ff-core effect id handling in case of a failed effect upload

[Elias Vanderstuyft]

Hi,

In the process of reviewing the Wine DInput translation layer, I
noticed an inconvenience (in the ff-core implementation?) that can
possibly lead to confusing problems to application developers (not
only for Wine), in short:
If a new (id==-1) effect was uploaded (look at
ff-core.c::input_ff_upload(...)) that failed (e.g. returning EINVAL),
ff-core will have assigned a positive number to the effect id. This
can be confusing because the dev->ff->effects[] array will not contain
an element at the index of that new effect id.

Here is a more elaborated description/discussion:
- This is a bug that is either the responsibility of the Linux kernel,
or of Wine (and possibly other applications that do the same thing as
described below):
    It is caused by the following situation:
        When uploading an effect, the specific kernel device driver
may return an error,
        e.g. EINVAL for example when a periodic's effect period is set to zero.
        This error will then be returned by "ioctl(*(This->fd),
EVIOCSFF, &This->effect)".
        With or without error, one can find out that
/drivers/input/ff-core.c:input_ff_upload(...) is called,
        which will set effect->id >= 0, if it was set to -1 (=> new
effect created) by the user.

But in case of an error:
        - Assume effect->id was set to -1 by the user:
            The error is reported by ff->upload(...) at
/drivers/input/ff-core.c:167,
            the effect->id will also be set >= 0 (*).
            The offending effect will not be saved in the
ff->effects[] array (***).
        - Assume effect->id was set >= 0 by the user (and
ff->effects[effect->id] is a valid existing effect):
            The error is reported by ff->upload(...) at
/drivers/input/ff-core.c:167,
            the effect->id will remain unchanged (**).
            The offending effect will not overwrite the
ff->effects[effect->id] element (****).

Is this (see *, **, *** and ****) desired behaviour?
        - If yes:
            Change the following in Wine's dinput/effect_linuxinput.c:90 :
                if (ioctl(*(This->fd), EVIOCSFF, &This->effect) == -1) {
            to :
                int effectId_old = This->effect.id;
                if (ioctl(*(This->fd), EVIOCSFF, &This->effect) == -1) {
                    This->effect.id = effectId_old;
        - If no for *:
            Kernel code /drivers/input/ff-core.c:input_ff_upload(...)
has to be patched to revert "effect->id" back to its original value
set by the user,
            which is only needed when the initial (by user) value of
"effect->id" was equal to -1.
        - If no for **** (or maybe also ***):
            ff->effects[effect->id] could be replaced by an 'empty'
effect (however this can get complex because the effect's type has to
remain unchanged)
            This would be a change in the kernel code
/drivers/input/ff-core.c:input_ff_upload(...).
        - If no for **:
            I don't really know. Discussion is needed.

- In my opinion, **, *** and **** are desired behaviour, while
* should leave the effect->id at -1.
            In that case, Wine's dinput implementation does not have
to be patched, and the kernel code only should apply a minor patch.

Best regards,

Elias

[Anssi Hannula]

(added Dmitry to CC)

19.02.2014 13:42, Elias Vanderstuyft kirjoitti:
> Hi,

Hi,
> In the process of reviewing the Wine DInput translation layer, I
> noticed an inconvenience (in the ff-core implementation?) that can
> possibly lead to confusing problems to application developers (not
> only for Wine), in short:
> If a new (id==-1) effect was uploaded (look at
> ff-core.c::input_ff_upload(...)) that failed (e.g. returning EINVAL),
> ff-core will have assigned a positive number to the effect id. This
> can be confusing because the dev->ff->effects[] array will not contain
> an element at the index of that new effect id.

I agree that this is a bit confusing, and the kernel code should
probably be modified to not clobber the ioctl-provided effect on failure
(effect->id is set to an "undefined" value, i.e. next free effect slot).

Dmitry, WDYT?

