45 http://www.jdl.com/software/dtc-latest.tgz
46
47
482) Description
49
50The Device Tree Compiler, dtc, takes as input a device-tree in
51a given format and outputs a device-tree in another format.
52Typically, the input format is "dts", a human readable source
53format, and creates a "dtb", or binary format as output.
54
55The currently supported Input Formats are:
56
57 - "dtb": "blob" format. A flattened device-tree block with
58 header in one binary blob.
59
60 - "dts": "source" format. A text file containing a "source"
61 for a device-tree.
62
63 - "fs" format. A representation equivalent to the output of
64 /proc/device-tree where nodes are directories and
65 properties are files.
66
67The currently supported Output Formats are:
68
69 - "dtb": "blob" format
70
71 - "dts": "source" format
72
73 - "asm": assembly language file. A file that can be sourced
74 by gas to generate a device-tree "blob". That file can
75 then simply be added to your Makefile. Additionally, the
76 assembly file exports some symbols that can be used.
77
78
793) Command Line
80
81The syntax of the dtc command line is:
82
83 dtc [options] [<input_filename>]
84
85Options:
86
87 <input_filename>
88 The name of the input source file. If no <input_filename>
89 or "-" is given, stdin is used.
90
91 -b <number>
92 Set the physical boot cpu.
93
94 -f
95 Force. Try to produce output even if the input tree has errors.
96
97 -h
98 Emit a brief usage and help message.
99
100 -I <input_format>
101 The source input format, as listed above.
102
103 -o <output_filename>
104 The name of the generated output file. Use "-" for stdout.
105
106 -O <output_format>
107 The generated output format, as listed above.
108
109 -q
110 Quiet: -q suppress warnings, -qq errors, -qqq all
111
112 -R <number>
113 Make space for <number> reserve map entries
114 Relevant for dtb and asm output only.
115
116 -S <bytes>
117 Ensure the blob at least <bytes> long, adding additional
118 space if needed.
119
120 -v
121 Print DTC version and exit.
122
123 -V <output_version>
124 Generate output conforming to the given <output_version>.
125 By default the most recent version is generated.
126 Relevant for dtb and asm output only.
127
128
129The <output_version> defines what version of the "blob" format will be
130generated. Supported versions are 1, 2, 3, 16 and 17. The default is
131always the most recent version and is likely the highest number.
132
133Additionally, dtc performs various sanity checks on the tree.
134
135
1364) Device Tree Source file
137
1384.1) Overview
139
140Here is a very rough overview of the layout of a DTS source file:
141
142
143 sourcefile: list_of_memreserve devicetree
144
145 memreserve: label 'memreserve' ADDR ADDR ';'
146 | label 'memreserve' ADDR '-' ADDR ';'
147
148 devicetree: '/' nodedef
149
150 nodedef: '{' list_of_property list_of_subnode '}' ';'
151
152 property: label PROPNAME '=' propdata ';'
153
154 propdata: STRING
155 | '<' list_of_cells '>'
156 | '[' list_of_bytes ']'
157
158 subnode: label nodename nodedef
159
160That structure forms a hierarchical layout of nodes and properties
161rooted at an initial node as:
162
163 / {
164 }
165
166Both classic C style and C++ style comments are supported.
167
168Source files may be directly included using the syntax:
169
170 /include/ "filename"
171
172
1734.2) Properties
174
175Properties are named, possibly labeled, values. Each value
176is one of:
177
178 - A null-teminated C-like string,
179 - A numeric value fitting in 32 bits,
180 - A list of 32-bit values
181 - A byte sequence
182
183Here are some example property definitions:
184
185 - A property containing a 0 terminated string
186
187 property1 = "string_value";
188
189 - A property containing a numerical 32-bit hexadecimal value
190
191 property2 = <1234abcd>;
192
193 - A property containing 3 numerical 32-bit hexadecimal values
194
195 property3 = <12345678 12345678 deadbeef>;
196
197 - A property whose content is an arbitrary array of bytes
198
199 property4 = [0a 0b 0c 0d de ea ad be ef];
200
201
202Node may contain sub-nodes to obtain a hierarchical structure.
203For example:
204
205 - A child node named "childnode" whose unit name is
206 "childnode at address". It it turn has a string property
207 called "childprop".
208
209 childnode@addresss {
210 childprop = "hello\n";
211 };
212
213
214By default, all numeric values are hexadecimal. Alternate bases
215may be specified using a prefix "d#" for decimal, "b#" for binary,
216and "o#" for octal.
217
218Strings support common escape sequences from C: "\n", "\t", "\r",
219"\(octal value)", "\x(hex value)".
220
221
2224.3) Labels and References
223
224Labels may be applied to nodes or properties. Labels appear
225before a node name, and are referenced using an ampersand: &label.
