1 This is a small guide for those who want to write kernel drivers for I2C
4 To set up a driver, you need to do several things. Some are optional, and
5 some things can be done slightly or completely different. Use this as a
6 guide, not as a rule book!
12 Try to keep the kernel namespace as clean as possible. The best way to
13 do this is to use a unique prefix for all global symbols. This is
14 especially important for exported symbols, but it is a good idea to do
15 it for non-exported symbols too. We will use the prefix `foo_' in this
16 tutorial, and `FOO_' for preprocessor variables.
22 Usually, you will implement a single driver structure, and instantiate
23 all clients from it. Remember, a driver structure contains general access
24 routines, a client structure specific information like the actual I2C
27 static struct i2c_driver foo_driver = {
31 .attach_adapter = &foo_attach_adapter,
32 .detach_client = &foo_detach_client,
33 .command = &foo_command /* may be NULL */
36 The name field must match the driver name, including the case. It must not
37 contain spaces, and may be up to 31 characters long.
39 All other fields are for call-back functions which will be explained
46 The client structure has a special `data' field that can point to any
47 structure at all. You can use this to keep client-specific data. You
48 do not always need this, but especially for `sensors' drivers, it can
51 An example structure is below.
54 struct i2c_client client;
55 struct semaphore lock; /* For ISA access in `sensors' drivers. */
56 int sysctl_id; /* To keep the /proc directory entry for
58 enum chips type; /* To keep the chips type for `sensors' drivers. */
60 /* Because the i2c bus is slow, it is often useful to cache the read
61 information of a chip for some time (for example, 1 or 2 seconds).
62 It depends of course on the device whether this is really worthwhile
64 struct semaphore update_lock; /* When we are reading lots of information,
65 another process should not update the
67 char valid; /* != 0 if the following fields are valid. */
68 unsigned long last_updated; /* In jiffies */
69 /* Add the read information here too */
76 Let's say we have a valid client structure. At some time, we will need
77 to gather information from the client, or write new information to the
78 client. How we will export this information to user-space is less
79 important at this moment (perhaps we do not need to do this at all for
80 some obscure clients). But we need generic reading and writing routines.
82 I have found it useful to define foo_read and foo_write function for this.
83 For some cases, it will be easier to call the i2c functions directly,
84 but many chips have some kind of register-value idea that can easily
85 be encapsulated. Also, some chips have both ISA and I2C interfaces, and
86 it useful to abstract from this (only for `sensors' drivers).
88 The below functions are simple examples, and should not be copied
91 int foo_read_value(struct i2c_client *client, u8 reg)
93 if (reg < 0x10) /* byte-sized register */
94 return i2c_smbus_read_byte_data(client,reg);
95 else /* word-sized register */
96 return i2c_smbus_read_word_data(client,reg);
99 int foo_write_value(struct i2c_client *client, u8 reg, u16 value)
101 if (reg == 0x10) /* Impossible to write - driver error! */ {
103 else if (reg < 0x10) /* byte-sized register */
104 return i2c_smbus_write_byte_data(client,reg,value);
105 else /* word-sized register */
106 return i2c_smbus_write_word_data(client,reg,value);
109 For sensors code, you may have to cope with ISA registers too. Something
110 like the below often works. Note the locking!
112 int foo_read_value(struct i2c_client *client, u8 reg)
115 if (i2c_is_isa_client(client)) {
116 down(&(((struct foo_data *) (client->data)) -> lock));
117 outb_p(reg,client->addr + FOO_ADDR_REG_OFFSET);
118 res = inb_p(client->addr + FOO_DATA_REG_OFFSET);
119 up(&(((struct foo_data *) (client->data)) -> lock));
122 return i2c_smbus_read_byte_data(client,reg);
125 Writing is done the same way.
128 Probing and attaching
129 =====================
131 Most i2c devices can be present on several i2c addresses; for some this
132 is determined in hardware (by soldering some chip pins to Vcc or Ground),
133 for others this can be changed in software (by writing to specific client
134 registers). Some devices are usually on a specific address, but not always;
135 and some are even more tricky. So you will probably need to scan several
136 i2c addresses for your clients, and do some sort of detection to see
137 whether it is actually a device supported by your driver.
139 To give the user a maximum of possibilities, some default module parameters
140 are defined to help determine what addresses are scanned. Several macros
141 are defined in i2c.h to help you support them, as well as a generic
144 You do not have to use this parameter interface; but don't try to use
145 function i2c_probe() if you don't.
147 NOTE: If you want to write a `sensors' driver, the interface is slightly
148 different! See below.
