CodeAurora Continues Contributions To Freedreno's MSM DRM Driver

[phoronix]

Phoronix: CodeAurora Continues Contributions To Freedreno's MSM DRM Driver

While there are still a few days left until the Linux 4.12 merge window closes and the 4.12 release candidates for the next two months, the Qualcomm-backed CodeAurora already has lined up some new code for the reverse-engineered, community-driven Freedreno MSM DRM driver for Adreno hardware...

http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=CodeAurora-MSM-Linux-4.13-Early

[shmerl]

Are they going to help with missing OpenGL support? Freedreno is quite behind (at OpenGL 3.1): https://mesamatrix.net

[dcbaker]

It's quite possible that 3.2 is the best GL version that any of the current Adreno can manage, since They are listed as GLES 2.0 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adreno), and Geometry shaders (which are required for GL 3.3), are a GLES 3.2 feature.

[StefanBruens]

Now if Qualcomm would provide a redistributable boot loader, that would be news ...

Currently its impossible for any distribution to provide SD card images, without breaking Qualcomms licensing terms.

[danboid]

Now if Qualcomm would provide a redistributable boot loader, that would be news ...

Currently its impossible for any distribution to provide SD card images, without breaking Qualcomms licensing terms.

Are you saying there's no way to boot Qualcomm dev boards / SBCs without a non-free binary blob?

[andrei_me]

robclark I'm remember reading somewhere in Phoronix forums several years ago, that you would develop freedreno instead of another hardware because they were your current employer, it was Texas Instrument back then?

AFAIR, we have freedreno now because of legal issues of then-current employer, isn't it?

[liam]

robclark I'm remember reading somewhere in Phoronix forums several years ago, that you would develop freedreno instead of another hardware because they were your current employer, it was Texas Instrument back then?

AFAIR, we have freedreno now because of legal issues of then-current employer, isn't it?

Close. Iirc, he had some exposure to imgtech ip via his work at Ti. That exposure makes it harder to claim that's his new reverse engineered img driver is a clean room implementation.
As it turns out, adreno is now far more popular on the Android side than it was when Rob first started the project.

[Guest]

Hm - I wonder if it'll work on my Nexus 6. Would be nice if I could use the open source driver with Android.

[shmerl]

Hm - I wonder if it'll work on my Nexus 6. Would be nice if I could use the open source driver with Android.

The problem with mobile handsets is not the GPU, it's the total lack of other key open drivers, including for the LTE modem. Which makes it basically useless for communication. Tablets would fare better (something like Nexus 7), since WiFi situation is not as bad.

[liam]

The problem with mobile handsets is not the GPU, it's the total lack of other key open drivers, including for the LTE modem. Which makes it basically useless for communication. Tablets would fare better (something like Nexus 7), since WiFi situation is not as bad.

Everything I've read about this indicates that telecoms aren't going to allow unsigned modem firmware.