Hi Hans & the others,
[snip]
I also stumbled across a new Problem:
We have an upcoming device that has a per-key keyboard backlight, but does the
control completely via a wmi/acpi interface. So no usable hidraw here for a
potential userspace driver implementation ...
So a quick summary for the ideas floating in this thread so far:
1. Expand leds interface allowing arbitrary modes with semi arbitrary optional
attributes:
- Pro:
- Still offers all default attributes for use with UPower
- Fairly simple to implement from the preexisting codebase
- Could be implemented for all (to me) known internal keyboard backlights
- Con:
- Violates the simplicity paradigm of the leds interface (e.g. with
this one leds entry controls possible multiple leds)
2. Implement per-key keyboards as auxdisplay
- Pro:
- Already has a concept for led positions
- Is conceptually closer to "multiple leds forming a singular entity"
- Con:
- No preexisting UPower support
- No concept for special hardware lighting modes
- No support for arbitrary led outlines yet (e.g. ISO style enter-key)
3. Implement in input subsystem
- Pro:
- Preexisting concept for keys and key purpose
- Con:
- Not in scope for subsystem
- No other preexisting light infrastructure
4. Implement a simple leds driver only supporting a small subset of the
capabilities and make it disable-able for a userspace driver to take over
- Pro:
- Most simple to implement basic support
- In scope for led subsystem simplicity paradigm
- Con:
- Not all built in keyboard backlights can be implemented in a
userspace only driver
Kind Regards,
Werner
Just a gentle bump and request for comments again. 4. would be better then
nothing but it is not a universal future proof solution so I'm hesitant to put
work into it even though it would be the simplest driver. I still tend towards
1. as the leds interface already got expanded once with the multicolor stuff.
The only other way I see would be to implement a platform driver with no
standardized api or implement a complete new api/subsystem from the ground up.
Kind Regards,
Werner
