Ordering of the individual properties inside each property group benefits from applying natural sort order [1] by the property names, because it results in more logical and more usable property lists, similarly to what's already the case with the alpha-numerical ordering of the nodes without unit addresses. Let's have this clearly specified in the DTS coding style, and let's expand the provided node example a bit, to actually show the results of applying natural sort order. Applying strict alpha-numerical ordering can result in property lists that are suboptimal from the usability standpoint. For the provided example, which stems from a real-world DT, [2][3][4] applying strict alpha-numerical ordering produces the following undesirable result: vdd-0v9-supply = <&board_vreg1>; vdd-12v-supply = <&board_vreg3>; vdd-1v8-supply = <&board_vreg4>; vdd-3v3-supply = <&board_vreg2>; Having the properties sorted in natural order by their associated voltages is more logical, more usable, and a bit more consistent. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_sort_order [2] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-rockchip/b39cfd7490d8194f053bf3971f13a43472d1769e.1740941097.git.dsimic@xxxxxxxxxxx/ [3] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-rockchip/174104113599.8946.16805724674396090918.b4-ty@xxxxxxxxx/ [4] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-rockchip/757afa87255212dfa5abf4c0e31deb08@xxxxxxxxxxx/ Signed-off-by: Dragan Simic <dsimic@xxxxxxxxxxx> --- Notes: Changes in v4: - Compacted both the introduced additions to the DTS conding style and the patch description, as suggested by Krzysztof [7] - Reformatted the patch description to obey the 75-column-width rule, and adjusted the editor configuration accordingly, to avoid such issues in the future, as suggested by Krzysztof [7] Changes in v3: - Rewrote the part of the changes that describes natural sort order and its relation to "standard" alpha-numerical ordering, to make it more understandable, as suggested by Krzysztof [6] - Slightly expanded the patch description, to clarify the additional goal of explaining the natural sort order briefly Changes in v2: - Changed the additions to the coding style to specify natural sort order, which avoids amibguity, as suggested by Krzysztof [5] - Adjusted and expanded the patch description appropriately, together with including one more reference for the natural sort order Link to v1: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-kernel/09d6f2fc111b3d6e58987336944f93ec36b65118.1741071107.git.dsimic@xxxxxxxxxxx/T/#u Link to v2: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-kernel/47c51c10098f089e52fb14c5c5527611dc8daf32.1741164239.git.dsimic@xxxxxxxxxxx/T/#u Link to v3: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-kernel/7276139ea1f4a5f4db48c77f536a3638492e6c2f.1741321984.git.dsimic@xxxxxxxxxxx/T/#u [5] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-kernel/20250305-defiant-serious-newt-b7c5ea@krzk-bin/ [6] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-kernel/20250306-dexterous-goshawk-of-aptitude-e4f1f6@krzk-bin/ [7] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-kernel/20250307-logical-nimble-okapi-3ba081@krzk-bin/ Documentation/devicetree/bindings/dts-coding-style.rst | 8 +++++++- 1 file changed, 7 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/dts-coding-style.rst b/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/dts-coding-style.rst index 8a68331075a0..d8a2b11cab48 100644 --- a/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/dts-coding-style.rst +++ b/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/dts-coding-style.rst @@ -133,6 +133,9 @@ The above-described ordering follows this approach: 3. Status is the last information to annotate that device node is or is not finished (board resources are needed). +The individual properties inside each group shall use natural sort order by +the property name. + Example:: /* SoC DTSI */ @@ -158,7 +161,10 @@ Example:: /* Board DTS */ &device_node { - vdd-supply = <&board_vreg1>; + vdd-0v9-supply = <&board_vreg1>; + vdd-1v8-supply = <&board_vreg4>; + vdd-3v3-supply = <&board_vreg2>; + vdd-12v-supply = <&board_vreg3>; status = "okay"; }
