summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/Documentation/admin-guide/gpio/sysfs.rst
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to '')
-rw-r--r--Documentation/admin-guide/gpio/sysfs.rst167
1 files changed, 167 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/admin-guide/gpio/sysfs.rst b/Documentation/admin-guide/gpio/sysfs.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ec09ffd98
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/admin-guide/gpio/sysfs.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,167 @@
+GPIO Sysfs Interface for Userspace
+==================================
+
+.. warning::
+
+ THIS ABI IS DEPRECATED, THE ABI DOCUMENTATION HAS BEEN MOVED TO
+ Documentation/ABI/obsolete/sysfs-gpio AND NEW USERSPACE CONSUMERS
+ ARE SUPPOSED TO USE THE CHARACTER DEVICE ABI. THIS OLD SYSFS ABI WILL
+ NOT BE DEVELOPED (NO NEW FEATURES), IT WILL JUST BE MAINTAINED.
+
+Refer to the examples in tools/gpio/* for an introduction to the new
+character device ABI. Also see the userspace header in
+include/uapi/linux/gpio.h
+
+The deprecated sysfs ABI
+------------------------
+Platforms which use the "gpiolib" implementors framework may choose to
+configure a sysfs user interface to GPIOs. This is different from the
+debugfs interface, since it provides control over GPIO direction and
+value instead of just showing a gpio state summary. Plus, it could be
+present on production systems without debugging support.
+
+Given appropriate hardware documentation for the system, userspace could
+know for example that GPIO #23 controls the write protect line used to
+protect boot loader segments in flash memory. System upgrade procedures
+may need to temporarily remove that protection, first importing a GPIO,
+then changing its output state, then updating the code before re-enabling
+the write protection. In normal use, GPIO #23 would never be touched,
+and the kernel would have no need to know about it.
+
+Again depending on appropriate hardware documentation, on some systems
+userspace GPIO can be used to determine system configuration data that
+standard kernels won't know about. And for some tasks, simple userspace
+GPIO drivers could be all that the system really needs.
+
+DO NOT ABUSE SYSFS TO CONTROL HARDWARE THAT HAS PROPER KERNEL DRIVERS.
+PLEASE READ THE DOCUMENT AT Documentation/driver-api/gpio/drivers-on-gpio.rst
+TO AVOID REINVENTING KERNEL WHEELS IN USERSPACE. I MEAN IT. REALLY.
+
+Paths in Sysfs
+--------------
+There are three kinds of entries in /sys/class/gpio:
+
+ - Control interfaces used to get userspace control over GPIOs;
+
+ - GPIOs themselves; and
+
+ - GPIO controllers ("gpio_chip" instances).
+
+That's in addition to standard files including the "device" symlink.
+
+The control interfaces are write-only:
+
+ /sys/class/gpio/
+
+ "export" ...
+ Userspace may ask the kernel to export control of
+ a GPIO to userspace by writing its number to this file.
+
+ Example: "echo 19 > export" will create a "gpio19" node
+ for GPIO #19, if that's not requested by kernel code.
+
+ "unexport" ...
+ Reverses the effect of exporting to userspace.
+
+ Example: "echo 19 > unexport" will remove a "gpio19"
+ node exported using the "export" file.
+
+GPIO signals have paths like /sys/class/gpio/gpio42/ (for GPIO #42)
+and have the following read/write attributes:
+
+ /sys/class/gpio/gpioN/
+
+ "direction" ...
+ reads as either "in" or "out". This value may
+ normally be written. Writing as "out" defaults to
+ initializing the value as low. To ensure glitch free
+ operation, values "low" and "high" may be written to
+ configure the GPIO as an output with that initial value.
+
+ Note that this attribute *will not exist* if the kernel
+ doesn't support changing the direction of a GPIO, or
+ it was exported by kernel code that didn't explicitly
+ allow userspace to reconfigure this GPIO's direction.
+
+ "value" ...
+ reads as either 0 (low) or 1 (high). If the GPIO
+ is configured as an output, this value may be written;
+ any nonzero value is treated as high.
+
+ If the pin can be configured as interrupt-generating interrupt
+ and if it has been configured to generate interrupts (see the
+ description of "edge"), you can poll(2) on that file and
+ poll(2) will return whenever the interrupt was triggered. If
+ you use poll(2), set the events POLLPRI and POLLERR. If you
+ use select(2), set the file descriptor in exceptfds. After
+ poll(2) returns, either lseek(2) to the beginning of the sysfs
+ file and read the new value or close the file and re-open it
+ to read the value.
+
+ "edge" ...
+ reads as either "none", "rising", "falling", or
+ "both". Write these strings to select the signal edge(s)
+ that will make poll(2) on the "value" file return.
+
+ This file exists only if the pin can be configured as an
+ interrupt generating input pin.
+
+ "active_low" ...
+ reads as either 0 (false) or 1 (true). Write
+ any nonzero value to invert the value attribute both
+ for reading and writing. Existing and subsequent
+ poll(2) support configuration via the edge attribute
+ for "rising" and "falling" edges will follow this
+ setting.
+
+GPIO controllers have paths like /sys/class/gpio/gpiochip42/ (for the
+controller implementing GPIOs starting at #42) and have the following
+read-only attributes:
+
+ /sys/class/gpio/gpiochipN/
+
+ "base" ...
+ same as N, the first GPIO managed by this chip
+
+ "label" ...
+ provided for diagnostics (not always unique)
+
+ "ngpio" ...
+ how many GPIOs this manages (N to N + ngpio - 1)
+
+Board documentation should in most cases cover what GPIOs are used for
+what purposes. However, those numbers are not always stable; GPIOs on
+a daughtercard might be different depending on the base board being used,
+or other cards in the stack. In such cases, you may need to use the
+gpiochip nodes (possibly in conjunction with schematics) to determine
+the correct GPIO number to use for a given signal.
+
+
+Exporting from Kernel code
+--------------------------
+Kernel code can explicitly manage exports of GPIOs which have already been
+requested using gpio_request()::
+
+ /* export the GPIO to userspace */
+ int gpiod_export(struct gpio_desc *desc, bool direction_may_change);
+
+ /* reverse gpio_export() */
+ void gpiod_unexport(struct gpio_desc *desc);
+
+ /* create a sysfs link to an exported GPIO node */
+ int gpiod_export_link(struct device *dev, const char *name,
+ struct gpio_desc *desc);
+
+After a kernel driver requests a GPIO, it may only be made available in
+the sysfs interface by gpiod_export(). The driver can control whether the
+signal direction may change. This helps drivers prevent userspace code
+from accidentally clobbering important system state.
+
+This explicit exporting can help with debugging (by making some kinds
+of experiments easier), or can provide an always-there interface that's
+suitable for documenting as part of a board support package.
+
+After the GPIO has been exported, gpiod_export_link() allows creating
+symlinks from elsewhere in sysfs to the GPIO sysfs node. Drivers can
+use this to provide the interface under their own device in sysfs with
+a descriptive name.