[Linux-kernel-mentees] [RFC PATCH 00/17] Drop uses of pci_read_config_*() return value

[Saheed Bolarinwa]

On 8/1/20 2:56 PM, Borislav Petkov wrote:
> On Sat, Aug 01, 2020 at 01:24:29PM +0200, Saheed O. Bolarinwa wrote:
>> The return value of pci_read_config_*() may not indicate a device error.
>> However, the value read by these functions is more likely to indicate
>> this kind of error. This presents two overlapping ways of reporting
>> errors and complicates error checking.
> So why isn't the *value check done in the pci_read_config_* functions
> instead of touching gazillion callers?
Because the value ~0 has a meaning to some drivers and only
drivers have this knowledge. For those cases more checks will
be needed to ensure that it is an error that has actually
happened.
> For example, pci_conf{1,2}_read() could check whether the u32 *value it
> just read depending on the access method, whether that value is ~0 and
> return proper PCIBIOS_ error in that case.

The primary goal is to make pci_config_read*() return void, so
that there is *only* one way to check for error i.e. through the
obtained value.
Again, only the drivers can determine if ~0 is a valid value. This
information is not available inside pci_config_read*().

- Saheed