The downside is that if changed, any new userspace code may unknowingly
depend on the fixed non-clobbering behavior (though apparently they
already do, as evidenced by Wine DInput, so might not be much of an
argument...).
> Here is a more elaborated description/discussion:
> - This is a bug that is either the responsibility of the Linux kernel,
>
> or of Wine (and possibly other applications that do the same thing as
> described below):
>     It is caused by the following situation:
>         When uploading an effect, the specific kernel device driver
> may return an error,
>         e.g. EINVAL for example when a periodic's effect period is set to zero.
>         This error will then be returned by "ioctl(*(This->fd),
> EVIOCSFF, &This->effect)".
>         With or without error, one can find out that
> /drivers/input/ff-core.c:input_ff_upload(...) is called,
>         which will set effect->id >= 0, if it was set to -1 (=> new
> effect created) by the user.
>     But in case of an error:
>     - Assume effect->id was set to -1 by the user:
>         The error is reported by ff->upload(...) at
>
> /drivers/input/ff-core.c:167,
>             the effect->id will also be set >= 0 (*).
>             The offending effect will not be saved in the
> ff->effects[] array (***).
>         - Assume effect->id was set >= 0 by the user (and
> ff->effects[effect->id] is a valid existing effect):
>             The error is reported by ff->upload(...) at
> /drivers/input/ff-core.c:167,
>             the effect->id will remain unchanged (**).
>             The offending effect will not overwrite the
> ff->effects[effect->id] element (****).
>     Is this (see *, **, *** and ****) desired behaviour?
>     - If yes:
>         Change the following in Wine's dinput/effect_linuxinput.c:90 :
>             if (ioctl(*(This->fd), EVIOCSFF, &This->effect) == -1) {
>         to :
>             int effectId_old = This->effect.id;
>             if (ioctl(*(This->fd), EVIOCSFF, &This->effect) == -1) {
>                 This->effect.id = effectId_old;
>     - If no for *:
>         Kernel code /drivers/input/ff-core.c:input_ff_upload(...)
>
> has to be patched to revert "effect->id" back to its original value
> set by the user,
>             which is only needed when the initial (by user) value of
> "effect->id" was equal to -1.
>         - If no for **** (or maybe also ***):
>             ff->effects[effect->id] could be replaced by an 'empty'
> effect (however this can get complex because the effect's type has to
> remain unchanged)
>             This would be a change in the kernel code
> /drivers/input/ff-core.c:input_ff_upload(...).
>         - If no for **:
>             I don't really know. Discussion is needed.
>     - In my opinion, **, *** and **** are desired behaviour, while
> - should leave the effect->id at -1.

Right.
>         In that case, Wine's dinput implementation does not have
>
> to be patched, and the kernel code only should apply a minor patch.

Well, maybe better to change dinput anyway so that it can work properly
with current kernel versions (assuming this gets changed in the future)?
Not my call, though.

[Elias Vanderstuyft]

On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 5:49 PM, Anssi Hannula  wrote:
> (added Dmitry to CC)
>
> 19.02.2014 13:42, Elias Vanderstuyft kirjoitti:
> > Hi,
>
> Hi,
> > In the process of reviewing the Wine DInput translation layer, I
> > noticed an inconvenience (in the ff-core implementation?) that can
> > possibly lead to confusing problems to application developers (not
> > only for Wine), in short:
> > If a new (id==-1) effect was uploaded (look at
> > ff-core.c::input_ff_upload(...)) that failed (e.g. returning EINVAL),
> > ff-core will have assigned a positive number to the effect id. This
> > can be confusing because the dev->ff->effects[] array will not contain
> > an element at the index of that new effect id.
>
> I agree that this is a bit confusing, and the kernel code should
> probably be modified to not clobber the ioctl-provided effect on failure
> (effect->id is set to an "undefined" value, i.e. next free effect slot).
>
> Dmitry, WDYT?
>
> The downside is that if changed, any new userspace code may unknowingly
> depend on the fixed non-clobbering behavior (though apparently they
> already do, as evidenced by Wine DInput, so might not be much of an
> argument...).

I don't think that's a problem.
Something that can be more problematic, is that a newer application
assumes the fixed non-clobbering behaviour, but runs on a kernel with
the old clobbering behaviour, could experience problems.
> > Here is a more elaborated description/discussion:
> > - This is a bug that is either the responsibility of the Linux kernel,
> >
> > or of Wine (and possibly other applications that do the same thing as
> > described below):
> >     It is caused by the following situation:
> >         When uploading an effect, the specific kernel device driver
> > may return an error,
> >         e.g. EINVAL for example when a periodic's effect period is set to zero.
> >         This error will then be returned by "ioctl(*(This->fd),
> > EVIOCSFF, &This->effect)".
> >         With or without error, one can find out that
> > /drivers/input/ff-core.c:input_ff_upload(...) is called,
> >         which will set effect->id >= 0, if it was set to -1 (=> new
> > effect created) by the user.
> >     But in case of an error:
> >     - Assume effect->id was set to -1 by the user:
> >         The error is reported by ff->upload(...) at
> >
> > /drivers/input/ff-core.c:167,
> >             the effect->id will also be set >= 0 (*).
> >             The offending effect will not be saved in the
> > ff->effects[] array (***).
> >         - Assume effect->id was set >= 0 by the user (and
> > ff->effects[effect->id] is a valid existing effect):
> >             The error is reported by ff->upload(...) at
> > /drivers/input/ff-core.c:167,
> >             the effect->id will remain unchanged (**).
> >             The offending effect will not overwrite the
> > ff->effects[effect->id] element (****).
> >     Is this (see *, **, *** and ****) desired behaviour?
> >     - If yes:
> >         Change the following in Wine's dinput/effect_linuxinput.c:90 :
> >             if (ioctl(*(This->fd), EVIOCSFF, &This->effect) == -1) {
> >         to :
> >             int effectId_old = This->effect.id;
> >             if (ioctl(*(This->fd), EVIOCSFF, &This->effect) == -1) {
> >                 This->effect.id = effectId_old;
> >     - If no for *:
> >         Kernel code /drivers/input/ff-core.c:input_ff_upload(...)
> >
> > has to be patched to revert "effect->id" back to its original value
> > set by the user,
> >             which is only needed when the initial (by user) value of
> > "effect->id" was equal to -1.
> >         - If no for **** (or maybe also ***):
> >             ff->effects[effect->id] could be replaced by an 'empty'
> > effect (however this can get complex because the effect's type has to
> > remain unchanged)
> >             This would be a change in the kernel code
> > /drivers/input/ff-core.c:input_ff_upload(...).
> >         - If no for **:
> >             I don't really know. Discussion is needed.
> >     - In my opinion, **, *** and **** are desired behaviour, while
> > - should leave the effect->id at -1.
>
> Right.
> >         In that case, Wine's dinput implementation does not have
> >
> > to be patched, and the kernel code only should apply a minor patch.
>
> Well, maybe better to change dinput anyway so that it can work properly
> with current kernel versions (assuming this gets changed in the future)?
> Not my call, though.

Yes, agreed.
I'll include the code (with effectId_old variable) and this discussion
when I submit my whole patchset for Wine's DInput libs to Wine-devel
mailing list. Right now, I don't know who I should personally mail to.
> --
> Anssi Hannula

Elias

[Andrew Eikum]

On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 06:32:54PM +0100, Elias Vanderstuyft wrote:
> I'll include the code (with effectId_old variable) and this discussion
> when I submit my whole patchset for Wine's DInput libs to Wine-devel
> mailing list. Right now, I don't know who I should personally mail to.

Patches ready to be included in Wine should go to
[e-mail].  I've done a bit of work in dinput myself, so
you can feel free to send them to me and/or wine-devel first if you'd
like a review.

