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- .. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
- Video device' s internal representation
- =======================================
- The actual device nodes in the ``/dev`` directory are created using the
- :c:type:`video_device` struct (``v4l2-dev.h``). This struct can either be
- allocated dynamically or embedded in a larger struct.
- To allocate it dynamically use :c:func:`video_device_alloc`:
- .. code-block:: c
- struct video_device *vdev = video_device_alloc();
- if (vdev == NULL)
- return -ENOMEM;
- vdev->release = video_device_release;
- If you embed it in a larger struct, then you must set the ``release()``
- callback to your own function:
- .. code-block:: c
- struct video_device *vdev = &my_vdev->vdev;
- vdev->release = my_vdev_release;
- The ``release()`` callback must be set and it is called when the last user
- of the video device exits.
- The default :c:func:`video_device_release` callback currently
- just calls ``kfree`` to free the allocated memory.
- There is also a :c:func:`video_device_release_empty` function that does
- nothing (is empty) and should be used if the struct is embedded and there
- is nothing to do when it is released.
- You should also set these fields of :c:type:`video_device`:
- - :c:type:`video_device`->v4l2_dev: must be set to the :c:type:`v4l2_device`
- parent device.
- - :c:type:`video_device`->name: set to something descriptive and unique.
- - :c:type:`video_device`->vfl_dir: set this to ``VFL_DIR_RX`` for capture
- devices (``VFL_DIR_RX`` has value 0, so this is normally already the
- default), set to ``VFL_DIR_TX`` for output devices and ``VFL_DIR_M2M`` for mem2mem (codec) devices.
- - :c:type:`video_device`->fops: set to the :c:type:`v4l2_file_operations`
- struct.
- - :c:type:`video_device`->ioctl_ops: if you use the :c:type:`v4l2_ioctl_ops`
- to simplify ioctl maintenance (highly recommended to use this and it might
- become compulsory in the future!), then set this to your
- :c:type:`v4l2_ioctl_ops` struct. The :c:type:`video_device`->vfl_type and
- :c:type:`video_device`->vfl_dir fields are used to disable ops that do not
- match the type/dir combination. E.g. VBI ops are disabled for non-VBI nodes,
- and output ops are disabled for a capture device. This makes it possible to
- provide just one :c:type:`v4l2_ioctl_ops` struct for both vbi and
- video nodes.
- - :c:type:`video_device`->lock: leave to ``NULL`` if you want to do all the
- locking in the driver. Otherwise you give it a pointer to a struct
- ``mutex_lock`` and before the :c:type:`video_device`->unlocked_ioctl
- file operation is called this lock will be taken by the core and released
- afterwards. See the next section for more details.
- - :c:type:`video_device`->queue: a pointer to the struct vb2_queue
- associated with this device node.
- If queue is not ``NULL``, and queue->lock is not ``NULL``, then queue->lock
- is used for the queuing ioctls (``VIDIOC_REQBUFS``, ``CREATE_BUFS``,
- ``QBUF``, ``DQBUF``, ``QUERYBUF``, ``PREPARE_BUF``, ``STREAMON`` and
- ``STREAMOFF``) instead of the lock above.
- That way the :ref:`vb2 <vb2_framework>` queuing framework does not have
- to wait for other ioctls. This queue pointer is also used by the
- :ref:`vb2 <vb2_framework>` helper functions to check for
- queuing ownership (i.e. is the filehandle calling it allowed to do the
- operation).
- - :c:type:`video_device`->prio: keeps track of the priorities. Used to
- implement ``VIDIOC_G_PRIORITY`` and ``VIDIOC_S_PRIORITY``.
- If left to ``NULL``, then it will use the struct v4l2_prio_state
- in :c:type:`v4l2_device`. If you want to have a separate priority state per
- (group of) device node(s), then you can point it to your own struct
- :c:type:`v4l2_prio_state`.
- - :c:type:`video_device`->dev_parent: you only set this if v4l2_device was
- registered with ``NULL`` as the parent ``device`` struct. This only happens
- in cases where one hardware device has multiple PCI devices that all share
- the same :c:type:`v4l2_device` core.
- The cx88 driver is an example of this: one core :c:type:`v4l2_device` struct,
- but it is used by both a raw video PCI device (cx8800) and a MPEG PCI device
- (cx8802). Since the :c:type:`v4l2_device` cannot be associated with two PCI
- devices at the same time it is setup without a parent device. But when the
- struct video_device is initialized you **do** know which parent
- PCI device to use and so you set ``dev_device`` to the correct PCI device.
- If you use :c:type:`v4l2_ioctl_ops`, then you should set
- :c:type:`video_device`->unlocked_ioctl to :c:func:`video_ioctl2` in your
- :c:type:`v4l2_file_operations` struct.
- In some cases you want to tell the core that a function you had specified in
- your :c:type:`v4l2_ioctl_ops` should be ignored. You can mark such ioctls by
- calling this function before :c:func:`video_register_device` is called:
- :c:func:`v4l2_disable_ioctl <v4l2_disable_ioctl>`
- (:c:type:`vdev <video_device>`, cmd).
