A simple frame-buffer describes a raw memory region that may be rendered
to, with the assumption that the display hardware has already been set
up to scan out from that buffer.
This is useful in cases where a bootloader exists and has set up the
display hardware, but a Linux driver doesn't yet exist for the display
hardware.
Examples use-cases include:
* The built-in LCD panels on the Samsung ARM chromebook, and Tegra
devices, and likely many other ARM or embedded systems. These cannot
yet be supported using a full graphics driver, since the panel control
should be provided by the CDF (Common Display Framework), which has been
stuck in design/review for quite some time. One could support these
panels using custom SoC-specific code, but there is a desire to use
common infra-structure rather than having each SoC vendor invent their
own code, hence the desire to wait for CDF.
* Hardware for which a full graphics driver is not yet available, and
the path to obtain one upstream isn't yet clear. For example, the
Raspberry Pi.
* Any hardware in early stages of upstreaming, before a full graphics
driver has been tackled. This driver can provide a graphical boot
console (even full X support) much earlier in the upstreaming process,
thus making new SoC or board support more generally useful earlier.
[akpm@linux-foundation.org: make simplefb_formats[] static]
Signed-off-by: Stephen Warren <swarren@wwwdotorg.org>
Cc: Arnd Bergmann <arnd@arndb.de>
Acked-by: Olof Johansson <olof@lixom.net>
Cc: Rob Clark <robclark@gmail.com>
Cc: Florian Tobias Schandinat <FlorianSchandinat@gmx.de>
Cc: Tomasz Figa <tomasz.figa@gmail.com>
Cc: Laurent Pinchart <laurent.pinchart@ideasonboard.com>
Signed-off-by: Andrew Morton <akpm@linux-foundation.org>
Signed-off-by: Linus Torvalds <torvalds@linux-foundation.org>
Stephen Warren