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+Linux kernel media framework
+============================
+
+This document describes the Linux kernel media framework, its data structures,
+functions and their usage.
+
+
+Introduction
+------------
+
+The media controller API is documented in DocBook format in
+Documentation/DocBook/media/v4l/media-controller.xml. This document will focus
+on the kernel-side implementation of the media framework.
+
+
+Abstract media device model
+---------------------------
+
+Discovering a device internal topology, and configuring it at runtime, is one
+of the goals of the media framework. To achieve this, hardware devices are
+modelled as an oriented graph of building blocks called entities connected
+through pads.
+
+An entity is a basic media hardware building block. It can correspond to
+a large variety of logical blocks such as physical hardware devices
+(CMOS sensor for instance), logical hardware devices (a building block
+in a System-on-Chip image processing pipeline), DMA channels or physical
+connectors.
+
+A pad is a connection endpoint through which an entity can interact with
+other entities. Data (not restricted to video) produced by an entity
+flows from the entity's output to one or more entity inputs. Pads should
+not be confused with physical pins at chip boundaries.
+
+A link is a point-to-point oriented connection between two pads, either
+on the same entity or on different entities. Data flows from a source
+pad to a sink pad.
+
+
+Media device
+------------
+
+A media device is represented by a struct media_device instance, defined in
+include/media/media-device.h. Allocation of the structure is handled by the
+media device driver, usually by embedding the media_device instance in a
+larger driver-specific structure.
+
+Drivers register media device instances by calling
+
+	media_device_register(struct media_device *mdev);
+
+The caller is responsible for initializing the media_device structure before
+registration. The following fields must be set:
+
+ - dev must point to the parent device (usually a pci_dev, usb_interface or
+   platform_device instance).
+
+ - model must be filled with the device model name as a NUL-terminated UTF-8
+   string. The device/model revision must not be stored in this field.
+
+The following fields are optional:
+
+ - serial is a unique serial number stored as a NUL-terminated ASCII string.
+   The field is big enough to store a GUID in text form. If the hardware
+   doesn't provide a unique serial number this field must be left empty.
+
+ - bus_info represents the location of the device in the system as a
+   NUL-terminated ASCII string. For PCI/PCIe devices bus_info must be set to
+   "PCI:" (or "PCIe:") followed by the value of pci_name(). For USB devices,
+   the usb_make_path() function must be used. This field is used by
+   applications to distinguish between otherwise identical devices that don't
+   provide a serial number.
+
+ - hw_revision is the hardware device revision in a driver-specific format.
+   When possible the revision should be formatted with the KERNEL_VERSION
+   macro.
+
+ - driver_version is formatted with the KERNEL_VERSION macro. The version
+   minor must be incremented when new features are added to the userspace API
+   without breaking binary compatibility. The version major must be
+   incremented when binary compatibility is broken.
+
+Upon successful registration a character device named media[0-9]+ is created.
+The device major and minor numbers are dynamic. The model name is exported as
+a sysfs attribute.
+
+Drivers unregister media device instances by calling
+
+	media_device_unregister(struct media_device *mdev);
+
+Unregistering a media device that hasn't been registered is *NOT* safe.
+
+
+Entities, pads and links
+------------------------
+
+- Entities
+
+Entities are represented by a struct media_entity instance, defined in
+include/media/media-entity.h. The structure is usually embedded into a
+higher-level structure, such as a v4l2_subdev or video_device instance,
+although drivers can allocate entities directly.
+
+Drivers initialize entities by calling
+
+	media_entity_init(struct media_entity *entity, u16 num_pads,
+			  struct media_pad *pads, u16 extra_links);
+
+The media_entity name, type, flags, revision and group_id fields can be
+initialized before or after calling media_entity_init. Entities embedded in
+higher-level standard structures can have some of those fields set by the
+higher-level framework.
+
+As the number of pads is known in advance, the pads array is not allocated
+dynamically but is managed by the entity driver. Most drivers will embed the
+pads array in a driver-specific structure, avoiding dynamic allocation.
+
+Drivers must set the direction of every pad in the pads array before calling
+media_entity_init. The function will initialize the other pads fields.
+
+Unlike the number of pads, the total number of links isn't always known in
+advance by the entity driver. As an initial estimate, media_entity_init
+pre-allocates a number of links equal to the number of pads plus an optional
+number of extra links. The links array will be reallocated if it grows beyond
+the initial estimate.
