*  RTC_AIE_ON, RTC_AIE_OFF, RTC_ALM_SET, RTC_ALM_READ ... when the RTC
        is connected to an IRQ line, it can often issue an alarm IRQ up to
-       24 hours in the future.
+       24 hours in the future.  (Use RTC_WKALM_* by preference.)
 
     *  RTC_WKALM_SET, RTC_WKALM_RD ... RTCs that can issue alarms beyond
        the next 24 hours use a slightly more powerful API, which supports
        called with appropriate values.
 
     *  RTC_ALM_SET, RTC_ALM_READ, RTC_WKALM_SET, RTC_WKALM_RD: the
-       set_alarm/read_alarm functions will be called.  To differentiate
-       between the ALM and WKALM, check the larger fields of the rtc_wkalrm
-       struct (like tm_year).  These will be set to -1 when using ALM and
-       will be set to proper values when using WKALM.
+       set_alarm/read_alarm functions will be called.
 
     *  RTC_IRQP_SET, RTC_IRQP_READ: the irq_set_freq function will be called
        to set the frequency while the framework will handle the read for you
 
 {
        int err;
 
+       err = rtc_valid_tm(&alarm->time);
+       if (err != 0)
+               return err;
+
        err = mutex_lock_interruptible(&rtc->ops_lock);
        if (err)
                return -EBUSY;
 
 
                alarm.enabled = 0;
                alarm.pending = 0;
-               alarm.time.tm_mday = -1;
-               alarm.time.tm_mon = -1;
-               alarm.time.tm_year = -1;
                alarm.time.tm_wday = -1;
                alarm.time.tm_yday = -1;
                alarm.time.tm_isdst = -1;
+
+               /* RTC_ALM_SET alarms may be up to 24 hours in the future.
+                * Rather than expecting every RTC to implement "don't care"
+                * for day/month/year fields, just force the alarm to have
+                * the right values for those fields.
+                *
+                * RTC_WKALM_SET should be used instead.  Not only does it
+                * eliminate the need for a separate RTC_AIE_ON call, it
+                * doesn't have the "alarm 23:59:59 in the future" race.
+                *
+                * NOTE:  some legacy code may have used invalid fields as
+                * wildcards, exposing hardware "periodic alarm" capabilities.
+                * Not supported here.
+                */
+               {
+                       unsigned long now, then;
+
+                       err = rtc_read_time(rtc, &tm);
+                       if (err < 0)
+                               return err;
+                       rtc_tm_to_time(&tm, &now);
+
+                       alarm.time.tm_mday = tm.tm_mday;
+                       alarm.time.tm_mon = tm.tm_mon;
+                       alarm.time.tm_year = tm.tm_year;
+                       err  = rtc_valid_tm(&alarm.time);
+                       if (err < 0)
+                               return err;
+                       rtc_tm_to_time(&alarm.time, &then);
+
+                       /* alarm may need to wrap into tomorrow */
+                       if (then < now) {
+                               rtc_time_to_tm(now + 24 * 60 * 60, &tm);
+                               alarm.time.tm_mday = tm.tm_mday;
+                               alarm.time.tm_mon = tm.tm_mon;
+                               alarm.time.tm_year = tm.tm_year;
+                       }
+               }
+
                err = rtc_set_alarm(rtc, &alarm);
                break;
 
 
 {
        u8 reg;
 
-       /* Much userspace code uses RTC_ALM_SET, thus "don't care" for
-        * day/month/year specifies alarms up to 24 hours in the future.
-        * So we need to handle that ... but let's ignore the "don't care"
-        * values for hours/minutes/seconds.
-        */
-       if (alm->time.tm_mday <= 0
-                       && alm->time.tm_mon < 0
-                       && alm->time.tm_year < 0) {
-               struct rtc_time tm;
-               unsigned long now, then;
-
-               omap_rtc_read_time(dev, &tm);
-               rtc_tm_to_time(&tm, &now);
-
-               alm->time.tm_mday = tm.tm_mday;
-               alm->time.tm_mon = tm.tm_mon;
-               alm->time.tm_year = tm.tm_year;
-               rtc_tm_to_time(&alm->time, &then);
-
-               /* sometimes the alarm wraps into tomorrow */
-               if (then < now) {
-                       rtc_time_to_tm(now + 24 * 60 * 60, &tm);
-                       alm->time.tm_mday = tm.tm_mday;
-                       alm->time.tm_mon = tm.tm_mon;
-                       alm->time.tm_year = tm.tm_year;
-               }
-       }
-
        if (tm2bcd(&alm->time) < 0)
                return -EINVAL;