Re: [PATCH] EmbeddedPkg/DtPlatformDxe: remove /chosen/stdout-path on GOP registration

[Leif Lindholm <leif.lindholm@linaro.org>]

On Thu, Oct 19, 2017 at 10:19:44PM +0100, Ard Biesheuvel wrote:
> On 19 October 2017 at 21:55, Leif Lindholm <leif.lindholm@linaro.org> wrote:
> > On Thu, Oct 19, 2017 at 08:21:41PM +0100, Ard Biesheuvel wrote:
> >> The presence of a /chosen/stdout-path property will force Linux to use
> >> the serial port as the primary console, even if a graphical console is
> >> available as well. But the presence of the Graphics Output Protocol (GOP)
> >> is a strong indication that the user may prefer to use his keyboard and
> >> mouse rather than his terminal emulator to interact with the system, so
> >> let's remove /chosen/stdout-path as soon as a GOP instance is registered.
> >
> > This may be the sensible thing to do, but something just doesn't feel
> > right.
> >
> > Also, whatever we do here, we should try to mirror in ACPI with SPCR.
> 
> Yes, but it does not belong in this driver.

Absolutely not - but it ties in with the Pcd suggestion below.

> > Are we guaranteed to always want to disable serial console if there is
> > a graphics adapter?
> 
> This does not disable the serial console, it just makes it more
> difficult to access :-) You will have to add console=ttyAMA0 if you
> have a screen connected but want your console to appear on the serial
> port. (Just like on a normal computer)

Oh, I know - seeing those 8 characters just makes me twitch.

> > I still dream of a world in which I can run consplitter up to the
> > point where an OS takes over, and an OS installer will listen to input
> > from both sources and register its selection from there.
> 
> Yeah. I need this change to get the Debian installer to run on the FB
> console without having to add 'console=tty0' to the kernel command
> line.

Yes, I really want that too. So I'm good with the halfway house of a
dynamic preference Pcd.

> > But if we can't have that, can we have a menu setting to select preference?
> > The default can be a platform-specific Pcd.
> 
> That seems reasonable.

Thanks!

/
    Leif