[Qemu-devel] KVM call minutes for Feb 15

[Chris Wright]

QAPI and QMP
- Anthony adding a new wiki page to describe all of this
- specified in formal schema using JSON
  - includes documenation in javadoc-like syntax
  - can generate api (possibly protocol) docs
  - documenting each command and expected errors
- creates marshalling functions and C interfaces
- can generate C library
  - facilitates unit tests/regression tests
- new and old code both exist in Anthony's tree
  - allows unit tests to run on both to verify
  - will remove old and force a flag day on merging in for 0.15
- still need to convert human monitor commands
  - goal to convert all of human monitor to QMP
- events?
  - still not consumable from internal use
  - model signals and slots
    - similar to notifier lists, but can pass arbitrary data
    - client connects to signal via QMP
  - how to extend?
    - optional parameters (ABI bump)
      - no way to know if client is aware of and consuming the optional
        parameters
    - add new events
      - client required to register for new events when the know about
        them, server can generate different logic based on clients
        capability
- first release may not include shared library (lack of libconf/autotool)
  - could 
- QMP session in default well-known location
  - allows iteration of all running QMP sessions
  - per-user directory to handle user-level isolation

qdev future
- have an object model, but can't do polymorphism (i.e. bus level)
- could use more oop style, use GObject, use C++...no great ideas
- no major qdev plans for 0.15
- would be useful to have the ability to do device level unit testing
  - cleaner device model, better encapsulation
  - this is both the device side interfaces, but also interfaces back to qemu
  - ability to do something like a virtual PCI bus to be a test harness
    to interact with a device
  - back to the GObject, oop, C++ questions?
    - IDL based code generation to generate VMState in effort to make
      migration more verifiable
    - VMState
      - need to focus on serialized guest visible state
        - start with all state and remove obviously internal only state
        - start with only guest visible state (structure separation)
      - verfiable
- need a qdev tree maintainer?
- some disagreement on exactly how much 
- qdev autodoc patches? (posted and ack'd multiple times)

bad patches committed that are not on list
- please inform of specifics incidents, this should not be happening

SeaBIOS update?
- w/out we will have features that can't be used 
- need a release..
  - 0.15 will need good planning and dates and communication with Kevin

0.14-rc2 tagged please review for any missing patches, 0.14.0 likely
tagged late today

revisit new -> old migration
- Amit offers virtio-serial patches and some legwork
- tabled discussion to list, possibly next week's call