+
+Drivers register entities with a media device by calling
+
+	media_device_register_entity(struct media_device *mdev,
+				     struct media_entity *entity);
+
+Entities are identified by a unique positive integer ID. Drivers can provide an
+ID by filling the media_entity id field prior to registration, or request the
+media controller framework to assign an ID automatically. Drivers that provide
+IDs manually must ensure that all IDs are unique. IDs are not guaranteed to be
+contiguous even when they are all assigned automatically by the framework.
+
+Drivers unregister entities by calling
+
+	media_device_unregister_entity(struct media_entity *entity);
+
+Unregistering an entity will not change the IDs of the other entities, and the
+ID will never be reused for a newly registered entity.
+
+When a media device is unregistered, all its entities are unregistered
+automatically. No manual entities unregistration is then required.
+
+Drivers free resources associated with an entity by calling
+
+	media_entity_cleanup(struct media_entity *entity);
+
+This function must be called during the cleanup phase after unregistering the
+entity. Note that the media_entity instance itself must be freed explicitly by
+the driver if required.
+
+Entities have flags that describe the entity capabilities and state.
+
+	MEDIA_ENT_FL_DEFAULT indicates the default entity for a given type.
+	This can be used to report the default audio and video devices or the
+	default camera sensor.
+
+Logical entity groups can be defined by setting the group ID of all member
+entities to the same non-zero value. An entity group serves no purpose in the
+kernel, but is reported to userspace during entities enumeration. The group_id
+field belongs to the media device driver and must not by touched by entity
+drivers.
+
+Media device drivers should define groups if several entities are logically
+bound together. Example usages include reporting
+
+	- ALSA, VBI and video nodes that carry the same media stream
+	- lens and flash controllers associated with a sensor
+
+- Pads
+
+Pads are represented by a struct media_pad instance, defined in
+include/media/media-entity.h. Each entity stores its pads in a pads array
+managed by the entity driver. Drivers usually embed the array in a
+driver-specific structure.
+
+Pads are identified by their entity and their 0-based index in the pads array.
+Both information are stored in the media_pad structure, making the media_pad
+pointer the canonical way to store and pass link references.
+
+Pads have flags that describe the pad capabilities and state.
+
+	MEDIA_PAD_FL_SINK indicates that the pad supports sinking data.
+	MEDIA_PAD_FL_SOURCE indicates that the pad supports sourcing data.
+
+One and only one of MEDIA_PAD_FL_SINK and MEDIA_PAD_FL_SOURCE must be set for
+each pad.
+
+- Links
+
+Links are represented by a struct media_link instance, defined in
+include/media/media-entity.h. Each entity stores all links originating at or
+targeting any of its pads in a links array. A given link is thus stored
+twice, once in the source entity and once in the target entity. The array is
+pre-allocated and grows dynamically as needed.
+
+Drivers create links by calling
+
+	media_entity_create_link(struct media_entity *source, u16 source_pad,
+				 struct media_entity *sink,   u16 sink_pad,
+				 u32 flags);
+
+An entry in the link array of each entity is allocated and stores pointers
+to source and sink pads.
+
+Links have flags that describe the link capabilities and state.
+
+	MEDIA_LNK_FL_ENABLED indicates that the link is enabled and can be used
+	to transfer media data. When two or more links target a sink pad, only
+	one of them can be enabled at a time.
+	MEDIA_LNK_FL_IMMUTABLE indicates that the link enabled state can't be
+	modified at runtime. If MEDIA_LNK_FL_IMMUTABLE is set, then
+	MEDIA_LNK_FL_ENABLED must also be set since an immutable link is always
+	enabled.
+
+
+Graph traversal
+---------------
+
+The media framework provides APIs to iterate over entities in a graph.
+
+To iterate over all entities belonging to a media device, drivers can use the
+media_device_for_each_entity macro, defined in include/media/media-device.h.
+
+	struct media_entity *entity;
+
+	media_device_for_each_entity(entity, mdev) {
+		/* entity will point to each entity in turn */
+		...
+	}
+
+Drivers might also need to iterate over all entities in a graph that can be
+reached only through enabled links starting at a given entity. The media
+framework provides a depth-first graph traversal API for that purpose.
+
+Note that graphs with cycles (whether directed or undirected) are *NOT*
+supported by the graph traversal API. To prevent infinite loops, the graph
+traversal code limits the maximum depth to MEDIA_ENTITY_ENUM_MAX_DEPTH,
+currently defined as 16.
