[RFC | PATCH] move device-specific private data out of tuner struct

[mkrufky at linuxtv.org (Michael Krufky)]

As it stands currently, all device-specific data for analog tuner
drivers are stored in the main tuner struct.  This is a potential waste
of memory for tuner drivers that do not utilize all of these structures.

Up until now, as the needs of the drivers have changed, a developer
would issue an RFC to explain what he needs to add to the tuner struct
in order to handle the necessary change for the driver in question. 
With these private structures moved out of the main tuner struct, such
changes in the future would only affect the specific tuner driver.

I have written a driver for the Philips / NXP TDA18271 silicon tuner. 
This driver needs to maintain a snapshot of the register values in
memory -- this would be a waste of space for the other tuner drivers, as
this space would only be needed for the tda18271.  Since this memory is
only needed for the TDA18271, it makes sense that it should be stored in
a private area specific to the TDA18271, only.

The attached patch allocates these private structures on an as-needed
basis, within the object code for that specific tuner, rather than
globally inside the main tuner structure.  This change could also be
considered as a cleanup / overhaul, which brings the tuner.ko module
closer to an object-oriented design.

Would anybody have any issues with this patch, if it were applied?

Regards,

Mike Krufky


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