summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/Documentation/driver-api/tty/index.rst
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
authorPaul E. McKenney <paulmck@kernel.org>2026-08-14 15:43:51 -0700
committerPaul E. McKenney <paulmck@kernel.org>2026-08-14 15:43:51 -0700
commit9cc63f8bcd560c760d0b12e15bba8f81c86237cf (patch)
tree3b5269b1bcf6714171754946367c51e0590f64da /Documentation/driver-api/tty/index.rst
downloadlinux-stable-9cc63f8bcd560c760d0b12e15bba8f81c86237cf.tar.gz
linux-stable-9cc63f8bcd560c760d0b12e15bba8f81c86237cf.zip
Merge branches 'expcb.2026.07.24a', 'misc.2026.07.30a', 'rcu-tasks.2026.07.30a', 'srcu.2026.08.11a' and 'torture.2026.08.14a' into HEADgrafted
Changes: Make expedited grace periods expedite normal RCU callbacks Miscellaneous fixes: * Improve diagnostic output with character task states. * Mark accesses to inform KCSAN of concurrency design. * Move from kmalloc() to kmalloc_obj(). * Documentation updates. * Improve handling of RCU deferred quiescent states. * Clean up unused function arguments and structure fields. * Reduce show_rcu_gp_kthreads() stack space. Tasks RCU updates: * Clean up after SRCU re-implementation of Tasks Trace RCU. * Mark accesses to inform KCSAN of concurrency design. * Add ->lazy_timer status to diagnostic output. * Remove an unnecessary memory barrier. * Fix a data race, courtesy of KCSAN. * Documentation updates. * Convert cond_resched_tasks_rcu_qs() from macro to static inline function. SRCU updates: * Add Rust helpers for SRCU. * Avoid losing queued work at cleanup_srcu_struct() time. Torture-test updates: * Preparation work for immediate RCU priority deboosting. * Test RCU readers from real interrupt handlers (as opposed to softirq). * Simplify code through use of cpumask_next_wrap(). * Improve diagnostic output with character task states. * Add rcutorture.nwriters parameter to allow lightweight stall testing, and rcutorture.stall_only to make doing so easier. * Test an RCU Tasks Trace grace period implying an RCU grace period. * Make RCU Tasks Trace torturing track reader batches. * Fix a data race, courtesy of KCSAN. * Plug a shuffle_tmp_mask memory leak on kthread spawn failure.
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/driver-api/tty/index.rst')
-rw-r--r--Documentation/driver-api/tty/index.rst75
1 files changed, 75 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/driver-api/tty/index.rst b/Documentation/driver-api/tty/index.rst
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c1ffe3d1e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/driver-api/tty/index.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,75 @@
+.. SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0
+
+===
+TTY
+===
+
+Teletypewriter (TTY) layer takes care of all those serial devices. Including
+the virtual ones like pseudoterminal (PTY).
+
+TTY structures
+==============
+
+There are several major TTY structures. Every TTY device in a system has a
+corresponding struct tty_port. These devices are maintained by a TTY driver
+which is struct tty_driver. This structure describes the driver but also
+contains a reference to operations which could be performed on the TTYs. It is
+struct tty_operations. Then, upon open, a struct tty_struct is allocated and
+lives until the final close. During this time, several callbacks from struct
+tty_operations are invoked by the TTY layer.
+
+Every character received by the kernel (both from devices and users) is passed
+through a preselected :doc:`tty_ldisc` (in
+short ldisc; in C, struct tty_ldisc_ops). Its task is to transform characters
+as defined by a particular ldisc or by user too. The default one is n_tty,
+implementing echoes, signal handling, jobs control, special characters
+processing, and more. The transformed characters are passed further to
+user/device, depending on the source.
+
+In-detail description of the named TTY structures is in separate documents:
+
+.. toctree::
+ :maxdepth: 2
+
+ tty_driver
+ tty_port
+ tty_struct
+ tty_ldisc
+ tty_buffer
+ tty_ioctl
+ tty_internals
+ console
+
+Writing TTY Driver
+==================
+
+Before one starts writing a TTY driver, they must consider
+:doc:`Serial <../serial/driver>` and :doc:`USB Serial <../../usb/usb-serial>`
+layers first. Drivers for serial devices can often use one of these specific
+layers to implement a serial driver. Only special devices should be handled
+directly by the TTY Layer. If you are about to write such a driver, read on.
+
+A *typical* sequence a TTY driver performs is as follows:
+
+#. Allocate and register a TTY driver (module init)
+#. Create and register TTY devices as they are probed (probe function)
+#. Handle TTY operations and events like interrupts (TTY core invokes the
+ former, the device the latter)
+#. Remove devices as they are going away (remove function)
+#. Unregister and free the TTY driver (module exit)
+
+Steps regarding driver, i.e. 1., 3., and 5. are described in detail in
+:doc:`tty_driver`. For the other two (devices handling), look into
+:doc:`tty_port`.
+
+Other Documentation
+===================
+
+Miscellaneous documentation can be further found in these documents:
+
+.. toctree::
+ :maxdepth: 2
+
+ moxa-smartio
+ n_gsm
+ n_tty