[PATCH v1 01/21] ethdev: add flow graph API

[Burakov, Anatoly]

On 8/26/2026 11:21 AM, Thomas Monjalon wrote:
> 26/08/2026 10:58, Burakov, Anatoly:
>> On 8/25/2026 3:55 PM, Thomas Monjalon wrote:
>>> 20/08/2026 16:00, Anatoly Burakov:
>>>> This commit adds a flow graph parsing API. This is a helper API intended to
>>>> help ethdev drivers implement rte_flow parsers, as common usages map to
>>>> graph traversal problem very well.
>>>>
>>>> Features provided by the API:
>>>> - Flow graph, edge, and node definitions
>>>> - Graph traversal logic
>>>> - Declarative validation against common flow item types
>>>> - Per-node validation and state processing callbacks
>>> [...]
>>>>    lib/ethdev/rte_flow_graph.h                 | 532 ++++++++++++++
>>>
>>> Are we sure about the name? Why not "parsing" instead of "graph"?
>>>
>>
>> Because it is intended to help build *protocol graphs*, not *generic
>> flow parsing*. I.e. only things that lend themselves to be represented
>> by a graph would work with this - things like conntrack wouldn't. So, I
>> feel like "graph" is a more accurate name for this, because this is only
>> for enabling the protocol graph walk, not for full flow parsing.
> 
> OK
> 
>>> Is it only for drivers? In this case, no need to make it a public API.
>>
>> Yes, it is for drivers. It is not a public API, it is not installed into
>> public headers. If there is anything I forgot to do to remove it from
>> being public, please let me know.
> 
> You should not use the rte_ prefix for files which are not public.
> I know this convention is not well followed for historical reason,
> like rte_flow_driver.h should be flow_driver.h
> 
> 

The fact that it didn't look like there was no convention was why I 
picked rte_ prefix. I'll happily use a non-rte prefix for these. Maybe 
use eth_ prefix for both flow_graph and flow_driver? Or does flow_graph 
work fine?

[on a separate note: should rte_vfio follow suit and be renamed? it is 
no longer a public API following my patchset. renaming it to `vfio` 
would probably cause conflicts with Linux headers, so maybe something 
like vfio_driver like flow_driver?]

-- 
Thanks,
Anatoly