ethercat/NEWS

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$Id$

vim: spelllang=en spell

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Changes since 1.4.0:

* Added a userspace library for accessing the application interface. This
  library is licensed under LGPLv2.
* Added distributed clocks support.
* Added watchdog configuration via application interface (thanks to J. Mohre).
* Added VoE mailbox protocol support.
* Improved the callback mechanism. ecrt_master_callbacks() now takes two
  callback functions for sending and receiving datagrams.
  ecrt_master_send_ext() is used to execute the sending of non-application
  datagrams.
* Separated datagram initialization from filling the payload with zeros.
  Introduced new method ec_datagram_zero() for that.
* Added phy_read and phy_write commands to ethercat tool.
* Added e100 driver for Intel PRO/100 NICs.
    - Added e100 driver for 2.6.28, thanks to Kim. H. Madsen.
    - Added e100 driver for 2.6.29, thanks to Andre Puschmann.
* Added 8139too driver for kernels 2.6.25 (F. Pose), 2.6.26 (M. Luescher),
  2.6.27, 2.6.28 and 2.6.29 (M. Goetze).
* Added e1000 driver for 2.6.26 (M. Luescher).
* Added r8169 driver for 2.6.24, 2.6.28 and 2.6.29.
* Debug interfaces are created with the Ethernet addresses of the attached
  physical device.
* Improved error case return codes of many functions.
* Implemented the File Access over EtherCAT (FoE) mailbox protocol, thanks to
  O. Zarges.
* Going to the Bootstrap state is now supported by the state machines and the
  command-line tool.
* Added ecrt_open_master() and ecrt_master_reserve() separation for
  the userspace library (thanks to Martin Troxler).
* Added bus information interface (methods ecrt_master(),
  ecrt_master_get_slave(), ecrt_master_get_sync_manager(),
  ecrt_master_get_pdo() and ecrt_master_get_pdo_entry()) to get information
  about the currently connected slaves and the PDO entries provided (thanks to
  Martin Troxler and Stefan Weiser).
* Added ecrt_master_sdo_download() and ecrt_master_sdo_upload()
  methods to let an application transfer SDOs before activating the master
  (thanks to Stefan Weiser).
* Fixed SDO upload segment response (thanks to Christoph Peter).
* SDO entry access rights are shown in 'ethercat sdos'.
* Added 64-bit data access macros to application header.
* Added debug level for all masters as a module parameter. Thanks to Erwin
  Burgstaller.
* Clear slave list on link down.
* Output device link state in 'ethercat master'.
* Added 'ethercat graph' command which outputs the bus topology in
  DOT language.
* Changed EC_MAX_SII_SIZE to 4096.
* 'ethercat xml' creates valid XML <EtherCATInfoList> for more than one slave
  (thanks to E. Burgstaller).
* Module symbol versions file for ec_master.ko is installed to
  prefix/modules/ec_master.symvers.
* Added 'ethercat eoe' command to display Ethernet over EtherCAT statistics.
* Added 'ethercat cstruct' command to output PDO information in C language.
* Significantly improved EoE bandwidth by running EoE processing in a kthread.
* Switched version control from Subversion to Mercurial.
* Implemented CompleteAccess for SDO downloads.

Changes in 1.4.0:

* Fixed race condition in jiffy-based frame timeout calculation.
* Fixed race condition concerning the ec_slave_config_state->operational flag.
* Fixed wrong calculation of the expected working counter if the process data
  of a domain span several datagrams.
* Fixed a kernel oops when a slave configuration is detached while the actual
  configuration is in progress.
* Fixed typo in logging output.
* Removed 'bashisms' from init script ('function' keyword).
* Fixed bug in e1000 drivers. Memory was allocated when sending the first
  frame.
* Modified licence headers to avoid conflicts with the GPL.
* Restricted licence to GPLv2 only.
* Fixed spelling of 'PDO', 'SDO' (all uppercase) and 'xx over EtherCAT'
  (without hyphens).

