Merge patch series "auxdisplay: linedisp: support attribute attachment to auxdisplay devices"

Jean-François Lessard <jefflessard3@gmail.com> says:

This series modernizes the auxdisplay line display (linedisp) library to
enable seamless integration with auxdisplay parent devices while
maintaining backward compatibility.

The key improvement is adding attach/detach APIs that allow linedisp sysfs
attributes to be bound directly to their parent auxdisplay devices avoiding
child device proliferation and enabling a uniform 7-segment userspace
interface across different driver architectures.

This series introduces attachment infrastructure for linedisp devices.
The first consumer of this API will be the TM16XX driver series.
See the related patch series:
  auxdisplay: Add TM16xx 7-segment LED matrix display controllers driver

Changes include:
1. Encapsulate container_of() usage with to_linedisp() helper function for
   cleaner context retrieval
2. Improve message display behavior with static padding when message length
   is smaller than display width
3. Add 'num_chars' read-only attribute for userspace capability discovery
4. Add attach/detach API for sysfs attributes binding to parent devices
5. Document all linedisp sysfs attributes in ABI documentation

All existing linedisp_register() users remain unaffected. The new APIs
enable drivers like TM16XX to integrate 7-segment functionality within
their LED class device hierarchy while providing a uniform 7-segment API.

Thanks to Andy Shevchenko for early feedback and guidance.

Link: https://lore.kernel.org/r/20250918121321.116248-1-jefflessard3@gmail.com
Signed-off-by: Andy Shevchenko <andriy.shevchenko@linux.intel.com>

3 files changed, 312 insertions, 22 deletions

diff --git a/Documentation/ABI/testing/sysfs-auxdisplay-linedisp b/Documentation/ABI/testing/sysfs-auxdisplay-linedisp
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..55f1b559e84e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/ABI/testing/sysfs-auxdisplay-linedisp
@@ -0,0 +1,90 @@
+What:		/sys/.../message
+Date:		October 2021
+KernelVersion:	5.16
+Description:
+		Controls the text message displayed on character line displays.
+
+		Reading returns the current message with a trailing newline.
+		Writing updates the displayed message. Messages longer than the
+		display width will automatically scroll. Trailing newlines in
+		input are automatically trimmed.
+
+		Writing an empty string clears the display.
+
+		Example:
+		  echo "Hello World" > message
+		  cat message			# Returns "Hello World\n"
+
+What:		/sys/.../num_chars
+Date:		November 2025
+KernelVersion:	6.18
+Contact:	Jean-François Lessard <jefflessard3@gmail.com>
+Description:
+		Read-only attribute showing the character width capacity of
+		the line display device. Messages longer than this will scroll.
+
+		Example:
+		  cat num_chars		# Returns "16\n" for 16-char display
+
+What:		/sys/.../scroll_step_ms
+Date:		October 2021
+KernelVersion:	5.16
+Description:
+		Controls the scrolling speed for messages longer than the display
+		width, specified in milliseconds per scroll step.
+
+		Setting to 0 disables scrolling. Default is 500ms.
+
+		Example:
+		  echo "250" > scroll_step_ms	# 4Hz scrolling
+		  cat scroll_step_ms		# Returns "250\n"
+
+What:		/sys/.../map_seg7
+Date:		January 2024
+KernelVersion:	6.9
+Description:
+		Read/write binary blob representing the ASCII-to-7-segment
+		display conversion table used by the linedisp driver, as defined
+		by struct seg7_conversion_map in <linux/map_to_7segment.h>.
+
+		Only visible on displays with 7-segment capability.
+
+		This attribute is not human-readable. Writes must match the
+		struct size exactly, else -EINVAL is returned; reads return the
+		entire mapping as a binary blob.
+
+		This interface and its implementation match existing conventions
+		used in segment-mapped display drivers since 2005.
+
+		ABI note: This style of binary sysfs attribute *is an exception*
+		to current "one value per file, text only" sysfs rules, for
+		historical compatibility and driver uniformity. New drivers are
+		discouraged from introducing additional binary sysfs ABIs.
+
+		Reference interface guidance:
+		- include/uapi/linux/map_to_7segment.h
+
+What:		/sys/.../map_seg14
+Date:		January 2024
+KernelVersion:	6.9
+Description:
+		Read/write binary blob representing the ASCII-to-14-segment
+		display conversion table used by the linedisp driver, as defined
+		by struct seg14_conversion_map in <linux/map_to_14segment.h>.
+
+		Only visible on displays with 14-segment capability.
+
+		This attribute is not human-readable. Writes must match the
+		struct size exactly, else -EINVAL is returned; reads return the
+		entire mapping as a binary blob.
+
+		This interface and its implementation match existing conventions
+		used by segment-mapped display drivers since 2005.
+
+		ABI note: This style of binary sysfs attribute *is an exception*
+		to current "one value per file, text only" sysfs rules, for
+		historical compatibility and driver uniformity. New drivers are
+		discouraged from introducing additional binary sysfs ABIs.
+
+		Reference interface guidance:
+		- include/uapi/linux/map_to_14segment.h
diff --git a/drivers/auxdisplay/line-display.c b/drivers/auxdisplay/line-display.c
index 8590a4cd21e0..4e22373fcc1a 100644
--- a/drivers/auxdisplay/line-display.c
+++ b/drivers/auxdisplay/line-display.c
@@ -6,20 +6,23 @@
  * Author: Paul Burton <paul.burton@mips.com>
  *
  * Copyright (C) 2021 Glider bv
+ * Copyright (C) 2025 Jean-François Lessard
  */
 
 #ifndef CONFIG_PANEL_BOOT_MESSAGE
 #include <generated/utsrelease.h>
 #endif
 
-#include <linux/container_of.h>
+#include <linux/cleanup.h>
 #include <linux/device.h>
 #include <linux/export.h>
 #include <linux/idr.h>
 #include <linux/jiffies.h>
 #include <linux/kstrtox.h>
+#include <linux/list.h>
 #include <linux/module.h>
 #include <linux/slab.h>
+#include <linux/spinlock.h>
 #include <linux/string.h>
 #include <linux/sysfs.h>
 #include <linux/timer.h>
@@ -32,6 +35,87 @@
 #define DEFAULT_SCROLL_RATE	(HZ / 2)
 
 /**
+ * struct linedisp_attachment - Holds the device to linedisp mapping
+ * @list: List entry for the linedisp_attachments list
+ * @device: Pointer to the device where linedisp attributes are added
+ * @linedisp: Pointer to the linedisp mapped to the device
+ * @direct: true for directly attached device using linedisp_attach(),
+ *	    false for child registered device using linedisp_register()
+ */
+struct linedisp_attachment {
+	struct list_head list;
+	struct device *device;
+	struct linedisp *linedisp;
+	bool direct;
+};
+
+static LIST_HEAD(linedisp_attachments);
+static DEFINE_SPINLOCK(linedisp_attachments_lock);
+
+static int create_attachment(struct device *dev, struct linedisp *linedisp, bool direct)
+{
+	struct linedisp_attachment *attachment;
+
+	attachment = kzalloc(sizeof(*attachment), GFP_KERNEL);
+	if (!attachment)
+		return -ENOMEM;
+
+	attachment->device = dev;
+	attachment->linedisp = linedisp;
+	attachment->direct = direct;
+
+	guard(spinlock)(&linedisp_attachments_lock);
+	list_add(&attachment->list, &linedisp_attachments);
+
+	return 0;
+}
+
+static struct linedisp *delete_attachment(struct device *dev, bool direct)
+{
+	struct linedisp_attachment *attachment;
+	struct linedisp *linedisp;
+
+	guard(spinlock)(&linedisp_attachments_lock);
+
+	list_for_each_entry(attachment, &linedisp_attachments, list) {
+		if (attachment->device == dev &&
+		    attachment->direct == direct)
+			break;
+	}
+
+	if (list_entry_is_head(attachment, &linedisp_attachments, list))
+		return NULL;
+
+	linedisp = attachment->linedisp;
+	list_del(&attachment->list);
+	kfree(attachment);
+
+	return linedisp;
+}
+
+static struct linedisp *to_linedisp(struct device *dev)
+{
+	struct linedisp_attachment *attachment;
+
+	guard(spinlock)(&linedisp_attachments_lock);
+
+	list_for_each_entry(attachment, &linedisp_attachments, list) {
+		if (attachment->device == dev)
+			break;
+	}
+
+	if (list_entry_is_head(attachment, &linedisp_attachments, list))
+		return NULL;
+
+	return attachment->linedisp;
+}
+
+static inline bool should_scroll(struct linedisp *linedisp)
+{
+	return linedisp->message_len > linedisp->num_chars && linedisp->scroll_rate;
+}
+
+/**
  * linedisp_scroll() - scroll the display by a character
  * @t: really a pointer to the private data structure
  *
@@ -62,8 +146,7 @@ static void linedisp_scroll(struct timer_list *t)
 	linedisp->scroll_pos %= linedisp->message_len;
 
 	/* rearm the timer */
-	if (linedisp->message_len > num_chars && linedisp->scroll_rate)
-		mod_timer(&linedisp->timer, jiffies + linedisp->scroll_rate);
+	mod_timer(&linedisp->timer, jiffies + linedisp->scroll_rate);
 }
 
 /**
@@ -113,8 +196,16 @@ static int linedisp_display(struct linedisp *linedisp, const char *msg,
 	linedisp->message_len = count;
 	linedisp->scroll_pos = 0;
 
-	/* update the display */
-	linedisp_scroll(&linedisp->timer);
+	if (should_scroll(linedisp)) {
+		/* display scrolling message */
+		linedisp_scroll(&linedisp->timer);
+	} else {
+		/* display static message */
+		memset(linedisp->buf, ' ', linedisp->num_chars);
+		memcpy(linedisp->buf, linedisp->message,
+		       umin(linedisp->num_chars, linedisp->message_len));
+		linedisp->ops->update(linedisp);
+	}
 
 	return 0;
 }
@@ -133,7 +224,7 @@ static int linedisp_display(struct linedisp *linedisp, const char *msg,
 static ssize_t message_show(struct device *dev, struct device_attribute *attr,
 			    char *buf)
 {
-	struct linedisp *linedisp = container_of(dev, struct linedisp, dev);
+	struct linedisp *linedisp = to_linedisp(dev);
 
 	return sysfs_emit(buf, "%s\n", linedisp->message);
 }
@@ -152,7 +243,7 @@ static ssize_t message_show(struct device *dev, struct device_attribute *attr,
 static ssize_t message_store(struct device *dev, struct device_attribute *attr,
 			     const char *buf, size_t count)
 {
-	struct linedisp *linedisp = container_of(dev, struct linedisp, dev);
+	struct linedisp *linedisp = to_linedisp(dev);
 	int err;
 
 	err = linedisp_display(linedisp, buf, count);
@@ -161,10 +252,20 @@ static ssize_t message_store(struct device *dev, struct device_attribute *attr,
 
 static DEVICE_ATTR_RW(message);
 
+static ssize_t num_chars_show(struct device *dev, struct device_attribute *attr,
+			      char *buf)
+{
+	struct linedisp *linedisp = to_linedisp(dev);
+
+	return sysfs_emit(buf, "%u\n", linedisp->num_chars);
+}
+
+static DEVICE_ATTR_RO(num_chars);
+
 static ssize_t scroll_step_ms_show(struct device *dev,
 				   struct device_attribute *attr, char *buf)
 {
-	struct linedisp *linedisp = container_of(dev, struct linedisp, dev);
+	struct linedisp *linedisp = to_linedisp(dev);
 
 	return sysfs_emit(buf, "%u\n", jiffies_to_msecs(linedisp->scroll_rate));
 }
@@ -173,7 +274,7 @@ static ssize_t scroll_step_ms_store(struct device *dev,
 				    struct device_attribute *attr,
 				    const char *buf, size_t count)
 {
-	struct linedisp *linedisp = container_of(dev, struct linedisp, dev);
+	struct linedisp *linedisp = to_linedisp(dev);
 	unsigned int ms;
 	int err;
 
@@ -181,12 +282,12 @@ static ssize_t scroll_step_ms_store(struct device *dev,
 	if (err)
 		return err;
 
