Linux 4.10 To Expose EFI Framebuffer Configuration

While Linux 4.9-rc1 was only released this past weekend, the EFI subsystem changes are already being staged for the next kernel cycle.

One of the EFI changes catching my attention for Linux 4.10 is that the EFI frame-buffer configuration will be exposed. This will allow for localized status strings during firmware updates.

The EFI change allows user-space for knowing all of the EFI frame-buffer attributes (base, line length, height, width depth) for allowing custom strings to be shown during the firmware update process. Details on this part of the EFI specification are documented at msdn.microsoft.com.

More details on the EFI changes coming later this year for Linux 4.10 can be found via this mailing list pull.