Logfile: Changes for version 20151218

Version 20151218

1 files changed, 157 insertions, 0 deletions

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+18 December 2015. Summary of changes for version 20151218:
+
+This release is available at https://acpica.org/downloads
+
+
+1) ACPICA kernel-resident subsystem:
+
+Implemented per-AML-table execution of "module-level code" as individual 
+ACPI tables are loaded into the namespace during ACPICA initialization. 
+In other words, any module-level code within an AML table is executed 
+immediately after the table is loaded, instead of batched and executed 
+after all of the tables have been loaded. This provides compatibility 
+with other ACPI implementations. ACPICA BZ 1219. Bob Moore, Lv Zheng, 
+David Box.
+
+To fully support the feature above, the default operation region handlers 
+for the SystemMemory, SystemIO, and PCI_Config address spaces are now 
+installed before any ACPI tables are loaded. This enables module-level 
+code to access these address spaces during the table load and module-
+level code execution phase. ACPICA BZ 1220. Bob Moore, Lv Zheng, David 
+Box.
+
+Implemented several changes to the internal _REG support in conjunction 
+with the changes above. Also, changes to the AcpiExec/AcpiNames/Examples 
+utilities for the changes above. Although these tools were changed, host 
+operating systems that simply use the default handlers for SystemMemory, 
+SystemIO, and PCI_Config spaces should not require any update. Lv Zheng.
+
+For example, in the code below, DEV1 is conditionally added to the 
+namespace by the DSDT via module-level code that accesses an operation 
+region. The SSDT references DEV1 via the Scope operator. DEV1 must be 
+created immediately after the DSDT is loaded in order for the SSDT to 
+successfully reference DEV1. Previously, this code would cause an 
+AE_NOT_EXIST exception during the load of the SSDT. Now, this code is 
+fully supported by ACPICA.
+
+    DefinitionBlock ("", "DSDT", 2, "Intel", "DSDT1", 1)
+    {
+        OperationRegion (OPR1, SystemMemory, 0x400, 32)
+        Field (OPR1, AnyAcc, NoLock, Preserve)
+        {
+            FLD1, 1
+        }
+        If (FLD1)
+        {
+            Device (\DEV1)
+            {
+            }
+        }
+    }
+    DefinitionBlock ("", "SSDT", 2, "Intel", "SSDT1", 1)
+    {
+        External (\DEV1, DeviceObj)
+        Scope (\DEV1)
+        {
+        }
+    }
+
+Fixed an AML interpreter problem where control method invocations were 
+not handled correctly when the invocation was itself a SuperName argument 
+to another ASL operator. In these cases, the method was not invoked. 
+ACPICA BZ 1002. Affects the following ASL operators that have a SuperName 
+argument:
+    Store
+    Acquire, Wait
+    CondRefOf, RefOf
+    Decrement, Increment
+    Load, Unload
+    Notify
+    Signal, Release, Reset
+    SizeOf
+
+Implemented automatic String-to-ObjectReference conversion support for 
+packages returned by predefined names (such as _DEP). A common BIOS error 
+is to add double quotes around an ObjectReference namepath, which turns 
+the reference into an unexpected string object. This support detects the 
+problem and corrects it before the package is returned to the caller that 
+invoked the method. Lv Zheng.
+
+Implemented extensions to the Concatenate operator. Concatenate now 
+accepts any type of object, it is not restricted to simply 
+Integer/String/Buffer. For objects other than these 3 basic data types, 
+the argument is treated as a string containing the name of the object 
+type. This expands the utility of Concatenate and the Printf/Fprintf 
+macros. ACPICA BZ 1222.
+
+Cleaned up the output of the ASL Debug object. The timer() value is now 
+optional and no longer emitted by default. Also, the basic data types of 
+Integer/String/Buffer are simply emitted as their values, without a data 
+type string -- since the data type is obvious from the output. ACPICA BZ 
+1221.
+
+Example Code and Data Size: These are the sizes for the OS-independent 
+acpica.lib produced by the Microsoft Visual C++ 9.0 32-bit compiler. The 
+debug version of the code includes the debug output trace mechanism and 
+has a much larger code and data size.
+
+  Current Release:
+    Non-Debug Version: 102.6K Code, 28.4K Data, 131.0K Total
+    Debug Version:     200.3K Code, 81.9K Data, 282.3K Total
+  Previous Release:
+    Non-Debug Version: 102.0K Code, 28.3K Data, 130.3K Total
+    Debug Version:     199.6K Code, 81.8K Data, 281.4K Total
+
+
+2) iASL Compiler/Disassembler and Tools:
+
+iASL: Fixed some issues with the ASL Include() operator. This operator 
+was incorrectly defined in the iASL parser rules, causing a new scope to 
+be opened for the code within the include file. This could lead to 
+several issues, including allowing ASL code that is technically illegal 
+and not supported by AML interpreters. Note, this does not affect the 
+related #include preprocessor operator. ACPICA BZ 1212.
+
+iASL/Disassembler: Implemented support for the ASL ElseIf operator. This 
+operator is essentially an ASL macro since there is no AML opcode 
+associated with it. The code emitted by the iASL compiler for ElseIf is 
+an Else opcode followed immediately by an If opcode. The disassembler 
+will now emit an ElseIf if it finds an Else immediately followed by an 
+If. This simplifies the decoded ASL, especially for deeply nested 
+If..Else and large Switch constructs. Thus, the disassembled code more 
+closely follows the original source ASL. ACPICA BZ 1211. Example:
+
+    Old disassembly:
+        Else
+        {
+            If (Arg0 == 0x02)
+            {
+                Local0 = 0x05
+            }
+        }
+
+    New disassembly:
+        ElseIf (Arg0 == 0x02)
+        {
+            Local0 = 0x05
+        }
+
+AcpiExec: Added support for the new module level code behavior and the 
+early region installation. This required a small change to the 
+initialization, since AcpiExec must install its own operation region 
+handlers.
+
+AcpiExec: Added support to make the debug object timer optional. Default 
+is timer disabled. This cleans up the debug object output -- the timer 
+data is rarely used.
+
+AcpiExec: Multiple ACPI tables are now loaded in the order that they 
+appear on the command line. This can be important when there are 
+interdependencies/references between the tables.
+
+iASL/Templates. Add support to generate template files with multiple 
+SSDTs within a single output file. Also added ommand line support to 
+specify the number of SSDTs (in addition to a single DSDT). ACPICA BZ 
+1223, 1225.
+
+----------------------------------------
 24 November 2015. Summary of changes for version 20151124:
 
 This release is available at https://acpica.org/downloads