- This tends to be needed if based on external factors (e.g. which card is
- being used) you want to turns off certain features in :c:type:`v4l2_ioctl_ops`
- without having to make a new struct.
- The :c:type:`v4l2_file_operations` struct is a subset of file_operations.
- The main difference is that the inode argument is omitted since it is never
- used.
- If integration with the media framework is needed, you must initialize the
- :c:type:`media_entity` struct embedded in the :c:type:`video_device` struct
- (entity field) by calling :c:func:`media_entity_pads_init`:
- .. code-block:: c
- struct media_pad *pad = &my_vdev->pad;
- int err;
- err = media_entity_pads_init(&vdev->entity, 1, pad);
- The pads array must have been previously initialized. There is no need to
- manually set the struct media_entity type and name fields.
- A reference to the entity will be automatically acquired/released when the
- video device is opened/closed.
- ioctls and locking
- ------------------
- The V4L core provides optional locking services. The main service is the
- lock field in struct video_device, which is a pointer to a mutex.
- If you set this pointer, then that will be used by unlocked_ioctl to
- serialize all ioctls.
- If you are using the :ref:`videobuf2 framework <vb2_framework>`, then there
- is a second lock that you can set: :c:type:`video_device`->queue->lock. If
- set, then this lock will be used instead of :c:type:`video_device`->lock
- to serialize all queuing ioctls (see the previous section
- for the full list of those ioctls).
- The advantage of using a different lock for the queuing ioctls is that for some
- drivers (particularly USB drivers) certain commands such as setting controls
- can take a long time, so you want to use a separate lock for the buffer queuing
- ioctls. That way your ``VIDIOC_DQBUF`` doesn't stall because the driver is busy
- changing the e.g. exposure of the webcam.
- Of course, you can always do all the locking yourself by leaving both lock
- pointers at ``NULL``.
- If you use the old :ref:`videobuf framework <vb_framework>` then you must
- pass the :c:type:`video_device`->lock to the videobuf queue initialize
- function: if videobuf has to wait for a frame to arrive, then it will
- temporarily unlock the lock and relock it afterwards. If your driver also
- waits in the code, then you should do the same to allow other
- processes to access the device node while the first process is waiting for
- something.
- In the case of :ref:`videobuf2 <vb2_framework>` you will need to implement the
- ``wait_prepare()`` and ``wait_finish()`` callbacks to unlock/lock if applicable.
- If you use the ``queue->lock`` pointer, then you can use the helper functions
- :c:func:`vb2_ops_wait_prepare` and :c:func:`vb2_ops_wait_finish`.
- The implementation of a hotplug disconnect should also take the lock from
- :c:type:`video_device` before calling v4l2_device_disconnect. If you are also
- using :c:type:`video_device`->queue->lock, then you have to first lock
- :c:type:`video_device`->queue->lock followed by :c:type:`video_device`->lock.
- That way you can be sure no ioctl is running when you call
- :c:func:`v4l2_device_disconnect`.
- Video device registration
- -------------------------
- Next you register the video device with :c:func:`video_register_device`.
- This will create the character device for you.
- .. code-block:: c
- err = video_register_device(vdev, VFL_TYPE_VIDEO, -1);
- if (err) {
- video_device_release(vdev); /* or kfree(my_vdev); */
- return err;
- }
- If the :c:type:`v4l2_device` parent device has a not ``NULL`` mdev field,
- the video device entity will be automatically registered with the media
- device.
- Which device is registered depends on the type argument. The following
- types exist:
- ========================== ==================== ==============================
- :c:type:`vfl_devnode_type` Device name Usage
- ========================== ==================== ==============================
- ``VFL_TYPE_VIDEO`` ``/dev/videoX`` for video input/output devices
- ``VFL_TYPE_VBI`` ``/dev/vbiX`` for vertical blank data (i.e.
- closed captions, teletext)
- ``VFL_TYPE_RADIO`` ``/dev/radioX`` for radio tuners
- ``VFL_TYPE_SUBDEV`` ``/dev/v4l-subdevX`` for V4L2 subdevices
- ``VFL_TYPE_SDR`` ``/dev/swradioX`` for Software Defined Radio
- (SDR) tuners
- ``VFL_TYPE_TOUCH`` ``/dev/v4l-touchX`` for touch sensors
- ========================== ==================== ==============================
- The last argument gives you a certain amount of control over the device
- node number used (i.e. the X in ``videoX``). Normally you will pass -1
- to let the v4l2 framework pick the first free number. But sometimes users
- want to select a specific node number. It is common that drivers allow
- the user to select a specific device node number through a driver module
- option. That number is then passed to this function and video_register_device
- will attempt to select that device node number. If that number was already
- in use, then the next free device node number will be selected and it
- will send a warning to the kernel log.
- Another use-case is if a driver creates many devices. In that case it can
- be useful to place different video devices in separate ranges. For example,
- video capture devices start at 0, video output devices start at 16.