Andrew

[Elias Vanderstuyft]

On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 8:32 PM, Andrew Eikum  wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 06:32:54PM +0100, Elias Vanderstuyft wrote:
> > I'll include the code (with effectId_old variable) and this discussion
> > when I submit my whole patchset for Wine's DInput libs to Wine-devel
> > mailing list. Right now, I don't know who I should personally mail to.
>
> Patches ready to be included in Wine should go to
> [e-mail].  I've done a bit of work in dinput myself, so
> you can feel free to send them to me and/or wine-devel first if you'd
> like a review.

<offtopic>
Alright, thanks Andrew!
I've also done some work on reverse engineering the FFE file format,
which is needed to complete some missing functionality
(http://wiki.winehq.org/ForceFeedbackSummerOfCode2005Summary) of the
following functions:
IDirectInputDevice8::WriteEffectToFile and
IDirectInputDevice8::EnumEffectsInFile.
Can I send it to you (in a new mail subject, of course) and cc wine-devel?
</offtopic>
> Andrew

Elias

[Dmitry Torokhov]

On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 06:49:36PM +0200, Anssi Hannula wrote:
> (added Dmitry to CC)
>
> 19.02.2014 13:42, Elias Vanderstuyft kirjoitti:
> > Hi,
>
> Hi,
> > In the process of reviewing the Wine DInput translation layer, I
> > noticed an inconvenience (in the ff-core implementation?) that can
> > possibly lead to confusing problems to application developers (not
> > only for Wine), in short:
> > If a new (id==-1) effect was uploaded (look at
> > ff-core.c::input_ff_upload(...)) that failed (e.g. returning EINVAL),
> > ff-core will have assigned a positive number to the effect id. This
> > can be confusing because the dev->ff->effects[] array will not contain
> > an element at the index of that new effect id.
>
> I agree that this is a bit confusing, and the kernel code should
> probably be modified to not clobber the ioctl-provided effect on failure
> (effect->id is set to an "undefined" value, i.e. next free effect slot).
>
> Dmitry, WDYT?

Yeah, it looks like we need to change evdev.c to read:

error = input_ff_upload(dev, &effect, file);
    	if (error)
    		return error;

if (put_user(effect.id, &(((struct ff_effect __user *)p)->id)))
    		return -EFAULT;

return 0;

Unfortunately applications should still expect changed effect ID for
quite some time.

Thanks.

[Elias Vanderstuyft]

On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 10:05 PM, Dmitry Torokhov
 wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 06:49:36PM +0200, Anssi Hannula wrote:
> > (added Dmitry to CC)
> >
> > 19.02.2014 13:42, Elias Vanderstuyft kirjoitti:
> > > Hi,
> >
> > Hi,
> > > In the process of reviewing the Wine DInput translation layer, I
> > > noticed an inconvenience (in the ff-core implementation?) that can
> > > possibly lead to confusing problems to application developers (not
> > > only for Wine), in short:
> > > If a new (id==-1) effect was uploaded (look at
> > > ff-core.c::input_ff_upload(...)) that failed (e.g. returning EINVAL),
> > > ff-core will have assigned a positive number to the effect id. This
> > > can be confusing because the dev->ff->effects[] array will not contain
> > > an element at the index of that new effect id.
> >
> > I agree that this is a bit confusing, and the kernel code should
> > probably be modified to not clobber the ioctl-provided effect on failure
> > (effect->id is set to an "undefined" value, i.e. next free effect slot).
> >
> > Dmitry, WDYT?
>
> Yeah, it looks like we need to change evdev.c to read:
>             error = input_ff_upload(dev, &effect, file);
>             if (error)
>                     return error;
>
>             if (put_user(effect.id, &(((struct ff_effect __user *)p)->id)))
>                     return -EFAULT;
>
>             return 0;

Alright, who will create the patch?
Do I may / have to do it?
> Unfortunately applications should still expect changed effect ID for
> quite some time.
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> Dmitry

