190 lines
6.7 KiB
XML
190 lines
6.7 KiB
XML
<refentry id="func-read">
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<refmeta>
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<refentrytitle>V4L2 read()</refentrytitle>
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&manvol;
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</refmeta>
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<refnamediv>
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<refname>v4l2-read</refname>
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<refpurpose>Read from a V4L2 device</refpurpose>
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</refnamediv>
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<refsynopsisdiv>
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<funcsynopsis>
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<funcsynopsisinfo>#include <unistd.h></funcsynopsisinfo>
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<funcprototype>
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<funcdef>ssize_t <function>read</function></funcdef>
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<paramdef>int <parameter>fd</parameter></paramdef>
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<paramdef>void *<parameter>buf</parameter></paramdef>
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<paramdef>size_t <parameter>count</parameter></paramdef>
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</funcprototype>
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</funcsynopsis>
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</refsynopsisdiv>
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<refsect1>
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<title>Arguments</title>
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<variablelist>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><parameter>fd</parameter></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>&fd;</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><parameter>buf</parameter></term>
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<listitem>
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<para></para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><parameter>count</parameter></term>
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<listitem>
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<para></para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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</variablelist>
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</refsect1>
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<refsect1>
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<title>Description</title>
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<para><function>read()</function> attempts to read up to
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<parameter>count</parameter> bytes from file descriptor
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<parameter>fd</parameter> into the buffer starting at
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<parameter>buf</parameter>. The layout of the data in the buffer is
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discussed in the respective device interface section, see ##. If <parameter>count</parameter> is zero,
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<function>read()</function> returns zero and has no other results. If
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<parameter>count</parameter> is greater than
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<constant>SSIZE_MAX</constant>, the result is unspecified. Regardless
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of the <parameter>count</parameter> value each
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<function>read()</function> call will provide at most one frame (two
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fields) worth of data.</para>
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<para>By default <function>read()</function> blocks until data
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becomes available. When the <constant>O_NONBLOCK</constant> flag was
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given to the &func-open; function it
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returns immediately with an &EAGAIN; when no data is available. The
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&func-select; or &func-poll; functions
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can always be used to suspend execution until data becomes available. All
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drivers supporting the <function>read()</function> function must also
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support <function>select()</function> and
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<function>poll()</function>.</para>
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<para>Drivers can implement read functionality in different
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ways, using a single or multiple buffers and discarding the oldest or
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newest frames once the internal buffers are filled.</para>
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<para><function>read()</function> never returns a "snapshot" of a
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buffer being filled. Using a single buffer the driver will stop
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capturing when the application starts reading the buffer until the
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read is finished. Thus only the period of the vertical blanking
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interval is available for reading, or the capture rate must fall below
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the nominal frame rate of the video standard.</para>
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<para>The behavior of
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<function>read()</function> when called during the active picture
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period or the vertical blanking separating the top and bottom field
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depends on the discarding policy. A driver discarding the oldest
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frames keeps capturing into an internal buffer, continuously
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overwriting the previously, not read frame, and returns the frame
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being received at the time of the <function>read()</function> call as
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soon as it is complete.</para>
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<para>A driver discarding the newest frames stops capturing until
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the next <function>read()</function> call. The frame being received at
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<function>read()</function> time is discarded, returning the following
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frame instead. Again this implies a reduction of the capture rate to
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one half or less of the nominal frame rate. An example of this model
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is the video read mode of the bttv driver, initiating a DMA to user
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memory when <function>read()</function> is called and returning when
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the DMA finished.</para>
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<para>In the multiple buffer model drivers maintain a ring of
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internal buffers, automatically advancing to the next free buffer.
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This allows continuous capturing when the application can empty the
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buffers fast enough. Again, the behavior when the driver runs out of
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free buffers depends on the discarding policy.</para>
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<para>Applications can get and set the number of buffers used
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internally by the driver with the &VIDIOC-G-PARM; and &VIDIOC-S-PARM;
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ioctls. They are optional, however. The discarding policy is not
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reported and cannot be changed. For minimum requirements see <xref
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linkend="devices" />.</para>
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</refsect1>
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<refsect1>
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<title>Return Value</title>
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<para>On success, the number of bytes read is returned. It is not
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an error if this number is smaller than the number of bytes requested,
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or the amount of data required for one frame. This may happen for
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example because <function>read()</function> was interrupted by a
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signal. On error, -1 is returned, and the <varname>errno</varname>
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variable is set appropriately. In this case the next read will start
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at the beginning of a new frame. Possible error codes are:</para>
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<variablelist>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><errorcode>EAGAIN</errorcode></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>Non-blocking I/O has been selected using
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O_NONBLOCK and no data was immediately available for reading.</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><errorcode>EBADF</errorcode></term>
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<listitem>
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<para><parameter>fd</parameter> is not a valid file
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descriptor or is not open for reading, or the process already has the
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maximum number of files open.</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><errorcode>EBUSY</errorcode></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>The driver does not support multiple read streams and the
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device is already in use.</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><errorcode>EFAULT</errorcode></term>
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<listitem>
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<para><parameter>buf</parameter> references an inaccessible
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memory area.</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><errorcode>EINTR</errorcode></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>The call was interrupted by a signal before any
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data was read.</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><errorcode>EIO</errorcode></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>I/O error. This indicates some hardware problem or a
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failure to communicate with a remote device (USB camera etc.).</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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<varlistentry>
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<term><errorcode>EINVAL</errorcode></term>
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<listitem>
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<para>The <function>read()</function> function is not
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supported by this driver, not on this device, or generally not on this
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type of device.</para>
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</listitem>
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</varlistentry>
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</variablelist>
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</refsect1>
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</refentry>
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<!--
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mode: sgml
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sgml-parent-document: "v4l2.sgml"
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indent-tabs-mode: nil
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End:
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-->
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