- So you can use the last argument to specify a minimum device node number
- and the v4l2 framework will try to pick the first free number that is equal
- or higher to what you passed. If that fails, then it will just pick the
- first free number.
- Since in this case you do not care about a warning about not being able
- to select the specified device node number, you can call the function
- :c:func:`video_register_device_no_warn` instead.
- Whenever a device node is created some attributes are also created for you.
- If you look in ``/sys/class/video4linux`` you see the devices. Go into e.g.
- ``video0`` and you will see 'name', 'dev_debug' and 'index' attributes. The
- 'name' attribute is the 'name' field of the video_device struct. The
- 'dev_debug' attribute can be used to enable core debugging. See the next
- section for more detailed information on this.
- The 'index' attribute is the index of the device node: for each call to
- :c:func:`video_register_device()` the index is just increased by 1. The
- first video device node you register always starts with index 0.
- Users can setup udev rules that utilize the index attribute to make fancy
- device names (e.g. '``mpegX``' for MPEG video capture device nodes).
- After the device was successfully registered, then you can use these fields:
- - :c:type:`video_device`->vfl_type: the device type passed to
- :c:func:`video_register_device`.
- - :c:type:`video_device`->minor: the assigned device minor number.
- - :c:type:`video_device`->num: the device node number (i.e. the X in
- ``videoX``).
- - :c:type:`video_device`->index: the device index number.
- If the registration failed, then you need to call
- :c:func:`video_device_release` to free the allocated :c:type:`video_device`
- struct, or free your own struct if the :c:type:`video_device` was embedded in
- it. The ``vdev->release()`` callback will never be called if the registration
- failed, nor should you ever attempt to unregister the device if the
- registration failed.
- video device debugging
- ----------------------
- The 'dev_debug' attribute that is created for each video, vbi, radio or swradio
- device in ``/sys/class/video4linux/<devX>/`` allows you to enable logging of
- file operations.
- It is a bitmask and the following bits can be set:
- .. tabularcolumns:: |p{5ex}|L|
- ===== ================================================================
- Mask Description
- ===== ================================================================
- 0x01 Log the ioctl name and error code. VIDIOC_(D)QBUF ioctls are
- only logged if bit 0x08 is also set.
- 0x02 Log the ioctl name arguments and error code. VIDIOC_(D)QBUF
- ioctls are
- only logged if bit 0x08 is also set.
- 0x04 Log the file operations open, release, read, write, mmap and
- get_unmapped_area. The read and write operations are only
- logged if bit 0x08 is also set.
- 0x08 Log the read and write file operations and the VIDIOC_QBUF and
- VIDIOC_DQBUF ioctls.
- 0x10 Log the poll file operation.
- 0x20 Log error and messages in the control operations.
- ===== ================================================================
- Video device cleanup
- --------------------
- When the video device nodes have to be removed, either during the unload
- of the driver or because the USB device was disconnected, then you should
- unregister them with:
- :c:func:`video_unregister_device`
- (:c:type:`vdev <video_device>`);
- This will remove the device nodes from sysfs (causing udev to remove them
- from ``/dev``).
- After :c:func:`video_unregister_device` returns no new opens can be done.
- However, in the case of USB devices some application might still have one of
- these device nodes open. So after the unregister all file operations (except
- release, of course) will return an error as well.
- When the last user of the video device node exits, then the ``vdev->release()``
- callback is called and you can do the final cleanup there.
- Don't forget to cleanup the media entity associated with the video device if
- it has been initialized:
- :c:func:`media_entity_cleanup <media_entity_cleanup>`
- (&vdev->entity);
- This can be done from the release callback.
- helper functions
- ----------------
- There are a few useful helper functions:
- - file and :c:type:`video_device` private data
- You can set/get driver private data in the video_device struct using:
- :c:func:`video_get_drvdata <video_get_drvdata>`
- (:c:type:`vdev <video_device>`);
- :c:func:`video_set_drvdata <video_set_drvdata>`
- (:c:type:`vdev <video_device>`);
- Note that you can safely call :c:func:`video_set_drvdata` before calling
- :c:func:`video_register_device`.
- And this function:
- :c:func:`video_devdata <video_devdata>`
- (struct file \*file);
- returns the video_device belonging to the file struct.
- The :c:func:`video_devdata` function combines :c:func:`video_get_drvdata`
- with :c:func:`video_devdata`:
- :c:func:`video_drvdata <video_drvdata>`
- (struct file \*file);
- You can go from a :c:type:`video_device` struct to the v4l2_device struct using:
- .. code-block:: c
- struct v4l2_device *v4l2_dev = vdev->v4l2_dev;
- - Device node name
- The :c:type:`video_device` node kernel name can be retrieved using:
- :c:func:`video_device_node_name <video_device_node_name>`
- (:c:type:`vdev <video_device>`);
- The name is used as a hint by userspace tools such as udev. The function
- should be used where possible instead of accessing the video_device::num and
- video_device::minor fields.
- video_device functions and data structures
- ------------------------------------------
- .. kernel-doc:: include/media/v4l2-dev.h
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