Best regards,
Elias

[Dmitry Torokhov]

On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 11:14:18PM +0100, Elias Vanderstuyft wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 10:05 PM, Dmitry Torokhov
>  wrote:
> > On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 06:49:36PM +0200, Anssi Hannula wrote:
> > > (added Dmitry to CC)
> > >
> > > 19.02.2014 13:42, Elias Vanderstuyft kirjoitti:
> > > > Hi,
> > >
> > > Hi,
> > > > In the process of reviewing the Wine DInput translation layer, I
> > > > noticed an inconvenience (in the ff-core implementation?) that can
> > > > possibly lead to confusing problems to application developers (not
> > > > only for Wine), in short:
> > > > If a new (id==-1) effect was uploaded (look at
> > > > ff-core.c::input_ff_upload(...)) that failed (e.g. returning EINVAL),
> > > > ff-core will have assigned a positive number to the effect id. This
> > > > can be confusing because the dev->ff->effects[] array will not contain
> > > > an element at the index of that new effect id.
> > >
> > > I agree that this is a bit confusing, and the kernel code should
> > > probably be modified to not clobber the ioctl-provided effect on failure
> > > (effect->id is set to an "undefined" value, i.e. next free effect slot).
> > >
> > > Dmitry, WDYT?
> >
> > Yeah, it looks like we need to change evdev.c to read:
> >             error = input_ff_upload(dev, &effect, file);
> >             if (error)
> >                     return error;
> >
> >             if (put_user(effect.id, &(((struct ff_effect __user *)p)->id)))
> >                     return -EFAULT;
> >
> >             return 0;
>
> Alright, who will create the patch?
> Do I may / have to do it?

If you could create the patch that would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[Elias Vanderstuyft]

I sent a patch, see:
http://www.mail-archive.com/[e-mail]/msg08572.html
("[PATCH 1/1] Input: don't modify the id of ioctl-provided ff effect
on upload failure")

Elias

On Sun, Feb 23, 2014 at 7:30 AM, Dmitry Torokhov
 wrote:
> On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 11:14:18PM +0100, Elias Vanderstuyft wrote:
> > On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 10:05 PM, Dmitry Torokhov
> >  wrote:
> > > On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 06:49:36PM +0200, Anssi Hannula wrote:
> > > > (added Dmitry to CC)
> > > >
> > > > 19.02.2014 13:42, Elias Vanderstuyft kirjoitti:
> > > > > Hi,
> > > >
> > > > Hi,
> > > > > In the process of reviewing the Wine DInput translation layer, I
> > > > > noticed an inconvenience (in the ff-core implementation?) that can
> > > > > possibly lead to confusing problems to application developers (not
> > > > > only for Wine), in short:
> > > > > If a new (id==-1) effect was uploaded (look at
> > > > > ff-core.c::input_ff_upload(...)) that failed (e.g. returning EINVAL),
> > > > > ff-core will have assigned a positive number to the effect id. This
> > > > > can be confusing because the dev->ff->effects[] array will not contain
> > > > > an element at the index of that new effect id.
> > > >
> > > > I agree that this is a bit confusing, and the kernel code should
> > > > probably be modified to not clobber the ioctl-provided effect on failure
> > > > (effect->id is set to an "undefined" value, i.e. next free effect slot).
> > > >
> > > > Dmitry, WDYT?
> > >
> > > Yeah, it looks like we need to change evdev.c to read:
> > >             error = input_ff_upload(dev, &effect, file);
> > >             if (error)
> > >                     return error;
> > >
> > >             if (put_user(effect.id, &(((struct ff_effect __user *)p)->id)))
> > >                     return -EFAULT;
> > >
> > >             return 0;
> >
> > Alright, who will create the patch?
> > Do I may / have to do it?
>
> If you could create the patch that would be appreciated.
>
> Thanks.
>
> --
> Dmitry