+	timer_delete_sync(&linedisp->timer);
+
 	linedisp->scroll_rate = msecs_to_jiffies(ms);
-	if (linedisp->message && linedisp->message_len > linedisp->num_chars) {
-		timer_delete_sync(&linedisp->timer);
-		if (linedisp->scroll_rate)
-			linedisp_scroll(&linedisp->timer);
-	}
+
+	if (should_scroll(linedisp))
+		linedisp_scroll(&linedisp->timer);
 
 	return count;
 }
@@ -195,7 +296,7 @@ static DEVICE_ATTR_RW(scroll_step_ms);
 
 static ssize_t map_seg_show(struct device *dev, struct device_attribute *attr, char *buf)
 {
-	struct linedisp *linedisp = container_of(dev, struct linedisp, dev);
+	struct linedisp *linedisp = to_linedisp(dev);
 	struct linedisp_map *map = linedisp->map;
 
 	memcpy(buf, &map->map, map->size);
@@ -205,7 +306,7 @@ static ssize_t map_seg_show(struct device *dev, struct device_attribute *attr, c
 static ssize_t map_seg_store(struct device *dev, struct device_attribute *attr,
 			     const char *buf, size_t count)
 {
-	struct linedisp *linedisp = container_of(dev, struct linedisp, dev);
+	struct linedisp *linedisp = to_linedisp(dev);
 	struct linedisp_map *map = linedisp->map;
 
 	if (count != map->size)
@@ -223,6 +324,7 @@ static DEVICE_ATTR(map_seg14, 0644, map_seg_show, map_seg_store);
 
 static struct attribute *linedisp_attrs[] = {
 	&dev_attr_message.attr,
+	&dev_attr_num_chars.attr,
 	&dev_attr_scroll_step_ms.attr,
 	&dev_attr_map_seg7.attr,
 	&dev_attr_map_seg14.attr,
@@ -232,7 +334,7 @@ static struct attribute *linedisp_attrs[] = {
 static umode_t linedisp_attr_is_visible(struct kobject *kobj, struct attribute *attr, int n)
 {
 	struct device *dev = kobj_to_dev(kobj);
-	struct linedisp *linedisp = container_of(dev, struct linedisp, dev);
+	struct linedisp *linedisp = to_linedisp(dev);
 	struct linedisp_map *map = linedisp->map;
 	umode_t mode = attr->mode;
 
@@ -263,7 +365,7 @@ static DEFINE_IDA(linedisp_id);
 
 static void linedisp_release(struct device *dev)
 {
-	struct linedisp *linedisp = container_of(dev, struct linedisp, dev);
+	struct linedisp *linedisp = to_linedisp(dev);
 
 	kfree(linedisp->map);
 	kfree(linedisp->message);
@@ -321,12 +423,101 @@ static int linedisp_init_map(struct linedisp *linedisp)
 #endif
 
