1 files changed, 20 insertions, 3 deletions

diff --git a/Documentation/gpio.txt b/Documentation/gpio.txt
index f783e7fed764..620a07844e8c 100644
--- a/Documentation/gpio.txt
+++ b/Documentation/gpio.txt
@@ -271,9 +271,26 @@ Some platforms may also use knowledge about what GPIOs are active for
 power management, such as by powering down unused chip sectors and, more
 easily, gating off unused clocks.
 
-Note that requesting a GPIO does NOT cause it to be configured in any
-way; it just marks that GPIO as in use.  Separate code must handle any
-pin setup (e.g. controlling which pin the GPIO uses, pullup/pulldown).
+For GPIOs that use pins known to the pinctrl subsystem, that subsystem should
+be informed of their use; a gpiolib driver's .request() operation may call
+pinctrl_request_gpio(), and a gpiolib driver's .free() operation may call
+pinctrl_free_gpio(). The pinctrl subsystem allows a pinctrl_request_gpio()
+to succeed concurrently with a pin or pingroup being "owned" by a device for
+pin multiplexing.
+
+Any programming of pin multiplexing hardware that is needed to route the
+GPIO signal to the appropriate pin should occur within a GPIO driver's
+.direction_input() or .direction_output() operations, and occur after any
+setup of an output GPIO's value. This allows a glitch-free migration from a
+pin's special function to GPIO. This is sometimes required when using a GPIO
+to implement a workaround on signals typically driven by a non-GPIO HW block.
+
+Some platforms allow some or all GPIO signals to be routed to different pins.
+Similarly, other aspects of the GPIO or pin may need to be configured, such as
+pullup/pulldown. Platform software should arrange that any such details are
+configured prior to gpio_request() being called for those GPIOs, e.g. using
+the pinctrl subsystem's mapping table, so that GPIO users need not be aware
+of these details.
 
 Also note that it's your responsibility to have stopped using a GPIO
 before you free it.