Changes in 1.4.0-rc3:

* Ported the master thread to the kthread interface.
* Added missing semaphore up() in an ioctl(). In rare cases, the master
  semaphore was not released.
* Minor fix in 'slaves' command that fixed duplicate display of supported
  mailbox protocols.
* The SDO Information Service is only queried, if the slave has the
  corresponding SII bit set.
* Added some missing header files in the command-line-tool code.
* Removed unstable e100, forcedeth, and r8169 drivers.

Changes in version 1.4.0-rc2:

* Fixed a deadlock causing race condition concerning thread signaling when the
  master thread had no opportunity to run, but shall be killed immediately
  after creation.
* Added missing up()s causing a semaphore being not released in some rare
  cases.
* Minor fixes.
* Removed some deprecated files.

Changes in version 1.4.0-rc1:

* Realtime interface changes:
    - Replaced ec_slave_t with ec_slave_config_t, separating the bus
      configuration from the actual slaves. Therefore, renamed
      ecrt_master_get_slave() to ecrt_master_slave_config().
    - Replaced slave address string with alias and position values. See
      ecrt_master_slave_config().
    - Removed ecrt_master_get_slave_by_pos(), because it is no longer
      necessary due to alias/position addressing.
    - Added ec_slave_config_state_t for the new method
      ecrt_slave_config_state().
    - Process data memory for a domain can now be allocated externally. This
      offers the possibility to use a shared-memory region. Therefore,
      added the domain methods ecrt_domain_size() and
      ecrt_domain_external_memory().
    - PDO entry registration functions do not return a process data pointer,
      but an offset in the domain's process data. In addition, an optional bit
      position can be requested. This was necessary for the external domain
      memory. An additional advantage is, that the returned offset is
      immediately valid. If the domain's process data is allocated internally,
      the start address can be retrieved with ecrt_domain_data().
    - Replaced ecrt_slave_pdo_mapping/add/clear() with
      ecrt_slave_config_pdo_assign_add() to add a PDO to a sync manager's PDO
      assignment and ecrt_slave_config_pdo_mapping_add() to add a PDO entry to a
      PDO's mapping. ecrt_slave_config_pdos() is a convenience function
      for both, that uses the new data types ec_pdo_info_t and
      ec_pdo_entry_info_t. PDO entries, that are mapped with these functions
      can now immediately be registered, even if the bus is offline.
    - Renamed ec_bus_status_t, ec_master_status_t to ec_bus_state_t and
      ec_master_state_t, respectively. Renamed ecrt_master_get_status() to
      ecrt_master_state(), for consistency reasons.
    - Added ec_domain_state_t and ec_wc_state_t for a new output parameter
      of ecrt_domain_state(). The domain state object does now contain
      information, if the process data was exchanged completely.
    - Former "PDO registration" meant PDO entry registration in fact, therefore
      renamed ec_pdo_reg_t to ec_pdo_entry_reg_t and ecrt_domain_register_pdo()
      to ecrt_slave_config_reg_pdo_entry().
    - Removed ecrt_domain_register_pdo_range(), because it's functionality can
      be reached by specifying an explicit PDO assignment/mapping and
      registering the mapped PDO entries.