226Absolute node path names are also allowed in node references.
227
228In this exmaple, a node is labled "mpic" and then referenced:
229
230 mpic: interrupt-controller@40000 {
231 ...
232 };
233
234 ethernet-phy@3 {
235 interrupt-parent = <&mpic>;
236 ...
237 };
238
239And used in properties, lables may appear before or after any value:
240
241 randomnode {
242 prop: string = data: "mystring\n" data_end: ;
243 ...
244 };
245
246
247
248II - The DT block format
249========================
250
251This chapter defines the format of the flattened device-tree
252passed to the kernel. The actual content of the device tree
253are described in the kernel documentation in the file
254
255 linux-2.6/Documentation/powerpc/booting-without-of.txt
256
257You can find example of code manipulating that format within
258the kernel. For example, the file:
259
260 including arch/powerpc/kernel/prom_init.c
261
262will generate a flattened device-tree from the Open Firmware
263representation. Other utilities such as fs2dt, which is part of
264the kexec tools, will generate one from a filesystem representation.
265Some bootloaders such as U-Boot provide a bit more support by
266using the libfdt code.
267
268For booting the kernel, the device tree block has to be in main memory.
269It has to be accessible in both real mode and virtual mode with no
270mapping other than main memory. If you are writing a simple flash
271bootloader, it should copy the block to RAM before passing it to
272the kernel.
273
274
2751) Header
276---------
277
278The kernel is entered with r3 pointing to an area of memory that is
279roughly described in include/asm-powerpc/prom.h by the structure
280boot_param_header:
281
282 struct boot_param_header {
283 u32 magic; /* magic word OF_DT_HEADER */
284 u32 totalsize; /* total size of DT block */
285 u32 off_dt_struct; /* offset to structure */
286 u32 off_dt_strings; /* offset to strings */
287 u32 off_mem_rsvmap; /* offset to memory reserve map */
288 u32 version; /* format version */
289 u32 last_comp_version; /* last compatible version */
290
291 /* version 2 fields below */
292 u32 boot_cpuid_phys; /* Which physical CPU id we're
293 booting on */
294 /* version 3 fields below */
295 u32 size_dt_strings; /* size of the strings block */
296
297 /* version 17 fields below */
298 u32 size_dt_struct; /* size of the DT structure block */
299 };
300
301Along with the constants:
302
303 /* Definitions used by the flattened device tree */
304 #define OF_DT_HEADER 0xd00dfeed /* 4: version,
305 4: total size */
306 #define OF_DT_BEGIN_NODE 0x1 /* Start node: full name
307 */
308 #define OF_DT_END_NODE 0x2 /* End node */
309 #define OF_DT_PROP 0x3 /* Property: name off,
310 size, content */
311 #define OF_DT_END 0x9
312
313All values in this header are in big endian format, the various
314fields in this header are defined more precisely below. All "offset"
315values are in bytes from the start of the header; that is from the
316value of r3.
317
318 - magic
319
320 This is a magic value that "marks" the beginning of the
321 device-tree block header. It contains the value 0xd00dfeed and is
322 defined by the constant OF_DT_HEADER
323
324 - totalsize
325
326 This is the total size of the DT block including the header. The
327 "DT" block should enclose all data structures defined in this
328 chapter (who are pointed to by offsets in this header). That is,
329 the device-tree structure, strings, and the memory reserve map.
330
331 - off_dt_struct
332
333 This is an offset from the beginning of the header to the start
334 of the "structure" part the device tree. (see 2) device tree)
335
336 - off_dt_strings
337
338 This is an offset from the beginning of the header to the start
339 of the "strings" part of the device-tree
340
341 - off_mem_rsvmap
342
343 This is an offset from the beginning of the header to the start
344 of the reserved memory map. This map is a list of pairs of 64-
345 bit integers. Each pair is a physical address and a size. The
346 list is terminated by an entry of size 0. This map provides the
347 kernel with a list of physical memory areas that are "reserved"
348 and thus not to be used for memory allocations, especially during
349 early initialization. The kernel needs to allocate memory during
350 boot for things like un-flattening the device-tree, allocating an
351 MMU hash table, etc... Those allocations must be done in such a
352 way to avoid overriding critical things like, on Open Firmware
353 capable machines, the RTAS instance, or on some pSeries, the TCE
354 tables used for the iommu. Typically, the reserve map should
355 contain _at least_ this DT block itself (header,total_size). If
356 you are passing an initrd to the kernel, you should reserve it as
357 well. You do not need to reserve the kernel image itself. The map
358 should be 64-bit aligned.
359
360 - version
361
362 This is the version of this structure. Version 1 stops
363 here. Version 2 adds an additional field boot_cpuid_phys.
