[Buildroot] [PATCH v2] package/rtl8188eu: remove wrong description in Config.in

[Giulio Benetti]

Hi Luca,

On 16/11/22 09:34, Luca Ceresoli via buildroot wrote:
> Hi Giulio,
> 
> On Wed, 16 Nov 2022 02:15:57 +0100
> Giulio Benetti <giulio.benetti at benettiengineering.com> wrote:
> 
>> On 16/11/22 01:33, Giulio Benetti wrote:
>>> Hi Thomas, Luca,
>>>
>>> On 30/10/22 21:06, Thomas Petazzoni via buildroot wrote:
>>>> On Wed, 19 Oct 2022 15:48:23 +0200
>>>> Giulio Benetti <giulio.benetti at benettiengineering.com> wrote:
>>>>   
>>>>> This rtl8188eu driver is not the same as the one in mainline Linux that
>>>>> still has pending work to be done that in this driver is done, check:
>>>>> https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/staging/r8188eu/TODO
>>>>> specifically:
>>>>> * Switch to use LIB80211.
>>>>> * Switch to use MAC80211.
>>>>> * Switch to use CFG80211.
>>>>> So let's remove the description that is not valid anymore.
>>>>>
>>>>> Suggested-by: Luca Ceresoli <luca.ceresoli at bootlin.com>
>>>>> Signed-off-by: Giulio Benetti <giulio.benetti at benettiengineering.com>
>>>>> ---
>>>>> V1->V2:
>>>>> * improve Config.in description as pointed by Luca Ceresoli
>>>>> ---
>>>>>    package/rtl8188eu/Config.in | 7 ++++---
>>>>>    1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
>>>>>
>>>>> diff --git a/package/rtl8188eu/Config.in b/package/rtl8188eu/Config.in
>>>>> index 76d9085297..2fab1fd5c0 100644
>>>>> --- a/package/rtl8188eu/Config.in
>>>>> +++ b/package/rtl8188eu/Config.in
>>>>> @@ -4,9 +4,10 @@ config BR2_PACKAGE_RTL8188EU
>>>>>        depends on BR2_LINUX_KERNEL
>>>>>        help
>>>>>          A standalone driver for the RTL8188EU USB Wi-Fi adapter.
>>>>> -      This is needed only for Linux kernels before 3.12.
>>>>> -      Since 3.12, there is a (staging) driver in mainline, with a
>>>>> -      similar codebase.
>>>>> +      This rtl8188eu driver is not the same as the one in mainline
>>>>> +      Linux that still has pending work to be done that in this
>>>>> +      driver is done, check:
>>>>> +
>>>>> https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/tree/drivers/staging/r8188eu/TODO
>>>>
>>>> I don't see any thing in this TODO that explains why the out-of-tree
>>>> driver is better than the mainline driver.
>>>>
>>>> The out-of-tree driver has been integrated into drivers/staging/, and
>>>> this TODO file lists what should be improved in the driver so that it
>>>> can be graduated to move outside of drivers/staging/ into the proper
>>>> drivers/net/wireless/ location.
>>>>
>>>> I don't see anything in this TODO that indicates that the out-of-tree
>>>> driver has "more features" than the mainline driver, so to me the
>>>> Config.in help text still makes sense.
>>>>
>>>> Could you give some more details?
>>>
>>> The TODO file[0] is outdated because it states that:
>>> * Switch to use LIB80211.
>>> * Switch to use MAC80211.
>>> * Switch to use CFG80211.
>>> are still pending, but it's true not because if we check the Kconfig[1]
>>> we find 'depends on CFG80211' and LIB80211. Also if we check for
>>> ieee80211_*() callse int drivers/staging/r8188eu folder we find a lot of
>>> calls. So I think this module is only a copy of the Linux driver that
>>> can work as specified in the actual help(with Linux version before 3.12.
> 
> I haven't checked myself, but if you think the transition to cfg80211
> and lib80211 is completed in mainline, you can send a patch to have the
> TODO updated in upstream Linux. That would reduce confusion.

I've double checked and it's still ongoing, there is a mix of code of
local rtw_ieee80211.c and the linux's ieee80211.h, so I was wrong.

>>> Does it maybe make sense to add in the help section:
>>> ```
>>> If using Linux 3.12+ it's recommended to use Linux driver
>>> ```
> 
> Yes, absolutely, but only if are you reasonably sure that Linux 3.12 has
> all the same rtl8188eu features that it has currently.

Not 100%. I think then it's better to drop this patch. I tag it as 
rejected in Patchwork.

Thanks for pointing all those precious details!
Best regards
-- 
Giulio Benetti
CEO/CTO at Benetti Engineering sas