Wakelocks and the embedded problem

"A current discussion involving developers from the Android project gives some insight into where this disconnect comes from.

"Android, of course, is Google's platform for mobile telephones. The initial Android stack was developed behind closed doors; the code only made it out into the world when the first deployments were already in the works. The Android developers have done a lot of kernel work, but very little code has made made the journey into the mainline. The code which has been merged all went into the staging tree without a whole lot of initiative from the Android side. Now, though, Android developer Arve Hjonnevag is making an effort to merge a piece of that project's infrastructure through the normal process. It is not proving to be an easy ride.

"The most controversial bit of code is a feature known as "wakelocks." In Android-speak, a "wakelock" is a mechanism which can prevent the system from going into a low-power state. In brief, kernel code can set up a wakelock with something like this:"

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