On 29/06/2022 22:42, Arnd Bergmann wrote: > With the multiplatform work completed in the past merge window, and the > scheduled deprecation of the Samsung s3c platforms, I decided to have a > look at the remaining board files. There are 196 remaining boards, down > from 489 boards ten years ago, but my estimate is that only few of those > ever booted a linux-5.x kernel, and even less for future kernels. The > question is how to find out which ones are still used, and which ones > can go. > > I would propose that we start by changing the assumption that all boards > might be used, instead assuming that they are all outdated unless someone > says that they actually prefer to keep it in the kernel. I have started > a list of all 196 boards and annotated the ones that look like candidates > for removal [1]. If a board you use is on that list, please either reply > here or add a comment in the document. > > Unless someone has a better idea for how to proceed, I would allow > six months for users to speak up and then remove the orphaned board > files for the release following the LTS kernel. I can't list all boards > individually, so here is a breakdown by platform: > > s3c24xx > > These are all scheduled for removal in early 2023 already, once the next > longterm stable kernel is out. No changes here, but it seems useful > to use the same timeline for removing unused board files of the other > platforms together. > > s3c64xx > > There are ten board files, which are currently scheduled for removal in > 2024, along with the DT based boards for this SoC. We can still decide > to throw out some of the board files earlier though, while keeping the > platform around. I would keep all s3c24xx/s3c64xx boards till the platform drop. Removing few boards before platform won't give us huge benefits... and anyway just 1 and 2 years and they all will be gone. Best regards, Krzysztof