    - Added an SDO access interface, working with SDO requests. These can be
      scheduled for reading and writing during realtime operation.
    - Exported ecrt_slave_config_sdo(), the generic SDO configuration function.
    - Removed the bus_state and bus_tainted flags from ec_master_state_t.
* Device interface changes:
    - Moved device output parameter of ecdev_offer() to return value.
* Replaced the Sysfs interface with a new 'ethercat' command-line tool, that
  communicates with the master via a character device and ioctls. The device
  is created via udev. The tool is able to
    - Write alias addresses.
    - Show the bus configuration.
    - Output binary domain process data.
    - Set the master's debug level.
    - Show domain information.
    - Show master information.
    - List PDO assignment/mapping.
    - Write an SDO entry.
    - List SDO dictionaries.
    - Read an SDO entry.
    - Output a slave's SII contents.
    - Write slave's SII contents.
    - Show slaves.
    - Request slave states.
    - Generate slave information xmls.
* Removed include/ecdb.h.
* Using the timestamp counter is now optional (configure --enable-cycles),
  because it is only available on Intel architectures.
* SDO dictionaries will now also be fetched in operation mode.
* SII write requests will now also be processed in operation mode.
* Mapping of PDO entries is now supported.
* Current PDO assignment/mapping is now read via CoE during bus scan, using
  direct SDO access, independent of the dictionary.
* Network driver news:
    - Added 8139too driver for kernel 2.6.22, thanks to Erwin Burgstaller.
    - Added 8139too driver for kernel 2.6.23, thanks to Richard Hacker.
    - Added 8139too driver for kernel 2.6.24.
    - Added e1000 driver for kernel 2.6.22.
    - Added e1000 driver for kernel 2.6.24, thanks to Matthias Luescher.
    - Added alpha support for the Realtek r8169 chipset, thanks to Scott
      Hassan.
    - Fixed unnecessary watchdog executions in e1000 drivers (thanks to
      Olav Zarges).
    - Fixed missing protection for a spin_lock_irqrestore() call in e1000
      drivers from 2.6.20 to 2.6.24 (thanks to Olav Zarges).
* Removed the "bus validation" routines. Slave scanning is now done any time
  the bus topology changes, even during realtime operation. Because of this,
  the bus_tainted flag was deprecated and removed.
* Slave configuration is not done during ecrt_master_activate() any more, but
  later during realtime operation. The state of the configuration can be
  queried via the ecrt_domain_state() and ecrt_slave_config_state() functions.
* Added support for slaves that do not support the LRW datagram type. Separate
  domains have to be used for inputs and output.
* CoE implementation:
    - Use expedites transfer type for SDOs <= 4 byte (thanks to J. Mohre).
    - Allow gaps in PDO mapping (thanks to R. Roesch).
    - Added some transfer timeouts.
    - Asynchronous handling of Emergency requests.
    - Bug fixes.
* Sync managers are disabled, if the size is zero.
* Renamed ec_master module parameters main and backup to main_devices and
  backup_devices to avoid warnings of some compilers.
* List end evaluate CoE detail flags from general category.
* Added MODPROBE_FLAGS variable in start script and sysconfig file.
* Implemented missing datagram types.
* Changed all occurrences of 'EEPROM' to 'SII'
* Allow multiple sync manager categories in SII.

