[ Context: https://developer.trustedfirmware.org/w/mbed-tls/tech-plans-3.0/ ]

Currently the crypto library includes a module called timing.c, enabled by default in config.h (but disabled by config.py baremetal), containing various functions related to timing (not to be confused with the time abstration present in the platorm module).

In Mbed TLS 3.0, as part of our effort to clean up and minimize our API, we're considering removing (parts of) this module from the library, and moving its parts to a variety of other places, such as example programs (or a library/file shared by them, like the current query_config mechanism).

For reference, this module includes the following functions, which are used in the following places:

- mbedtls_timing_hardclock() implements cycle counting (on selected architectures, not including M-class), used only in programs/test/benchmark.c - mbedtls_timing_get_timer() is a millisecond counter (only for Unix and Windows), used only in programs/test/udp_proxy.c - mbedtls_set_alarm() is an abstraction of alarm() (only for Unix and Windows), used only in programs/test/benchmark.c - mbedtls_timing_set_delay() and mbedtls_timing_get_delay() are an example implementation (only for Unix and Windows) of timer callbacks for DTLS, only used in programs/ssl/*.c

Reasons for removing this module from the library include:

- overall the module is less portable and of lesser quality than the rest of the library - it's also very hard to test and we've lost a lot of time and energy to that, with very limited success - it doesn't really belong in libmbedcrypto - it's not our core area of expertise, let's do one thing and to it well

Reasons for keeping (parts of) it in the library include:

- for mbedtls_timing_set_delay() and mbedtls_timing_get_delay(): they're convenient to have for DTLS examples and prototyping, we could keep them in some place in libmbedtls (not libmbedcrypto).

What do you think? Should we remove the entire module from the library, or keep some parts? In that case, which parts and where should they live?

Regards, Manuel.