Re: [edk2-devel] [PATCH 1/1] ArmPkg/SmbiosMiscDxe: Adjust the priority of getting firmware version

["Leif Lindholm" <quic_llindhol@quicinc.com>]

Hi Tinh, +Rebecca

On Mon, Mar 13, 2023 at 23:52:41 +0700, Tinh Nguyen via groups.io wrote:
> On 3/13/2023 10:03 PM, Leif Lindholm wrote:
> > On Mon, Mar 13, 2023 at 13:43:21 +0700, Tinh Nguyen wrote:
> > > The BIOS Firmware Version in the SMBIOS Type 0 can be fetched from
> > > the fixed PcdFirmwareVersionString or platform specific OemMiscLib.
> > > In fact, the support from OemMiscLib comes into play when the firmware
> > > version may be modified at boot time for extended information.
> > Wait. Firmware version modified at boot time for extended information?
> > What type of extended information?
>
> That could be SCP version, TF-A version, etc.

Ah, ok - so the edk2 image never knows a proper version name, so you
want to keep the Pcd as a fallback only, to provide the edk2 build
version if no other info can be retrieved?
That's valid, just not a case I would have expected.

> > > Therefore, the priority of getting the version from OemMiscLib should
> > > be higher. In case there is no modification in the OemMiscLib,
> > > we have to keep HII string STR_MISC_BIOS_VERSION empty or 'Not Specified'
> > > to indicate that the firmware version should be fetched from
> > > the PcdFirmwareVersionString.
> > > 
> > > Reviewed-by: Nhi Pham <nhi@os.amperecomputing.com>
> > > Signed-off-by: Tinh Nguyen <tinhnguyen@os.amperecomputing.com>
> > > ---
> > >   ArmPkg/Universal/Smbios/SmbiosMiscDxe/Type00/MiscBiosVendorFunction.c | 36 ++++++++++++++------
> > >   1 file changed, 25 insertions(+), 11 deletions(-)
> > > 
> > > diff --git a/ArmPkg/Universal/Smbios/SmbiosMiscDxe/Type00/MiscBiosVendorFunction.c b/ArmPkg/Universal/Smbios/SmbiosMiscDxe/Type00/MiscBiosVendorFunction.c
> > > index 66ead22a6e2c..31a3f6cde544 100644
> > > --- a/ArmPkg/Universal/Smbios/SmbiosMiscDxe/Type00/MiscBiosVendorFunction.c
> > > +++ b/ArmPkg/Universal/Smbios/SmbiosMiscDxe/Type00/MiscBiosVendorFunction.c
> > > @@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
> > >   /** @file
> > > -  Copyright (c) 2022, Ampere Computing LLC. All rights reserved.<BR>
> > > +  Copyright (c) 2022 - 2023, Ampere Computing LLC. All rights reserved.<BR>
> > >     Copyright (c) 2021, NUVIA Inc. All rights reserved.<BR>
> > >     Copyright (c) 2009, Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.<BR>
> > >     Copyright (c) 2015, Hisilicon Limited. All rights reserved.<BR>
> > > @@ -170,6 +170,7 @@ SMBIOS_MISC_TABLE_FUNCTION (MiscBiosVendor) {
> > >     EFI_STRING_ID       TokenToGet;
> > >     SMBIOS_TABLE_TYPE0  *SmbiosRecord;
> > >     SMBIOS_TABLE_TYPE0  *InputData;
> > > +  CHAR16              *DefaultVersionString;
> > >     //
> > >     // First check for invalid parameters.
> > > @@ -187,17 +188,30 @@ SMBIOS_MISC_TABLE_FUNCTION (MiscBiosVendor) {
> > >       HiiSetString (mSmbiosMiscHiiHandle, TokenToUpdate, Vendor, NULL);
> > >     }
> > > -  Version = GetBiosVersion ();
> > GetBiosVersion exists as a helper function to avoid cluttering
> > higher-level functions with unnecessary details. If this change is
> > needed, that is where it should go.
> 
> This change is based on existing code, and goal is to get the Firmware
> version string from OemMiscLib first, rather than PcdFirmwareVersionString.
>
>  I would rather not make any changes that aren't relevant.

I see now why you want to re-jig the current logic, and that includes
the selection logic. But this function is already too long. It needs
to be simplified, not made more complex.

> > But I still don't understand the purpose of this patch, so cannot
> > comment on whether I feel this is the right approach or not.
> > Please elaborate.
> 
> The firmware version is currently being updated:
> 
> 1. Get the string from Fixed PcdFirmwareVersionString.
> 
> 2. Check to see if this string is null; if not, update the SMBIOS firmware
> version string.
> 
> 3. if PcdFirmwareVersionString is null, retrieve the string from OemMiscLib.

That's the function - I was asking for the purpose, which you
described higher up in your reply.

> As you can see, the implementation is intended to honor the
> PcdFirmwareVersionString.
> 
> We can't get the extend information (which can be derived from runtime) into
> the SMBIOS firmware version string if we don't set PcdFirmwareVersionString
> null
> 
> However,  in some cases we don't want to set PcdFirmwareVersionString to
> null because it might be used by other modules.

Hmm. On one level I think you're highlighting a desire for separation
of "firmware version" from "edk2 version", which isn't something the
codebase generally does today.
But we don't need to solve that completely to make this change.

>   I think it makes sense to prioritize OemMiscLib since it's more flexible
> than Pcd.

No objection to that.
But can we do it like this?:

Change GetBiosVersion to SetBiosVersion and in MiscBiosVendor, only call

  SetBiosVersion ();

and move the selection logic fully into SetBiosVersion?

Rebecca, thoughts?
Arguably, once an OemMiscLib dependency was added, the Pcd values became
less useful in the core code.

/
    Leif

> > 
> > > +  DefaultVersionString = HiiGetString (
> > > +                           mSmbiosMiscHiiHandle,
> > > +                           STRING_TOKEN (STR_MISC_BIOS_VERSION),
> > > +                           NULL
> > > +                           );
> > > -  if (StrLen (Version) > 0) {
> > > -    TokenToUpdate = STRING_TOKEN (STR_MISC_BIOS_VERSION);
> > > -    HiiSetString (mSmbiosMiscHiiHandle, TokenToUpdate, Version, NULL);
> > > -  } else {
> > > -    OemUpdateSmbiosInfo (
> > > -      mSmbiosMiscHiiHandle,
> > > -      STRING_TOKEN (STR_MISC_BIOS_VERSION),
> > > -      BiosVersionType00
> > > -      );
> > > +  OemUpdateSmbiosInfo (
> > > +    mSmbiosMiscHiiHandle,
> > > +    STRING_TOKEN (STR_MISC_BIOS_VERSION),
> > > +    BiosVersionType00
> > > +    );
> > > +
> > > +  Version = HiiGetString (
> > > +              mSmbiosMiscHiiHandle,
> > > +              STRING_TOKEN (STR_MISC_BIOS_VERSION),
> > > +              NULL
> > > +              );
> > > +
> > > +  if (((StrCmp (Version, DefaultVersionString) == 0) || (StrLen (Version) == 0))) {
> > > +    Version = GetBiosVersion ();
> > > +    if (StrLen (Version) > 0) {
> > > +      TokenToUpdate = STRING_TOKEN (STR_MISC_BIOS_VERSION);
> > > +      HiiSetString (mSmbiosMiscHiiHandle, TokenToUpdate, Version, NULL);
> > > +    }
> > >     }
> > >     Char16String = GetBiosReleaseDate ();
> > > -- 
> > > 2.39.2
> > > 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>