Device Driver Programming Guides

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• IRIX 6.2 Device Driver Programming Guide, March 1996
  • HTML format
  • compressed PostScript Table Of Contents (chapters as separate files)

  This guide describes the ways in which hardware devices are integrated into and controlled from a Silicon Graphics computer system running the IRIX operating system version 6.2 and above.
  Three general classes of device-control software exist in an IRIX system: process-level drivers, kernel-level drivers, and STREAMS drivers.

  • A process-level driver executes as part of a user-initiated process. Examples include the use of programmed I/O (PIO) to the VME bus, and control of external interrupts in a Challenge system.
  • A kernel-level driver is loaded as part of the IRIX kernel and executes in the kernel address space, controlling one device in response to calls to its read, write, and ioctl (control) entry points.
  • A STREAMS driver is dynamically loaded into the kernel address space to monitor or modify a stream of data passing between a device and a user process.
  All three classes are discussed in this guide, although the greatest amount of attention is given to kernel-level drivers.
  Note: This edition applies only to IRIX 6.2 and later. If you are working with an earlier release (4.x, 5.2, 5.3, 6.0.x, or 6.1), you should use the version of this manual appropriate to that release.

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• IRIX 5.3 Device Driver Programming Guide, 1995
  • HTML format
  • compressed PostScript Table Of Contents (chapters as separate files)

  This manual, provides information and procedures for developing, installing, and testing UNIX® device drivers for IRIX(TM) 5.2, 5.3, and 6.0. Based on Writing Device Drivers for Silicon Graphics Workstations (007-0910-010), first published in 1989, the current version contains numerous corrections and updates as well as information for new platforms and operating systems.
  This manual is a guide to writing device drivers for Silicon Graphics workstations and servers. It is intended for experienced C programmers and C++ programmers who have a good working knowledge of the architecture of Silicon Graphics computer systems.

• pre-IRIX 5.3 InSight versions of this Guide plus the Reference pages also are included:
  IRIX Device Driver Programming Guide
  Document 007-0911-040 (1993)
  "This manual, provides information and procedures for developing, installing,
  and testing UNIX device drivers for IRIX 5.0 and later releases."

  IRIX Device Driver Reference Pages
  Document 007-2183-002 (1993)
  "This manual, provides man page information for developing
  UNIX device drivers for IRIX 5.0 and later releases."

  The IRIX Device Driver Programming Guide explains how to write software character device drivers for Silicon Graphics workstations and servers. Device drivers establish communication from a user process to a peripheral device. The IRIX Device Driver Reference Pages manual contains reference pages (man pages) for functions and data structures that are used to develop device drivers. These manuals apply to IRIX Releases 5.0 and later.
  Before viewing these manuals with InSight, you must first use inst(1) to install them. The inst command is:

  inst -f <this_directory>/DevDriver

  where <this_directory> is the full pathname of the directory that contains this README file. The DevDriver product consists of two subsystems, one for each manual. Their sizes are as follows:

  k I DevDriver.books.DevDriver_PG * 0 3431+ IRIX Device Drivers Programming Guide
  k I DevDriver.books.DevDriver_RP * 0 3841+ IRIX Device Drivers Reference Pages

• DevDriver.idb is a list of the files installed

  After installing the manuals, you can view them with the IRIS InSight Viewer by giving either of these commands:

  insight

  iiv

  or choose Help from the system toolchest and select On-line Books. More information about InSight is available from the insight(1) reference page and insight online help.
  These manuals can be obtained in printed form by ordering Marketing Code M4-DVDR-3.0. The InSight versions of these manual contain minor corrections, but are otherwise the same as these printed versions.