+
+Drivers initiate a graph traversal by calling
+
+	media_entity_graph_walk_start(struct media_entity_graph *graph,
+				      struct media_entity *entity);
+
+The graph structure, provided by the caller, is initialized to start graph
+traversal at the given entity.
+
+Drivers can then retrieve the next entity by calling
+
+	media_entity_graph_walk_next(struct media_entity_graph *graph);
+
+When the graph traversal is complete the function will return NULL.
+
+Graph traversal can be interrupted at any moment. No cleanup function call is
+required and the graph structure can be freed normally.
+
+Helper functions can be used to find a link between two given pads, or a pad
+connected to another pad through an enabled link
+
+	media_entity_find_link(struct media_pad *source,
+			       struct media_pad *sink);
+
+	media_entity_remote_pad(struct media_pad *pad);
+
+Refer to the kerneldoc documentation for more information.
+
+
+Use count and power handling
+----------------------------
+
+Due to the wide differences between drivers regarding power management needs,
+the media controller does not implement power management. However, the
+media_entity structure includes a use_count field that media drivers can use to
+track the number of users of every entity for power management needs.
+
+The use_count field is owned by media drivers and must not be touched by entity
+drivers. Access to the field must be protected by the media device graph_mutex
+lock.
+
+
+Links setup
+-----------
+
+Link properties can be modified at runtime by calling
+
+	media_entity_setup_link(struct media_link *link, u32 flags);
+
+The flags argument contains the requested new link flags.
+
+The only configurable property is the ENABLED link flag to enable/disable a
+link. Links marked with the IMMUTABLE link flag can not be enabled or disabled.
+
+When a link is enabled or disabled, the media framework calls the
+link_setup operation for the two entities at the source and sink of the link,
+in that order. If the second link_setup call fails, another link_setup call is
+made on the first entity to restore the original link flags.
+
+Media device drivers can be notified of link setup operations by setting the
+media_device::link_notify pointer to a callback function. If provided, the
+notification callback will be called before enabling and after disabling
+links.
+
+Entity drivers must implement the link_setup operation if any of their links
+is non-immutable. The operation must either configure the hardware or store
+the configuration information to be applied later.
+
+Link configuration must not have any side effect on other links. If an enabled
+link at a sink pad prevents another link at the same pad from being enabled,
+the link_setup operation must return -EBUSY and can't implicitly disable the
+first enabled link.
+
+
+Pipelines and media streams
+---------------------------
+
+When starting streaming, drivers must notify all entities in the pipeline to
+prevent link states from being modified during streaming by calling
+
+	media_entity_pipeline_start(struct media_entity *entity,
+				    struct media_pipeline *pipe);
+
+The function will mark all entities connected to the given entity through
+enabled links, either directly or indirectly, as streaming.
+
+The media_pipeline instance pointed to by the pipe argument will be stored in
+every entity in the pipeline. Drivers should embed the media_pipeline structure
+in higher-level pipeline structures and can then access the pipeline through
+the media_entity pipe field.
+
+Calls to media_entity_pipeline_start() can be nested. The pipeline pointer must
+be identical for all nested calls to the function.
+
+media_entity_pipeline_start() may return an error. In that case, it will
+clean up any of the changes it did by itself.
+
+When stopping the stream, drivers must notify the entities with
+
+	media_entity_pipeline_stop(struct media_entity *entity);
+
+If multiple calls to media_entity_pipeline_start() have been made the same
+number of media_entity_pipeline_stop() calls are required to stop streaming. The
+media_entity pipe field is reset to NULL on the last nested stop call.
+
+Link configuration will fail with -EBUSY by default if either end of the link is
+a streaming entity. Links that can be modified while streaming must be marked
+with the MEDIA_LNK_FL_DYNAMIC flag.
+
+If other operations need to be disallowed on streaming entities (such as
+changing entities configuration parameters) drivers can explicitly check the
+media_entity stream_count field to find out if an entity is streaming. This
+operation must be done with the media_device graph_mutex held.
+
+
+Link validation
+---------------
+
+Link validation is performed by media_entity_pipeline_start() for any
+entity which has sink pads in the pipeline. The
+media_entity::link_validate() callback is used for that purpose. In
+link_validate() callback, entity driver should check that the properties of
+the source pad of the connected entity and its own sink pad match. It is up
+to the type of the entity (and in the end, the properties of the hardware)
+what matching actually means.
+
+Subsystems should facilitate link validation by providing subsystem specific
+helper functions to provide easy access for commonly needed information, and
+in the end provide a way to use driver-specific callbacks.