155 All parameters are given as lists of unsigned 16-bit integers. Lists are
156 terminated by I2C_CLIENT_END.
157 The following lists are used internally:
159 normal_i2c: filled in by the module writer.
160 A list of I2C addresses which should normally be examined.
161 probe: insmod parameter.
162 A list of pairs. The first value is a bus number (-1 for any I2C bus),
163 the second is the address. These addresses are also probed, as if they
164 were in the 'normal' list.
165 ignore: insmod parameter.
166 A list of pairs. The first value is a bus number (-1 for any I2C bus),
167 the second is the I2C address. These addresses are never probed.
168 This parameter overrules the 'normal_i2c' list only.
169 force: insmod parameter.
170 A list of pairs. The first value is a bus number (-1 for any I2C bus),
171 the second is the I2C address. A device is blindly assumed to be on
172 the given address, no probing is done.
174 Additionally, kind-specific force lists may optionally be defined if
175 the driver supports several chip kinds. They are grouped in a
176 NULL-terminated list of pointers named forces, those first element if the
177 generic force list mentioned above. Each additional list correspond to an
178 insmod parameter of the form force_<kind>.
180 Fortunately, as a module writer, you just have to define the `normal_i2c'
181 parameter. The complete declaration could look like this:
183 /* Scan 0x37, and 0x48 to 0x4f */
184 static unsigned short normal_i2c[] = { 0x37, 0x48, 0x49, 0x4a, 0x4b, 0x4c,
185 0x4d, 0x4e, 0x4f, I2C_CLIENT_END };
187 /* Magic definition of all other variables and things */
189 /* Or, if your driver supports, say, 2 kind of devices: */
190 I2C_CLIENT_INSMOD_2(foo, bar);
192 If you use the multi-kind form, an enum will be defined for you:
193 enum chips { any_chip, foo, bar, ... }
194 You can then (and certainly should) use it in the driver code.
196 Note that you *have* to call the defined variable `normal_i2c',
200 Attaching to an adapter
201 -----------------------
203 Whenever a new adapter is inserted, or for all adapters if the driver is
204 being registered, the callback attach_adapter() is called. Now is the
205 time to determine what devices are present on the adapter, and to register
206 a client for each of them.
208 The attach_adapter callback is really easy: we just call the generic
209 detection function. This function will scan the bus for us, using the
210 information as defined in the lists explained above. If a device is
211 detected at a specific address, another callback is called.
213 int foo_attach_adapter(struct i2c_adapter *adapter)
215 return i2c_probe(adapter,&addr_data,&foo_detect_client);
218 Remember, structure `addr_data' is defined by the macros explained above,
219 so you do not have to define it yourself.
221 The i2c_probe function will call the foo_detect_client
222 function only for those i2c addresses that actually have a device on
223 them (unless a `force' parameter was used). In addition, addresses that
224 are already in use (by some other registered client) are skipped.
227 The detect client function
228 --------------------------
230 The detect client function is called by i2c_probe. The `kind' parameter
231 contains -1 for a probed detection, 0 for a forced detection, or a positive
232 number for a forced detection with a chip type forced.
234 Below, some things are only needed if this is a `sensors' driver. Those
235 parts are between /* SENSORS ONLY START */ and /* SENSORS ONLY END */
238 Returning an error different from -ENODEV in a detect function will cause
239 the detection to stop: other addresses and adapters won't be scanned.
240 This should only be done on fatal or internal errors, such as a memory
241 shortage or i2c_attach_client failing.
243 For now, you can ignore the `flags' parameter. It is there for future use.
245 int foo_detect_client(struct i2c_adapter *adapter, int address,
246 unsigned short flags, int kind)
250 struct i2c_client *new_client;
251 struct foo_data *data;
252 const char *client_name = ""; /* For non-`sensors' drivers, put the real
255 /* Let's see whether this adapter can support what we need.
256 Please substitute the things you need here!
257 For `sensors' drivers, add `! is_isa &&' to the if statement */
258 if (!i2c_check_functionality(adapter,I2C_FUNC_SMBUS_WORD_DATA |
259 I2C_FUNC_SMBUS_WRITE_BYTE))
262 /* SENSORS ONLY START */
263 const char *type_name = "";
264 int is_isa = i2c_is_isa_adapter(adapter);
266 /* Do this only if the chip can additionally be found on the ISA bus
271 /* Discard immediately if this ISA range is already used */
272 /* FIXME: never use check_region(), only request_region() */
273 if (check_region(address,FOO_EXTENT))
276 /* Probe whether there is anything on this address.