 /**
+ * linedisp_attach - attach a character line display
+ * @linedisp: pointer to character line display structure
+ * @dev: pointer of the device to attach to
+ * @num_chars: the number of characters that can be displayed
+ * @ops: character line display operations
+ *
+ * Directly attach the line-display sysfs attributes to the passed device.
+ * The caller is responsible for calling linedisp_detach() to release resources
+ * after use.
+ *
+ * Return: zero on success, else a negative error code.
+ */
+int linedisp_attach(struct linedisp *linedisp, struct device *dev,
+		    unsigned int num_chars, const struct linedisp_ops *ops)
+{
+	int err;
+
+	memset(linedisp, 0, sizeof(*linedisp));
+	linedisp->ops = ops;
+	linedisp->num_chars = num_chars;
+	linedisp->scroll_rate = DEFAULT_SCROLL_RATE;
+
+	linedisp->buf = kzalloc(linedisp->num_chars, GFP_KERNEL);
+	if (!linedisp->buf)
+		return -ENOMEM;
+
+	/* initialise a character mapping, if required */
+	err = linedisp_init_map(linedisp);
+	if (err)
+		goto out_free_buf;
+
+	/* initialise a timer for scrolling the message */
+	timer_setup(&linedisp->timer, linedisp_scroll, 0);
+
+	err = create_attachment(dev, linedisp, true);
+	if (err)
+		goto out_del_timer;
+
+	/* display a default message */
+	err = linedisp_display(linedisp, LINEDISP_INIT_TEXT, -1);
+	if (err)
+		goto out_del_attach;
+
+	/* add attribute groups to target device */
+	err = device_add_groups(dev, linedisp_groups);
+	if (err)
+		goto out_del_attach;
+
+	return 0;
+
+out_del_attach:
+	delete_attachment(dev, true);
+out_del_timer:
+	timer_delete_sync(&linedisp->timer);
+out_free_buf:
+	kfree(linedisp->buf);
+	return err;
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_NS_GPL(linedisp_attach, "LINEDISP");
+
+/**
+ * linedisp_detach - detach a character line display
+ * @dev: pointer of the device to detach from, that was previously
+ *	 attached with linedisp_attach()
+ */
+void linedisp_detach(struct device *dev)
+{
+	struct linedisp *linedisp;
+
+	linedisp = delete_attachment(dev, true);
+	if (!linedisp)
+		return;
+
+	timer_delete_sync(&linedisp->timer);
+
+	device_remove_groups(dev, linedisp_groups);
+
+	kfree(linedisp->map);
+	kfree(linedisp->message);
+	kfree(linedisp->buf);
+}
+EXPORT_SYMBOL_NS_GPL(linedisp_detach, "LINEDISP");
+
+/**
  * linedisp_register - register a character line display
  * @linedisp: pointer to character line display structure
  * @parent: parent device
  * @num_chars: the number of characters that can be displayed
  * @ops: character line display operations
  *
+ * Register the line-display sysfs attributes to a new device named
+ * "linedisp.N" added to the passed parent device.
+ * The caller is responsible for calling linedisp_unregister() to release
+ * resources after use.
+ *
  * Return: zero on success, else a negative error code.
  */
 int linedisp_register(struct linedisp *linedisp, struct device *parent,
@@ -362,19 +553,23 @@ int linedisp_register(struct linedisp *linedisp, struct device *parent,
 	/* initialise a timer for scrolling the message */
 	timer_setup(&linedisp->timer, linedisp_scroll, 0);
 
-	err = device_add(&linedisp->dev);
+	err = create_attachment(&linedisp->dev, linedisp, false);
 	if (err)
 		goto out_del_timer;
 
 	/* display a default message */
 	err = linedisp_display(linedisp, LINEDISP_INIT_TEXT, -1);
 	if (err)
-		goto out_del_dev;
+		goto out_del_attach;
+
+	err = device_add(&linedisp->dev);
+	if (err)
+		goto out_del_attach;
 
 	return 0;
 
-out_del_dev:
-	device_del(&linedisp->dev);
+out_del_attach:
+	delete_attachment(&linedisp->dev, false);
 out_del_timer:
 	timer_delete_sync(&linedisp->timer);
 out_put_device:
@@ -391,6 +586,7 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL_NS_GPL(linedisp_register, "LINEDISP");
 void linedisp_unregister(struct linedisp *linedisp)
 {
 	device_del(&linedisp->dev);
+	delete_attachment(&linedisp->dev, false);
 	timer_delete_sync(&linedisp->timer);
 	put_device(&linedisp->dev);
 }
diff --git a/drivers/auxdisplay/line-display.h b/drivers/auxdisplay/line-display.h
index 4348d7a2f69a..36853b639711 100644
--- a/drivers/auxdisplay/line-display.h
+++ b/drivers/auxdisplay/line-display.h
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
  * Author: Paul Burton <paul.burton@mips.com>
  *
  * Copyright (C) 2021 Glider bv
+ * Copyright (C) 2025 Jean-François Lessard
  */
 
 #ifndef _LINEDISP_H
@@ -81,6 +82,9 @@ struct linedisp {
 	unsigned int id;
 };
 
+int linedisp_attach(struct linedisp *linedisp, struct device *dev,
+		    unsigned int num_chars, const struct linedisp_ops *ops);
+void linedisp_detach(struct device *dev);
 int linedisp_register(struct linedisp *linedisp, struct device *parent,
 		      unsigned int num_chars, const struct linedisp_ops *ops);
 void linedisp_unregister(struct linedisp *linedisp);