Console Drivers

The Linux kernel has 2 general types of console drivers. The first type isassigned by the kernel to all the virtual consoles during the boot process.This type will be called ‘system driver’, and only one system driver is allowedto exist. The system driver is persistent and it can never be unloaded, thoughit may become inactive.

The second type has to be explicitly loaded and unloaded. This will be called‘modular driver’ by this document. Multiple modular drivers can coexist atany time with each driver sharing the console with other drivers includingthe system driver. However, modular drivers cannot take over the consolethat is currently occupied by another modular driver. (Exception: Drivers thatcall do_take_over_console() will succeed in the takeover regardless of the typeof driver occupying the consoles.) They can only take over the console that isoccupied by the system driver. In the same token, if the modular driver isreleased by the console, the system driver will take over.

Modular drivers, from the programmer’s point of view, have to call:

do_take_over_console() - load and bind driver to console layergive_up_console() - unload driver; it will only work if driver                    is fully unbound

In newer kernels, the following are also available:

do_register_con_driver()do_unregister_con_driver()

If sysfs is enabled, the contents of /sys/class/vtconsole can beexamined. This shows the console backends currently registered by thesystem which are named vtcon<n> where <n> is an integer from 0 to 15.Thus:

ls /sys/class/vtconsole.  ..  vtcon0  vtcon1

Each directory in /sys/class/vtconsole has 3 files:

ls /sys/class/vtconsole/vtcon0.  ..  bind  name  uevent

What do these files signify?

  1. bind - this is a read/write file. It shows the status of the driver ifread, or acts to bind or unbind the driver to the virtual consoleswhen written to. The possible values are:

    0
    • means the driver is not bound and if echo’ed, commands the driverto unbind
    1
    • means the driver is bound and if echo’ed, commands the driver tobind

  2. name - read-only file. Shows the name of the driver in this format:

    cat /sys/class/vtconsole/vtcon0/name(S) VGA+    '(S)' stands for a (S)ystem driver, i.e., it cannot be directly    commanded to bind or unbind    'VGA+' is the name of the drivercat /sys/class/vtconsole/vtcon1/name(M) frame buffer device    In this case, '(M)' stands for a (M)odular driver, one that can be    directly commanded to bind or unbind.

  3. uevent - ignore this file

When unbinding, the modular driver is detached first, and then the systemdriver takes over the consoles vacated by the driver. Binding, on the otherhand, will bind the driver to the consoles that are currently occupied by asystem driver.

NOTE1:

Binding and unbinding must be selected in Kconfig. It’s under:

Device Drivers ->    Character devices ->            Support for binding and unbinding console drivers
NOTE2:
If any of the virtual consoles are in KD_GRAPHICS mode, then binding orunbinding will not succeed. An example of an application that sets theconsole to KD_GRAPHICS is X.

How useful is this feature? This is very useful for console driverdevelopers. By unbinding the driver from the console layer, one can unload thedriver, make changes, recompile, reload and rebind the driver without any needfor rebooting the kernel. For regular users who may want to switch fromframebuffer console to VGA console and vice versa, this feature also makesthis possible. (NOTE NOTE NOTE: Please read fbcon.txt under Documentation/fbfor more details.)

Notes for developers

do_take_over_console() is now broken up into:

do_register_con_driver()do_bind_con_driver() - private function

give_up_console() is a wrapper to do_unregister_con_driver(), and a driver mustbe fully unbound for this call to succeed. con_is_bound() will check if thedriver is bound or not.

Guidelines for console driver writers

In order for binding to and unbinding from the console to properly work,console drivers must follow these guidelines:

  1. All drivers, except system drivers, must call either do_register_con_driver()or do_take_over_console(). do_register_con_driver() will just add the driverto the console’s internal list. It won’t take over theconsole. do_take_over_console(), as it name implies, will also take over (orbind to) the console.
  2. All resources allocated during con->con_init() must be released incon->con_deinit().
  3. All resources allocated in con->con_startup() must be released when thedriver, which was previously bound, becomes unbound. The console layerdoes not have a complementary call to con->con_startup() so it’s up to thedriver to check when it’s legal to release these resources. Callingcon_is_bound() in con->con_deinit() will help. If the call returnedfalse(), then it’s safe to release the resources. This balance has to beensured because con->con_startup() can be called again when a request torebind the driver to the console arrives.
  4. Upon exit of the driver, ensure that the driver is totally unbound. If thecondition is satisfied, then the driver must call do_unregister_con_driver()or give_up_console().
  5. do_unregister_con_driver() can also be called on conditions which make itimpossible for the driver to service console requests. This can happenwith the framebuffer console that suddenly lost all of its drivers.

The current crop of console drivers should still work correctly, but bindingand unbinding them may cause problems. With minimal fixes, these drivers canbe made to work correctly.

Antonino Daplas <adaplas@pol.net>