1 =========================
2 Kernel Mode Setting (KMS)
3 =========================
5 Drivers must initialize the mode setting core by calling
6 drmm_mode_config_init() on the DRM device. The function
7 initializes the :c:type:`struct drm_device <drm_device>`
8 mode_config field and never fails. Once done, mode configuration must
9 be setup by initializing the following fields.
11 - int min_width, min_height; int max_width, max_height;
12 Minimum and maximum width and height of the frame buffers in pixel
15 - struct drm_mode_config_funcs \*funcs;
16 Mode setting functions.
21 .. kernel-render:: DOT
22 :alt: KMS Display Pipeline
23 :caption: KMS Display Pipeline Overview
28 subgraph cluster_static {
30 label="Static Objects"
32 node [bgcolor=grey style=filled]
33 "drm_plane A" -> "drm_crtc"
34 "drm_plane B" -> "drm_crtc"
35 "drm_crtc" -> "drm_encoder A"
36 "drm_crtc" -> "drm_encoder B"
39 subgraph cluster_user_created {
41 label="Userspace-Created"
44 "drm_framebuffer 1" -> "drm_plane A"
45 "drm_framebuffer 2" -> "drm_plane B"
48 subgraph cluster_connector {
52 "drm_encoder A" -> "drm_connector A"
53 "drm_encoder B" -> "drm_connector B"
57 The basic object structure KMS presents to userspace is fairly simple.
58 Framebuffers (represented by :c:type:`struct drm_framebuffer <drm_framebuffer>`,
59 see `Frame Buffer Abstraction`_) feed into planes. Planes are represented by
60 :c:type:`struct drm_plane <drm_plane>`, see `Plane Abstraction`_ for more
61 details. One or more (or even no) planes feed their pixel data into a CRTC
62 (represented by :c:type:`struct drm_crtc <drm_crtc>`, see `CRTC Abstraction`_)
63 for blending. The precise blending step is explained in more detail in `Plane
64 Composition Properties`_ and related chapters.
66 For the output routing the first step is encoders (represented by
67 :c:type:`struct drm_encoder <drm_encoder>`, see `Encoder Abstraction`_). Those
68 are really just internal artifacts of the helper libraries used to implement KMS
69 drivers. Besides that they make it unecessarily more complicated for userspace
70 to figure out which connections between a CRTC and a connector are possible, and
71 what kind of cloning is supported, they serve no purpose in the userspace API.
72 Unfortunately encoders have been exposed to userspace, hence can't remove them
73 at this point. Futhermore the exposed restrictions are often wrongly set by
74 drivers, and in many cases not powerful enough to express the real restrictions.
75 A CRTC can be connected to multiple encoders, and for an active CRTC there must
76 be at least one encoder.
78 The final, and real, endpoint in the display chain is the connector (represented
79 by :c:type:`struct drm_connector <drm_connector>`, see `Connector
80 Abstraction`_). Connectors can have different possible encoders, but the kernel
81 driver selects which encoder to use for each connector. The use case is DVI,
82 which could switch between an analog and a digital encoder. Encoders can also
83 drive multiple different connectors. There is exactly one active connector for
86 Internally the output pipeline is a bit more complex and matches today's
87 hardware more closely:
89 .. kernel-render:: DOT
90 :alt: KMS Output Pipeline
91 :caption: KMS Output Pipeline
93 digraph "Output Pipeline" {
97 "drm_crtc" [bgcolor=grey style=filled]
100 subgraph cluster_internal {
102 label="Internal Pipeline"
104 node [bgcolor=grey style=filled]
111 node [bgcolor=grey style=filled]
112 "drm_encoder B" -> "drm_bridge B"
113 "drm_encoder C" -> "drm_bridge C1"
114 "drm_bridge C1" -> "drm_bridge C2";
118 "drm_crtc" -> "drm_encoder A"
119 "drm_crtc" -> "drm_encoder B"
120 "drm_crtc" -> "drm_encoder C"
123 subgraph cluster_output {
127 "drm_encoder A" -> "drm_connector A";
128 "drm_bridge B" -> "drm_connector B";
129 "drm_bridge C2" -> "drm_connector C";
135 Internally two additional helper objects come into play. First, to be able to
136 share code for encoders (sometimes on the same SoC, sometimes off-chip) one or
137 more :ref:`drm_bridges` (represented by :c:type:`struct drm_bridge
138 <drm_bridge>`) can be linked to an encoder. This link is static and cannot be
139 changed, which means the cross-bar (if there is any) needs to be mapped between
140 the CRTC and any encoders. Often for drivers with bridges there's no code left
141 at the encoder level. Atomic drivers can leave out all the encoder callbacks to
142 essentially only leave a dummy routing object behind, which is needed for
143 backwards compatibility since encoders are exposed to userspace.
145 The second object is for panels, represented by :c:type:`struct drm_panel
146 <drm_panel>`, see :ref:`drm_panel_helper`. Panels do not have a fixed binding
147 point, but are generally linked to the driver private structure that embeds
148 :c:type:`struct drm_connector <drm_connector>`.
150 Note that currently the bridge chaining and interactions with connectors and
151 panels are still in-flux and not really fully sorted out yet.
153 KMS Core Structures and Functions
154 =================================
156 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_mode_config.h
159 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_mode_config.c
162 .. _kms_base_object_abstraction:
164 Modeset Base Object Abstraction
165 ===============================
167 .. kernel-render:: DOT
168 :alt: Mode Objects and Properties
169 :caption: Mode Objects and Properties
174 "drm_property A" -> "drm_mode_object A"
175 "drm_property A" -> "drm_mode_object B"
176 "drm_property B" -> "drm_mode_object A"
179 The base structure for all KMS objects is :c:type:`struct drm_mode_object
180 <drm_mode_object>`. One of the base services it provides is tracking properties,
181 which are especially important for the atomic IOCTL (see `Atomic Mode
182 Setting`_). The somewhat surprising part here is that properties are not
183 directly instantiated on each object, but free-standing mode objects themselves,
184 represented by :c:type:`struct drm_property <drm_property>`, which only specify
185 the type and value range of a property. Any given property can be attached
186 multiple times to different objects using drm_object_attach_property().
188 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_mode_object.h
191 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_mode_object.c
198 .. kernel-render:: DOT
199 :alt: Mode Objects and Properties
200 :caption: Mode Objects and Properties
205 subgraph cluster_state {
207 label="Free-standing state"
209 "drm_atomic_state" -> "duplicated drm_plane_state A"
210 "drm_atomic_state" -> "duplicated drm_plane_state B"
211 "drm_atomic_state" -> "duplicated drm_crtc_state"
212 "drm_atomic_state" -> "duplicated drm_connector_state"
213 "drm_atomic_state" -> "duplicated driver private state"
216 subgraph cluster_current {
218 label="Current state"
220 "drm_device" -> "drm_plane A"
221 "drm_device" -> "drm_plane B"
222 "drm_device" -> "drm_crtc"
223 "drm_device" -> "drm_connector"
224 "drm_device" -> "driver private object"
226 "drm_plane A" -> "drm_plane_state A"
227 "drm_plane B" -> "drm_plane_state B"
228 "drm_crtc" -> "drm_crtc_state"
229 "drm_connector" -> "drm_connector_state"
230 "driver private object" -> "driver private state"
233 "drm_atomic_state" -> "drm_device" [label="atomic_commit"]
234 "duplicated drm_plane_state A" -> "drm_device"[style=invis]
237 Atomic provides transactional modeset (including planes) updates, but a
238 bit differently from the usual transactional approach of try-commit and
241 - Firstly, no hardware changes are allowed when the commit would fail. This
242 allows us to implement the DRM_MODE_ATOMIC_TEST_ONLY mode, which allows
243 userspace to explore whether certain configurations would work or not.
245 - This would still allow setting and rollback of just the software state,
246 simplifying conversion of existing drivers. But auditing drivers for
247 correctness of the atomic_check code becomes really hard with that: Rolling
248 back changes in data structures all over the place is hard to get right.
250 - Lastly, for backwards compatibility and to support all use-cases, atomic
251 updates need to be incremental and be able to execute in parallel. Hardware
252 doesn't always allow it, but where possible plane updates on different CRTCs
253 should not interfere, and not get stalled due to output routing changing on
256 Taken all together there's two consequences for the atomic design:
258 - The overall state is split up into per-object state structures:
259 :c:type:`struct drm_plane_state <drm_plane_state>` for planes, :c:type:`struct
260 drm_crtc_state <drm_crtc_state>` for CRTCs and :c:type:`struct
261 drm_connector_state <drm_connector_state>` for connectors. These are the only
262 objects with userspace-visible and settable state. For internal state drivers
263 can subclass these structures through embeddeding, or add entirely new state
264 structures for their globally shared hardware functions, see :c:type:`struct
265 drm_private_state<drm_private_state>`.
267 - An atomic update is assembled and validated as an entirely free-standing pile
268 of structures within the :c:type:`drm_atomic_state <drm_atomic_state>`
269 container. Driver private state structures are also tracked in the same
270 structure; see the next chapter. Only when a state is committed is it applied
271 to the driver and modeset objects. This way rolling back an update boils down
272 to releasing memory and unreferencing objects like framebuffers.
274 Locking of atomic state structures is internally using :c:type:`struct
275 drm_modeset_lock <drm_modeset_lock>`. As a general rule the locking shouldn't be
276 exposed to drivers, instead the right locks should be automatically acquired by
277 any function that duplicates or peeks into a state, like e.g.
278 drm_atomic_get_crtc_state(). Locking only protects the software data
279 structure, ordering of committing state changes to hardware is sequenced using
280 :c:type:`struct drm_crtc_commit <drm_crtc_commit>`.
282 Read on in this chapter, and also in :ref:`drm_atomic_helper` for more detailed
283 coverage of specific topics.
