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authorPaul E. McKenney <paulmck@kernel.org>2026-08-14 15:43:51 -0700
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Merge branches 'expcb.2026.07.24a', 'misc.2026.07.30a', 'rcu-tasks.2026.07.30a', 'srcu.2026.08.11a' and 'torture.2026.08.14a' into HEADgrafted
Changes: Make expedited grace periods expedite normal RCU callbacks Miscellaneous fixes: * Improve diagnostic output with character task states. * Mark accesses to inform KCSAN of concurrency design. * Move from kmalloc() to kmalloc_obj(). * Documentation updates. * Improve handling of RCU deferred quiescent states. * Clean up unused function arguments and structure fields. * Reduce show_rcu_gp_kthreads() stack space. Tasks RCU updates: * Clean up after SRCU re-implementation of Tasks Trace RCU. * Mark accesses to inform KCSAN of concurrency design. * Add ->lazy_timer status to diagnostic output. * Remove an unnecessary memory barrier. * Fix a data race, courtesy of KCSAN. * Documentation updates. * Convert cond_resched_tasks_rcu_qs() from macro to static inline function. SRCU updates: * Add Rust helpers for SRCU. * Avoid losing queued work at cleanup_srcu_struct() time. Torture-test updates: * Preparation work for immediate RCU priority deboosting. * Test RCU readers from real interrupt handlers (as opposed to softirq). * Simplify code through use of cpumask_next_wrap(). * Improve diagnostic output with character task states. * Add rcutorture.nwriters parameter to allow lightweight stall testing, and rcutorture.stall_only to make doing so easier. * Test an RCU Tasks Trace grace period implying an RCU grace period. * Make RCU Tasks Trace torturing track reader batches. * Fix a data race, courtesy of KCSAN. * Plug a shuffle_tmp_mask memory leak on kthread spawn failure.
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+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+===============
+Console Drivers
+===============
+
+The Linux kernel has 2 general types of console drivers. The first type is
+assigned by the kernel to all the virtual consoles during the boot process.
+This type will be called 'system driver', and only one system driver is allowed
+to exist. The system driver is persistent and it can never be unloaded, though
+it may become inactive.
+
+The second type has to be explicitly loaded and unloaded. This will be called
+'modular driver' by this document. Multiple modular drivers can coexist at
+any time with each driver sharing the console with other drivers including
+the system driver. However, modular drivers cannot take over the console
+that is currently occupied by another modular driver. (Exception: Drivers that
+call do_take_over_console() will succeed in the takeover regardless of the type
+of driver occupying the consoles.) They can only take over the console that is
+occupied by the system driver. In the same token, if the modular driver is
+released by the console, the system driver will take over.
+
+Modular drivers, from the programmer's point of view, have to call::
+
+ do_take_over_console() - load and bind driver to console layer
+ give_up_console() - unload driver; it will only work if driver
+ is fully unbound
+
+In newer kernels, the following are also available::
+
+ do_register_con_driver()
+ do_unregister_con_driver()
+
+If sysfs is enabled, the contents of /sys/class/vtconsole can be
+examined. This shows the console backends currently registered by the
+system which are named vtcon<n> where <n> is an integer from 0 to 15.
+Thus::
+
+ ls /sys/class/vtconsole
+ . .. vtcon0 vtcon1
+
+Each directory in /sys/class/vtconsole has 3 files::
+
+ ls /sys/class/vtconsole/vtcon0
+ . .. bind name uevent
+
+What do these files signify?
+
+ 1. bind - this is a read/write file. It shows the status of the driver if
+ read, or acts to bind or unbind the driver to the virtual consoles
+ when written to. The possible values are:
+
+ 0
+ - means the driver is not bound and if echo'ed, commands the driver
+ to unbind
+
+ 1
+ - means the driver is bound and if echo'ed, commands the driver to
+ bind
+
+ 2. name - read-only file. Shows the name of the driver in this format::
+
+ cat /sys/class/vtconsole/vtcon0/name
+ (S) VGA+
+
+ '(S)' stands for a (S)ystem driver, i.e., it cannot be directly
+ commanded to bind or unbind
+
+ 'VGA+' is the name of the driver
+
+ cat /sys/class/vtconsole/vtcon1/name
+ (M) frame buffer device
+
+ In this case, '(M)' stands for a (M)odular driver, one that can be
+ directly commanded to bind or unbind.
+
+ 3. uevent - ignore this file
+
+When unbinding, the modular driver is detached first, and then the system
+driver takes over the consoles vacated by the driver. Binding, on the other
+hand, will bind the driver to the consoles that are currently occupied by a
+system driver.
+
+NOTE1:
+ Binding and unbinding must be selected in Kconfig. It's under::
+
+ Device Drivers ->
+ Character devices ->
+ Support for binding and unbinding console drivers
+
+NOTE2:
+ If any of the virtual consoles are in KD_GRAPHICS mode, then binding or
+ unbinding will not succeed. An example of an application that sets the
+ console to KD_GRAPHICS is X.
+
+How useful is this feature? This is very useful for console driver
+developers. By unbinding the driver from the console layer, one can unload the
+driver, make changes, recompile, reload and rebind the driver without any need
+for rebooting the kernel. For regular users who may want to switch from
+framebuffer console to VGA console and vice versa, this feature also makes
+this possible. (NOTE NOTE NOTE: Please read fbcon.txt under Documentation/fb
+for more details.)
+
+Notes for developers
+====================
+
+do_take_over_console() is now broken up into::
+
+ do_register_con_driver()
+ do_bind_con_driver() - private function
+
+give_up_console() is a wrapper to do_unregister_con_driver(), and a driver must
+be fully unbound for this call to succeed. con_is_bound() will check if the
+driver is bound or not.
+
+Guidelines for console driver writers
+=====================================
+
+In order for binding to and unbinding from the console to properly work,
+console drivers must follow these guidelines:
+
+1. All drivers, except system drivers, must call either do_register_con_driver()
+ or do_take_over_console(). do_register_con_driver() will just add the driver
+ to the console's internal list. It won't take over the
+ console. do_take_over_console(), as it name implies, will also take over (or
+ bind to) the console.
+
+2. All resources allocated during con->con_init() must be released in
+ con->con_deinit().
+
+3. All resources allocated in con->con_startup() must be released when the
+ driver, which was previously bound, becomes unbound. The console layer
+ does not have a complementary call to con->con_startup() so it's up to the
+ driver to check when it's legal to release these resources. Calling
+ con_is_bound() in con->con_deinit() will help. If the call returned
+ false(), then it's safe to release the resources. This balance has to be
+ ensured because con->con_startup() can be called again when a request to
+ rebind the driver to the console arrives.
+
+4. Upon exit of the driver, ensure that the driver is totally unbound. If the
+ condition is satisfied, then the driver must call do_unregister_con_driver()
+ or give_up_console().
+
+5. do_unregister_con_driver() can also be called on conditions which make it
+ impossible for the driver to service console requests. This can happen
+ with the framebuffer console that suddenly lost all of its drivers.
+
+The current crop of console drivers should still work correctly, but binding
+and unbinding them may cause problems. With minimal fixes, these drivers can
+be made to work correctly.
+
+Antonino Daplas <adaplas@pol.net>