364 Version 3 adds the size of the strings block, allowing the kernel
365 to reallocate it easily at boot and free up the unused flattened
366 structure after expansion. Version 16 introduces a new more
367 "compact" format for the tree itself that is however not backward
368 compatible. Version 17 adds an additional field, size_dt_struct,
369 allowing it to be reallocated or moved more easily (this is
370 particularly useful for bootloaders which need to make
371 adjustments to a device tree based on probed information). You
372 should always generate a structure of the highest version defined
373 at the time of your implementation. Currently that is version 17,
374 unless you explicitly aim at being backward compatible.
375
376 - last_comp_version
377
378 Last compatible version. This indicates down to what version of
379 the DT block you are backward compatible. For example, version 2
380 is backward compatible with version 1 (that is, a kernel build
381 for version 1 will be able to boot with a version 2 format). You
382 should put a 1 in this field if you generate a device tree of
383 version 1 to 3, or 16 if you generate a tree of version 16 or 17
384 using the new unit name format.
385
386 - boot_cpuid_phys
387
388 This field only exist on version 2 headers. It indicate which
389 physical CPU ID is calling the kernel entry point. This is used,
390 among others, by kexec. If you are on an SMP system, this value
391 should match the content of the "reg" property of the CPU node in
392 the device-tree corresponding to the CPU calling the kernel entry
393 point (see further chapters for more informations on the required
394 device-tree contents)
395
396 - size_dt_strings
397
398 This field only exists on version 3 and later headers. It
399 gives the size of the "strings" section of the device tree (which
400 starts at the offset given by off_dt_strings).
401
402 - size_dt_struct
403
404 This field only exists on version 17 and later headers. It gives
405 the size of the "structure" section of the device tree (which
406 starts at the offset given by off_dt_struct).
407
408So the typical layout of a DT block (though the various parts don't
409need to be in that order) looks like this (addresses go from top to
410bottom):
411
412 ------------------------------
413 r3 -> | struct boot_param_header |
414 ------------------------------
415 | (alignment gap) (*) |
416 ------------------------------
417 | memory reserve map |
418 ------------------------------
419 | (alignment gap) |
420 ------------------------------
421 | |
422 | device-tree structure |
423 | |
424 ------------------------------
425 | (alignment gap) |
426 ------------------------------
427 | |
428 | device-tree strings |
429 | |
430 -----> ------------------------------
431 |
432 |
433 --- (r3 + totalsize)
434
435 (*) The alignment gaps are not necessarily present; their presence
436 and size are dependent on the various alignment requirements of
437 the individual data blocks.
438
439
4402) Device tree generalities
441---------------------------
442
443This device-tree itself is separated in two different blocks, a
444structure block and a strings block. Both need to be aligned to a 4
445byte boundary.
446
447First, let's quickly describe the device-tree concept before detailing
448the storage format. This chapter does _not_ describe the detail of the
449required types of nodes & properties for the kernel, this is done
450later in chapter III.
451
452The device-tree layout is strongly inherited from the definition of
453the Open Firmware IEEE 1275 device-tree. It's basically a tree of
454nodes, each node having two or more named properties. A property can
455have a value or not.
456
457It is a tree, so each node has one and only one parent except for the
458root node who has no parent.
459
460A node has 2 names. The actual node name is generally contained in a
461property of type "name" in the node property list whose value is a
462zero terminated string and is mandatory for version 1 to 3 of the
463format definition (as it is in Open Firmware). Version 16 makes it
464optional as it can generate it from the unit name defined below.
465
466There is also a "unit name" that is used to differentiate nodes with
467the same name at the same level, it is usually made of the node
468names, the "@" sign, and a "unit address", which definition is
469specific to the bus type the node sits on.
470
471The unit name doesn't exist as a property per-se but is included in
472the device-tree structure. It is typically used to represent "path" in
473the device-tree. More details about the actual format of these will be
474below.
475
476The kernel powerpc generic code does not make any formal use of the
477unit address (though some board support code may do) so the only real
478requirement here for the unit address is to ensure uniqueness of
479the node unit name at a given level of the tree. Nodes with no notion
480of address and no possible sibling of the same name (like /memory or
481/cpus) may omit the unit address in the context of this specification,
482or use the "@0" default unit address. The unit name is used to define
483a node "full path", which is the concatenation of all parent node
484unit names separated with "/".
485
486The root node doesn't have a defined name, and isn't required to have
487a name property either if you are using version 3 or earlier of the
488format. It also has no unit address (no @ symbol followed by a unit
489address). The root node unit name is thus an empty string. The full
490path to the root node is "/".
491
492Every node which actually represents an actual device (that is, a node
493which isn't only a virtual "container" for more nodes, like "/cpus"
494is) is also required to have a "device_type" property indicating the
495type of node .
