media: v4l2-subdev: Support hybrid links in v4l2_subdev_link_validate()

The v4l2_subdev_link_validate() helper function is meant to be used as a
drop-in implementation of a V4L2 subdev entity .link_validate() handler.
It supports subdev-to-subdev links only, and complains if one end of the
link is not a subdev. This forces drivers that have video output devices
connected to subdevs to implement a custom .link_validate() handler,
calling v4l2_subdev_link_validate() for the subdev-to-subdev links, and
performing manual link validation for the video-to-subdev links.

Video devices embed a media entity, and therefore also have a
.link_validate() operation. For video capture devices, the operation
should be manually implemented by drivers for validate the
subdev-to-video links. For video output devices, on the other hand, that
operation is never called, as link validation is performed in the
context of the sink entity.

As a result, we end up forcing drivers to implement a custom
.link_validate() handler for subdevs connected to video output devices,
when the video devices provide an operation that could be used for that
purpose.

To improve that situation, make v4l2_subdev_link_validate() delegate
link validation to the source's .link_validate() operation when the link
source is a video device and the link sink is a subdev. This allows
broader usage of v4l2_subdev_link_validate(), and simplifies drivers by
making video device link validation easy to implement in the video
device .link_validate(), regardless of whether the video device is an
output device or a capture device.

Signed-off-by: Laurent Pinchart <laurent.pinchart+renesas@ideasonboard.com>
Reviewed-by: Tomi Valkeinen <tomi.valkeinen+renesas@ideasonboard.com>
Acked-by: Sakari Ailus <sakari.ailus@linux.intel.com>

1 files changed, 6 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/include/media/v4l2-subdev.h b/include/media/v4l2-subdev.h
index bd235d325ff9..8daa0929865c 100644
--- a/include/media/v4l2-subdev.h
+++ b/include/media/v4l2-subdev.h
@@ -1250,6 +1250,12 @@ int v4l2_subdev_link_validate_default(struct v4l2_subdev *sd,
  * calls v4l2_subdev_link_validate_default() to ensure that
  * width, height and the media bus pixel code are equal on both
  * source and sink of the link.
+ *
+ * The function can be used as a drop-in &media_entity_ops.link_validate
+ * implementation for v4l2_subdev instances. It supports all links between
+ * subdevs, as well as links between subdevs and video devices, provided that
+ * the video devices also implement their &media_entity_ops.link_validate
+ * operation.
  */
 int v4l2_subdev_link_validate(struct media_link *link);