Advice on writing kernel module for old pen device (ISA)

I have not really a programming question, I need an advice.
I have an old mobile computer for which no driver exists for the pen pointing device yet. Although it has USB so I can use a mice, it would be very nice if I could use the pen under linux. It came to my mind that this could be a good start to get into kernel programming since I have a problem to solve. It functions well under Windows NT and I know the address range it uses from driver.
So, I have no imagination how hard it can be to program a device driver without any documentation. I need basically an advice on what the possible caveats may be and if I should start the project at all.

stb wrote:So, I have no imagination how hard it can be to program a device driver without any documentation. I need basically an advice on what the possible caveats may be and if I should start the project at all.
well, there's documentation
Kernelnewbies.org is a good place to start. Heaps of documentation, and importantly, help for when you get stuck.
Firstly, if you want a good introduction the kernel, there's Robert Love's Linux Kernel Development.
I bought this one myself, it's a really good read, well written, and covers lots of interesting things.
http://www.amazon.com/Linux-Kernel-Deve … 0672327201
Then, there's Linux Device Drivers, 3rd Ed. Edition is important, Ed3 is 2.6.x, Ed2 is 2.4.x. Big difference.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Linux-Device-Dr … 874&sr=8-1
This is available for free in PDF:
http://lwn.net/Kernel/LDD3/
Hope that helps,
James

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Trouble building kernel module for sensor support

Hi, I'm new here but have been using Arch for a while. Recently, I decided to install Arch on an old laptop (Toshiba A70) and have managed to work out most of the kinks to where it runs nicely. Unfortunately, ACPI support is spotty and the /sys/class/thermal directory gives me only cooling_device0. I installed the lm-sensors package and ran sensors-detect, which yielded no results. Although the laptop runs smoothly otherwise, I would like to know the CPU's temp so that I would be able to set up a fan control scheme and CPU scaling (so far it's stuck at the lowest frequency, and that's kind of a big deal for me since the laptop runs on an archaic mobile P4 chip).
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make -C /lib/modules/3.16.1-1-ARCH/build SUBDIRS=/root/omnibook-2.20070211 modules
make[1]: Entering directory '/usr/lib/modules/3.16.1-1-ARCH/build'
CC [M] /root/omnibook-2.20070211/init.o
In file included from /root/omnibook-2.20070211/init.c:26:0:
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/laptop.h:25:3: warning: initialization from incompatible pointer type
.callback = dmi_matched,
^
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/laptop.h:25:3: warning: (near initialization for ‘omnibook_ids[0].callback’)
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/laptop.h:34:3: warning: initialization from incompatible pointer type
.callback = dmi_matched,
^
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/laptop.h:34:3: warning: (near initialization for ‘omnibook_ids[1].callback’)
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/laptop.h:43:3: warning: initialization from incompatible pointer type
.callback = dmi_matched,
^
// I left out most of the 'incompatible pointer type' warnings since they repeat for a while.
^
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/laptop.h:1001:3: warning: (near initialization for ‘omnibook_ids[108].callback’)
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/init.c: In function ‘dmi_matched’:
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/init.c:141:16: warning: assignment discards ‘const’ qualifier from pointer target type
laptop_model = dmi_get_system_info(DMI_PRODUCT_VERSION);
^
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/init.c: In function ‘omnibook_init’:
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/init.c:281:3: error: implicit declaration of function ