[U-Boot] serial ifdef mess

[Wolfgang Denk]

Dear Simon Glass,

In message <CAPnjgZ0hSsbvAH_5EEDBn5R92mPJCibOi-iWBz=neL8GVVwXFA at mail.gmail.com> you wrote:
> 
> Do we really want this? Is the code overhead of SERIAL_MULTI so bad
> that people insist on not defining it? If so, can we reduce that code

I have not seen a single case yet where the overhead was a problem.
It was always only the effort to change the code and re-test.  For any
new boards this is a non-issue.

> Prior to relocation there is a single console UART. I wonder whether
> it would be acceptable to buffer all output until after relocation?

Strict no here.

> Serial init is the one peripheral still needed prior to reloc. At
> least this could be the default option, with something like
> CONFIG_EARLY_UART defined to revert to current behavior for debugging
> reasons.

That would just add complexity.  

> Slightly more radical: just move the U-Boot banner, etc. into
> board_init_r. What could possible go wrong?

Serial output is an important debug tool during board bringup.  I want
to have serial output as soon as possible.  This is one of the
fundamental principles of U-Boot design I will not give up easily.

Best regards,

Wolfgang Denk

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