http://elinux.org/index.php?title=Create_SOC_IP_block_information_database&feed=atom&action=history 2013-06-19T08:57:44Z Revision history for this page on the wiki MediaWiki 1.22alpha http://elinux.org/index.php?title=Create_SOC_IP_block_information_database&diff=33475&oldid=prev 2011-02-02T00:33:56Z

<p>Added body of Create SOC IP block information database page</p> <p><b>New page</b></p><div>; Summary: Create SOC IP block information database<br /> <br /> ; Proposer: Tim Bird (for EL summit attendees)<br /> <br /> == Description ==<br /> SOC products consists of general-purpose CPUs along with a variety of<br /> additional blocks of functionality. During the chip design phases,<br /> these additional blocks of functionality are called &quot;IP blocks&quot;, and<br /> the source code to create them is often licensed or bought from external<br /> suppliers. Some examples include the ethernet PHYs (circuit definitions to<br /> define ethernet hardware functionality), serial ports, audio components,<br /> generic digital signal processors, codec processors, and graphics processing<br /> units.<br /> <br /> Often, these IP blocks are reused from one SOC product to another. Also,<br /> these IP blocks are sometimes modified by the supplier or SOC vendor, over<br /> time.<br /> <br /> When writing Linux kernel driver software for a new SOC, it can be helpful to know<br /> the specific IP block (and it's heritage) used in a chip, in order to<br /> reuse software from other projects.<br /> <br /> This project would consist of creating and maintaining an SOC IP Block information<br /> database. It is proposed to keep the information on the elinux wiki, to be a<br /> publicly available resource for those working on driver support for SOCs.<br /> <br /> == Related work ==<br /> Chip vendors sometimes supply spec sheets for their parts. However, while these<br /> sheets may list technical details about the functionality of a chip, they often<br /> omit the source of an IP block source or it's heritage, which is useful for<br /> writing a driver for the block.<br /> <br /> == Scope ==<br /> I'm going to guess that a first-order database of the top 50 IP blocks used<br /> in current SOCs would take about 2 months to assemble and document.<br /> <br /> == Contractor Candidates ==<br /> None - someone with a hankering for misery.<br /> <br /> == Comments ==<br /> <br /> [[Category:Project proposals 2011]]</div>

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