277 Some example code is below, but you will have to adapt this
278 for your own driver */
280 if (kind < 0) /* Only if no force parameter was used */ {
281 /* We may need long timeouts at least for some chips. */
282 #define REALLY_SLOW_IO
283 i = inb_p(address + 1);
284 if (inb_p(address + 2) != i)
286 if (inb_p(address + 3) != i)
288 if (inb_p(address + 7) != i)
290 #undef REALLY_SLOW_IO
292 /* Let's just hope nothing breaks here */
293 i = inb_p(address + 5) & 0x7f;
294 outb_p(~i & 0x7f,address+5);
295 if ((inb_p(address + 5) & 0x7f) != (~i & 0x7f)) {
302 /* SENSORS ONLY END */
304 /* OK. For now, we presume we have a valid client. We now create the
305 client structure, even though we cannot fill it completely yet.
306 But it allows us to access several i2c functions safely */
308 if (!(data = kzalloc(sizeof(struct foo_data), GFP_KERNEL))) {
313 new_client = &data->client;
314 i2c_set_clientdata(new_client, data);
316 new_client->addr = address;
317 new_client->adapter = adapter;
318 new_client->driver = &foo_driver;
319 new_client->flags = 0;
321 /* Now, we do the remaining detection. If no `force' parameter is used. */
323 /* First, the generic detection (if any), that is skipped if any force
324 parameter was used. */
326 /* The below is of course bogus */
327 if (foo_read(new_client,FOO_REG_GENERIC) != FOO_GENERIC_VALUE)
331 /* SENSORS ONLY START */
333 /* Next, specific detection. This is especially important for `sensors'
336 /* Determine the chip type. Not needed if a `force_CHIPTYPE' parameter
339 i = foo_read(new_client,FOO_REG_CHIPTYPE);
341 kind = chip1; /* As defined in the enum */
342 else if (i == FOO_TYPE_2)
345 printk("foo: Ignoring 'force' parameter for unknown chip at "
346 "adapter %d, address 0x%02x\n",i2c_adapter_id(adapter),address);
351 /* Now set the type and chip names */
353 type_name = "chip1"; /* For /proc entry */
354 client_name = "CHIP 1";
355 } else if (kind == chip2) {
356 type_name = "chip2"; /* For /proc entry */
357 client_name = "CHIP 2";
360 /* Reserve the ISA region */
362 request_region(address,FOO_EXTENT,type_name);
364 /* SENSORS ONLY END */
366 /* Fill in the remaining client fields. */
367 strcpy(new_client->name,client_name);
369 /* SENSORS ONLY BEGIN */
371 /* SENSORS ONLY END */
373 data->valid = 0; /* Only if you use this field */
374 init_MUTEX(&data->update_lock); /* Only if you use this field */
376 /* Any other initializations in data must be done here too. */
378 /* Tell the i2c layer a new client has arrived */
379 if ((err = i2c_attach_client(new_client)))
382 /* SENSORS ONLY BEGIN */
383 /* Register a new directory entry with module sensors. See below for
384 the `template' structure. */
385 if ((i = i2c_register_entry(new_client, type_name,
386 foo_dir_table_template,THIS_MODULE)) < 0) {
392 /* SENSORS ONLY END */
394 /* This function can write default values to the client registers, if
396 foo_init_client(new_client);
399 /* OK, this is not exactly good programming practice, usually. But it is
400 very code-efficient in this case. */
403 i2c_detach_client(new_client);
406 /* SENSORS ONLY START */
408 release_region(address,FOO_EXTENT);
409 /* SENSORS ONLY END */
420 The detach_client call back function is called when a client should be
421 removed. It may actually fail, but only when panicking. This code is
422 much simpler than the attachment code, fortunately!
424 int foo_detach_client(struct i2c_client *client)
428 /* SENSORS ONLY START */
429 /* Deregister with the `i2c-proc' module. */
430 i2c_deregister_entry(((struct lm78_data *)(client->data))->sysctl_id);
431 /* SENSORS ONLY END */
433 /* Try to detach the client from i2c space */
434 if ((err = i2c_detach_client(client)))
437 /* HYBRID SENSORS CHIP ONLY START */
438 if i2c_is_isa_client(client)
439 release_region(client->addr,LM78_EXTENT);
440 /* HYBRID SENSORS CHIP ONLY END */
442 kfree(i2c_get_clientdata(client));
447 Initializing the module or kernel
448 =================================
450 When the kernel is booted, or when your foo driver module is inserted,
451 you have to do some initializing. Fortunately, just attaching (registering)
452 the driver module is usually enough.