496
497Finally, every node that can be referenced from a property in another
498node is required to have a "linux,phandle" property. Real open
499firmware implementations provide a unique "phandle" value for every
500node that the "prom_init()" trampoline code turns into
501"linux,phandle" properties. However, this is made optional if the
502flattened device tree is used directly. An example of a node
503referencing another node via "phandle" is when laying out the
504interrupt tree which will be described in a further version of this
505document.
506
507This "linux, phandle" property is a 32-bit value that uniquely
508identifies a node. You are free to use whatever values or system of
509values, internal pointers, or whatever to generate these, the only
510requirement is that every node for which you provide that property has
511a unique value for it.
512
513Here is an example of a simple device-tree. In this example, an "o"
514designates a node followed by the node unit name. Properties are
515presented with their name followed by their content. "content"
516represents an ASCII string (zero terminated) value, while <content>
517represents a 32-bit hexadecimal value. The various nodes in this
518example will be discussed in a later chapter. At this point, it is
519only meant to give you a idea of what a device-tree looks like. I have
520purposefully kept the "name" and "linux,phandle" properties which
521aren't necessary in order to give you a better idea of what the tree
522looks like in practice.
523
524 / o device-tree
525 |- name = "device-tree"
526 |- model = "MyBoardName"
527 |- compatible = "MyBoardFamilyName"
528 |- #address-cells = <2>
529 |- #size-cells = <2>
530 |- linux,phandle = <0>
531 |
532 o cpus
533 | | - name = "cpus"
534 | | - linux,phandle = <1>
535 | | - #address-cells = <1>
536 | | - #size-cells = <0>
537 | |
538 | o PowerPC,970@0
539 | |- name = "PowerPC,970"
540 | |- device_type = "cpu"
541 | |- reg = <0>
542 | |- clock-frequency = <5f5e1000>
543 | |- 64-bit
544 | |- linux,phandle = <2>
545 |
546 o memory@0
547 | |- name = "memory"
548 | |- device_type = "memory"
549 | |- reg = <00000000 00000000 00000000 20000000>
550 | |- linux,phandle = <3>
551 |
552 o chosen
553 |- name = "chosen"
554 |- bootargs = "root=/dev/sda2"
555 |- linux,phandle = <4>
556
557This tree is almost a minimal tree. It pretty much contains the
558minimal set of required nodes and properties to boot a linux kernel;
559that is, some basic model informations at the root, the CPUs, and the
560physical memory layout. It also includes misc information passed
561through /chosen, like in this example, the platform type (mandatory)
562and the kernel command line arguments (optional).
563
564The /cpus/PowerPC,970@0/64-bit property is an example of a
565property without a value. All other properties have a value. The
566significance of the #address-cells and #size-cells properties will be
567explained in chapter IV which defines precisely the required nodes and
568properties and their content.
569
570
5713) Device tree "structure" block
572
573The structure of the device tree is a linearized tree structure. The
574"OF_DT_BEGIN_NODE" token starts a new node, and the "OF_DT_END_NODE"
575ends that node definition. Child nodes are simply defined before
576"OF_DT_END_NODE" (that is nodes within the node). A 'token' is a 32
577bit value. The tree has to be "finished" with a OF_DT_END token
578
579Here's the basic structure of a single node:
580
581 * token OF_DT_BEGIN_NODE (that is 0x00000001)
582 * for version 1 to 3, this is the node full path as a zero
583 terminated string, starting with "/". For version 16 and later,
584 this is the node unit name only (or an empty string for the
585 root node)
586 * [align gap to next 4 bytes boundary]
587 * for each property:
588 * token OF_DT_PROP (that is 0x00000003)
589 * 32-bit value of property value size in bytes (or 0 if no
590 value)
591 * 32-bit value of offset in string block of property name
592 * property value data if any
593 * [align gap to next 4 bytes boundary]
594 * [child nodes if any]
595 * token OF_DT_END_NODE (that is 0x00000002)
596
597So the node content can be summarized as a start token, a full path,
598a list of properties, a list of child nodes, and an end token. Every
599child node is a full node structure itself as defined above.
600
601NOTE: The above definition requires that all property definitions for
602a particular node MUST precede any subnode definitions for that node.
603Although the structure would not be ambiguous if properties and
604subnodes were intermingled, the kernel parser requires that the
605properties come first (up until at least 2.6.22). Any tools
606manipulating a flattened tree must take care to preserve this
607constraint.
608
6094) Device tree "strings" block
610
611In order to save space, property names, which are generally redundant,
612are stored separately in the "strings" block. This block is simply the
613whole bunch of zero terminated strings for all property names
614concatenated together. The device-tree property definitions in the
615structure block will contain offset values from the beginning of the
616strings block.
617
618
619III - libfdt
|