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Changes in version 1.3.2:

* New feature: Read dynamic PDO mapping from SDO dictionary.
* Implemented SII writing workaround for some broken slaves.
* Improved handling for spontaneous AL state changes.
* Master takes mailbox sync manager configurations from EEPROM words
  0x0018-0x001b, if no sync manager configurations are provided.
* Calculate checksum when writing EEPROM or alias address.
* Fixed source MAC address setting bug.
* Removed config.kbuild and replaced Kbuild files by Kbuild.in files.

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Changes in version 1.3.1:

* Improved EoE handling: Avoided skipping of datagrams and release lock
  while processing.
* Added some statistics to the datagram structure.
* Master state machine clears all station addresses with a broadcast datagram
  before setting them.
* Added --enable-eoe conditional.
* Minor extensions of the master info file.
* Improved handling of unexpected working counters.
* Create network interfaces for EoE devices with alias as eoeXaY.
* Fixed problems on big-endian systems.
* Added documentation on how to set up an EoE network.

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Changes in version 1.3.0:

* Added Intel PRO/1000 Gigabit Ethernet driver (e1000).
* Added testing version of Intel PRO/100 Ethernet driver (e100).
* Added testing version of NVIDIA nForce Ethernet driver (forcedeth).
* Removed "ec_eoeif_count" master module parameter. EoE handlers are created
  dynamically instead.
* Added "main" and "backup" parameters to master module to hand over the
  MAC addresses of the devices to wait for. This made the ec_device_index
  parameter of the Ethernet drivers obsolete. The broadcast MAC address means,
  that the master accepts the first device offered by any Ethernet driver.
* Changed format of sysconfig file and accordingly adjusted functionality
  of the init script to handle the above MAC address lists.
* Realtime interface changes:
  - ecrt_master_run() became obsolete, because the master state machine is now
    run in process context.
  - Parameter changes in PDO registration functions ecrt_domain_register_pdo()
    and ecrt_register_pdo_range(): Replaced slave_address, vendor ID and
    product code arguments with a slave pointer, which has to be obtained with
    a prior call to ecrt_master_get_slave().
  - ecrt_master_get_slave() got additional parameters to check for vendor ID
    and product code.
  - Removed addressing scheme "X:Y" for ecrt_master_get_slave().
  - Added ecrt_master_get_slave_by_pos() to avoid the string handling of
    ecrt_master_get_slave().
  - Added ecrt_master_get_status() to get status information about the bus.
  - Added functions to set up an alternative PDO mapping for a slave, i. e.
    ec_slave_pdo_mapping_clear(), ec_slave_pdo_mapping_add() and
    ec_slave_pdo_mapping().
* Device interface changes:
  - Replaced ecdev_register() and ecdev_unregister() with ecdev_offer() and
    ecdev_withdraw(), respectively. The device modules now offer all their
    devices to the master. The master then decides, which ones to register.
  - Replaced ecdev_link_state() with ecdev_set_link(); added ecdev_get_link().
* All EEPROM write operations from user space are now blocking until
  writing has finished. Appropriate error codes are returned.
* Implemented setting of the "Secondary slave address" (alias) via sysfs.
* Implemented SDO reading in operation mode via sysfs.
* Removed annoying eeprom_write_enable file. EEPROM writing always enabled.
* Slave configuration is now done exclusively from the master thread. Removed
  ec_master_sync_io(). Userspace threads are now waiting for events in the
  state machine.
* Master state machine scheduled with timeout if idle, otherwise is executed
  as fast as possible (with schedule()).
* Added dummy module for simulation purposes.
* Limited infinite EEPROM reading, if 0xffff limiter word is missing.
* Init script works now properly on non-SUSE distros (no rc.status dependency
  any more).
* Removed EtherCAT line comments from 8139too drivers.

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Changes in version 1.2.0:

* Several fixes of bugs and stability issues. Master should now run fine
  with kernels 2.6.17 to 2.6.19.
* Realtime interface changes:
  - Re-introduced ecrt_domain_queue() to allow datagram queuing apart
    from datagram processing. The queuing of a domain's datagrams is not
    done in ecrt_domain_process() any more!
  - Removed ecrt_master_deactivate(). Its functionality was moved into
    ecrt_master_release().
  - Removed ecrt_master_prepare(). Its functionality was moved into
    ecrt_master_activate().
  - Renamed ecdev_start() and ecdev_stop() to ecdev_open() and ecdev_close().
    These two functions now take a pointer to ec_device_t as their arguments.
  - The data_ptr parameter of ecrt_domain_register_pdo(),
    ecrt_domain_register_pdo_list() and ecrt_domain_register_pdo_range() may
    not be NULL any more.
  - Removed ecrt_slave_pdo_size(). This function was deprecated long before.
  - Introduced ECRT_VERSION_MAGIC macro and ecrt_version_magic() function.
* Device interface changes:
  - ec_isr_t was replaced by ec_pollfunc_t, the device driver has to supply
    a poll function to call its ISR. This was introduced because some network
    drivers' interrupt functions have different arguments.
* State machines now try to re-send datagrams on datagram timeout.
* New option -c of the lsec script, displays slave current consumptions and
  remaining current.
* Added frame counter in master info file.

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Changes in version 1.1.1:

* State change FSM: Clearing of sync managers before PREOP.
* Added modules_install make target.
* Device modules for kernel 2.6.17.
* SDO configurations available in Sysfs.
* FMMU configurations cleared when going to INIT.
* Slave-specific logs only at debug level 1 (for large buses).
* Slave flags (error, online) available in Sysfs.
* Acknowledging of spontaneous state changes in master FSMs.
* ecrt_master_deactivate() deprecated.
* Persistent slave lists. Slave structures are only regenerated on topology
  change in IDLE mode.
* SDO reading via Sysfs.
* Added ecrt_domain_register_pdo_range()
* Fetching of SDO dictionary.
* Better timing behaviour when starting up under high CPU load.
* Applied Autotools.
* Improved output of lsec.
* SDO download state machine.

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Changes in version 1.1:

* Improved realtime interface.

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