454 /* Keep track of how far we got in the initialization process. If several
455 things have to initialized, and we fail halfway, only those things
456 have to be cleaned up! */
457 static int __initdata foo_initialized = 0;
459 static int __init foo_init(void)
462 printk("foo version %s (%s)\n",FOO_VERSION,FOO_DATE);
464 if ((res = i2c_add_driver(&foo_driver))) {
465 printk("foo: Driver registration failed, module not inserted.\n");
473 void foo_cleanup(void)
475 if (foo_initialized == 1) {
476 if ((res = i2c_del_driver(&foo_driver))) {
477 printk("foo: Driver registration failed, module not removed.\n");
484 /* Substitute your own name and email address */
485 MODULE_AUTHOR("Frodo Looijaard <frodol@dds.nl>"
486 MODULE_DESCRIPTION("Driver for Barf Inc. Foo I2C devices");
488 module_init(foo_init);
489 module_exit(foo_cleanup);
491 Note that some functions are marked by `__init', and some data structures
492 by `__init_data'. Hose functions and structures can be removed after
493 kernel booting (or module loading) is completed.
499 A generic ioctl-like function call back is supported. You will seldom
500 need this, and its use is deprecated anyway, so newer design should not
501 use it. Set it to NULL.
504 Sending and receiving
505 =====================
507 If you want to communicate with your device, there are several functions
508 to do this. You can find all of them in i2c.h.
510 If you can choose between plain i2c communication and SMBus level
511 communication, please use the last. All adapters understand SMBus level
512 commands, but only some of them understand plain i2c!
515 Plain i2c communication
516 -----------------------
518 extern int i2c_master_send(struct i2c_client *,const char* ,int);
519 extern int i2c_master_recv(struct i2c_client *,char* ,int);
521 These routines read and write some bytes from/to a client. The client
522 contains the i2c address, so you do not have to include it. The second
523 parameter contains the bytes the read/write, the third the length of the
524 buffer. Returned is the actual number of bytes read/written.
526 extern int i2c_transfer(struct i2c_adapter *adap, struct i2c_msg *msg,
529 This sends a series of messages. Each message can be a read or write,
530 and they can be mixed in any way. The transactions are combined: no
531 stop bit is sent between transaction. The i2c_msg structure contains
532 for each message the client address, the number of bytes of the message
533 and the message data itself.
535 You can read the file `i2c-protocol' for more information about the
542 extern s32 i2c_smbus_xfer (struct i2c_adapter * adapter, u16 addr,
543 unsigned short flags,
544 char read_write, u8 command, int size,
545 union i2c_smbus_data * data);
547 This is the generic SMBus function. All functions below are implemented
548 in terms of it. Never use this function directly!
551 extern s32 i2c_smbus_write_quick(struct i2c_client * client, u8 value);
552 extern s32 i2c_smbus_read_byte(struct i2c_client * client);
553 extern s32 i2c_smbus_write_byte(struct i2c_client * client, u8 value);
554 extern s32 i2c_smbus_read_byte_data(struct i2c_client * client, u8 command);
555 extern s32 i2c_smbus_write_byte_data(struct i2c_client * client,
556 u8 command, u8 value);
557 extern s32 i2c_smbus_read_word_data(struct i2c_client * client, u8 command);
558 extern s32 i2c_smbus_write_word_data(struct i2c_client * client,
559 u8 command, u16 value);
560 extern s32 i2c_smbus_write_block_data(struct i2c_client * client,
561 u8 command, u8 length,
563 extern s32 i2c_smbus_read_i2c_block_data(struct i2c_client * client,
564 u8 command, u8 *values);
566 These ones were removed in Linux 2.6.10 because they had no users, but could
567 be added back later if needed:
569 extern s32 i2c_smbus_read_block_data(struct i2c_client * client,
570 u8 command, u8 *values);
571 extern s32 i2c_smbus_write_i2c_block_data(struct i2c_client * client,
572 u8 command, u8 length,
574 extern s32 i2c_smbus_process_call(struct i2c_client * client,
575 u8 command, u16 value);
576 extern s32 i2c_smbus_block_process_call(struct i2c_client *client,
577 u8 command, u8 length,
580 All these transactions return -1 on failure. The 'write' transactions
581 return 0 on success; the 'read' transactions return the read value, except
582 for read_block, which returns the number of values read. The block buffers
583 need not be longer than 32 bytes.
585 You can read the file `smbus-protocol' for more information about the
586 actual SMBus protocol.
589 General purpose routines
590 ========================
592 Below all general purpose routines are listed, that were not mentioned
595 /* This call returns a unique low identifier for each registered adapter,
596 * or -1 if the adapter was not registered.
