or the dm9000.
> > > This how the kernel pass the mac address for the bootloader.
> > 
> > You mean, this is how U-Boot is supposed to pass the MAC address to
> > the Kernel, right?
> > 
> > Well, strictly speaking this is (1) in direct violation of U-Boot's
> > design principles which say NOT to initialize things it does not use
> > itself, and (2) a bug in the Linux kernel that should be fixed there.
> > 
> > In this case it may be just writing to  a  register  without  further
> > initialization  of the hardware, but if we allow for that you can bet
> > that tomorrow someone will  try  and  add  code  that  requires  more
> > extensive initialization of the hardware for the same purpose, and he
> > will argue that his code must go in because there is preexisting code
> > that does the same.
> this exactly what is done only write mac hw register
> without init the eth stack
> 
> before we do need to init the mac and detect the phy if we want to store
> now we have to call the set_hw_enetaddr

Yes, I perfectly understood this. You did not have to explain it
again.

Did you understand what I wrote, too?

Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

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