285 Handling Driver Private State
286 -----------------------------
288 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic.c
289 :doc: handling driver private state
291 Atomic Mode Setting Function Reference
292 --------------------------------------
294 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_atomic.h
297 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic.c
300 Atomic Mode Setting IOCTL and UAPI Functions
301 --------------------------------------------
303 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic_uapi.c
306 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic_uapi.c
312 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c
315 CRTC Functions Reference
316 --------------------------------
318 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_crtc.h
321 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c
324 Color Management Functions Reference
325 ------------------------------------
327 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_color_mgmt.c
330 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_color_mgmt.h
333 Frame Buffer Abstraction
334 ========================
336 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_framebuffer.c
339 Frame Buffer Functions Reference
340 --------------------------------
342 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_framebuffer.h
345 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_framebuffer.c
351 .. kernel-doc:: include/uapi/drm/drm_fourcc.h
354 Format Functions Reference
355 --------------------------
357 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_fourcc.h
360 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_fourcc.c
366 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_dumb_buffers.c
372 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_plane.c
375 Plane Functions Reference
376 -------------------------
378 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_plane.h
381 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_plane.c
384 Plane Composition Functions Reference
385 -------------------------------------
387 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_blend.c
390 Plane Damage Tracking Functions Reference
391 -----------------------------------------
393 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_damage_helper.c
396 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_damage_helper.h
399 Display Modes Function Reference
400 ================================
402 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_modes.h
405 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_modes.c
408 Connector Abstraction
409 =====================
411 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_connector.c
414 Connector Functions Reference
415 -----------------------------
417 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_connector.h
420 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_connector.c
426 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_writeback.c
429 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_writeback.h
432 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_writeback.c
438 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_encoder.c
441 Encoder Functions Reference
442 ---------------------------
444 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_encoder.h
447 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_encoder.c
453 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_modeset_lock.c
456 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_modeset_lock.h
459 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_modeset_lock.c
465 This section of the documentation is primarily aimed at user-space developers.
466 For the driver APIs, see the other sections.
471 KMS drivers might need to add extra properties to support new features. Each
472 new property introduced in a driver needs to meet a few requirements, in
473 addition to the one mentioned above:
475 * It must be standardized, documenting:
477 * The full, exact, name string;
478 * If the property is an enum, all the valid value name strings;
479 * What values are accepted, and what these values mean;
480 * What the property does and how it can be used;
481 * How the property might interact with other, existing properties.
483 * It must provide a generic helper in the core code to register that
484 property on the object it attaches to.
486 * Its content must be decoded by the core and provided in the object's
487 associated state structure. That includes anything drivers might want
488 to precompute, like struct drm_clip_rect for planes.
490 * Its initial state must match the behavior prior to the property
491 introduction. This might be a fixed value matching what the hardware
492 does, or it may be inherited from the state the firmware left the
493 system in during boot.
495 * An IGT test must be submitted where reasonable.
497 Property Types and Blob Property Support
498 ----------------------------------------
500 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_property.c
503 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_property.h
506 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_property.c
509 .. _standard_connector_properties:
511 Standard Connector Properties
512 -----------------------------
514 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_connector.c
515 :doc: standard connector properties
517 HDMI Specific Connector Properties
518 ----------------------------------
520 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_connector.c
521 :doc: HDMI connector properties
523 Analog TV Specific Connector Properties
524 ---------------------------------------
526 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_connector.c
527 :doc: Analog TV Connector Properties
529 Standard CRTC Properties
530 ------------------------
532 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_crtc.c
533 :doc: standard CRTC properties
535 Standard Plane Properties
536 -------------------------
538 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_plane.c
539 :doc: standard plane properties
541 .. _plane_composition_properties:
543 Plane Composition Properties
544 ----------------------------
546 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_blend.c
549 Damage Tracking Properties
550 --------------------------
552 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_plane.c
553 :doc: damage tracking
555 Color Management Properties
556 ---------------------------
558 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_color_mgmt.c
564 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_connector.c
567 Explicit Fencing Properties
568 ---------------------------
570 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_atomic_uapi.c
571 :doc: explicit fencing properties
574 Variable Refresh Properties
575 ---------------------------
577 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_connector.c
578 :doc: Variable refresh properties
580 Existing KMS Properties
581 -----------------------
583 The following table gives description of drm properties exposed by various
584 modules/drivers. Because this table is very unwieldy, do not add any new
585 properties here. Instead document them in a section above.
589 :file: kms-properties.csv
594 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_vblank.c
595 :doc: vblank handling
597 Vertical Blanking and Interrupt Handling Functions Reference
598 ------------------------------------------------------------
600 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_vblank.h
603 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_vblank.c
609 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_vblank_work.c
612 Vertical Blank Work Functions Reference
613 ---------------------------------------
615 .. kernel-doc:: include/drm/drm_vblank_work.h
618 .. kernel-doc:: drivers/gpu/drm/drm_vblank_work.c