598 extern int i2c_adapter_id(struct i2c_adapter *adap);
601 The sensors sysctl/proc interface
602 =================================
604 This section only applies if you write `sensors' drivers.
606 Each sensors driver creates a directory in /proc/sys/dev/sensors for each
607 registered client. The directory is called something like foo-i2c-4-65.
608 The sensors module helps you to do this as easily as possible.
613 You will need to define a ctl_table template. This template will automatically
614 be copied to a newly allocated structure and filled in where necessary when
615 you call sensors_register_entry.
617 First, I will give an example definition.
618 static ctl_table foo_dir_table_template[] = {
619 { FOO_SYSCTL_FUNC1, "func1", NULL, 0, 0644, NULL, &i2c_proc_real,
620 &i2c_sysctl_real,NULL,&foo_func },
621 { FOO_SYSCTL_FUNC2, "func2", NULL, 0, 0644, NULL, &i2c_proc_real,
622 &i2c_sysctl_real,NULL,&foo_func },
623 { FOO_SYSCTL_DATA, "data", NULL, 0, 0644, NULL, &i2c_proc_real,
624 &i2c_sysctl_real,NULL,&foo_data },
628 In the above example, three entries are defined. They can either be
629 accessed through the /proc interface, in the /proc/sys/dev/sensors/*
630 directories, as files named func1, func2 and data, or alternatively
631 through the sysctl interface, in the appropriate table, with identifiers
632 FOO_SYSCTL_FUNC1, FOO_SYSCTL_FUNC2 and FOO_SYSCTL_DATA.
634 The third, sixth and ninth parameters should always be NULL, and the
635 fourth should always be 0. The fifth is the mode of the /proc file;
636 0644 is safe, as the file will be owned by root:root.
638 The seventh and eighth parameters should be &i2c_proc_real and
639 &i2c_sysctl_real if you want to export lists of reals (scaled
640 integers). You can also use your own function for them, as usual.
641 Finally, the last parameter is the call-back to gather the data
642 (see below) if you use the *_proc_real functions.
648 The call back functions (foo_func and foo_data in the above example)
649 can be called in several ways; the operation parameter determines
652 * If operation == SENSORS_PROC_REAL_INFO, you must return the
653 magnitude (scaling) in nrels_mag;
654 * If operation == SENSORS_PROC_REAL_READ, you must read information
655 from the chip and return it in results. The number of integers
656 to display should be put in nrels_mag;
657 * If operation == SENSORS_PROC_REAL_WRITE, you must write the
658 supplied information to the chip. nrels_mag will contain the number
659 of integers, results the integers themselves.
661 The *_proc_real functions will display the elements as reals for the
662 /proc interface. If you set the magnitude to 2, and supply 345 for
663 SENSORS_PROC_REAL_READ, it would display 3.45; and if the user would
664 write 45.6 to the /proc file, it would be returned as 4560 for
665 SENSORS_PROC_REAL_WRITE. A magnitude may even be negative!
669 /* FOO_FROM_REG and FOO_TO_REG translate between scaled values and
670 register values. Note the use of the read cache. */
671 void foo_in(struct i2c_client *client, int operation, int ctl_name,
672 int *nrels_mag, long *results)
674 struct foo_data *data = client->data;
675 int nr = ctl_name - FOO_SYSCTL_FUNC1; /* reduce to 0 upwards */
677 if (operation == SENSORS_PROC_REAL_INFO)
679 else if (operation == SENSORS_PROC_REAL_READ) {
680 /* Update the readings cache (if necessary) */
681 foo_update_client(client);
682 /* Get the readings from the cache */
683 results[0] = FOO_FROM_REG(data->foo_func_base[nr]);
684 results[1] = FOO_FROM_REG(data->foo_func_more[nr]);
685 results[2] = FOO_FROM_REG(data->foo_func_readonly[nr]);
687 } else if (operation == SENSORS_PROC_REAL_WRITE) {
688 if (*nrels_mag >= 1) {
689 /* Update the cache */
690 data->foo_base[nr] = FOO_TO_REG(results[0]);
691 /* Update the chip */
692 foo_write_value(client,FOO_REG_FUNC_BASE(nr),data->foo_base[nr]);
694 if (*nrels_mag >= 2) {
695 /* Update the cache */
696 data->foo_more[nr] = FOO_TO_REG(results[1]);
697 /* Update the chip */
698 foo_write_value(client,FOO_REG_FUNC_MORE(nr),data->foo_more[nr]);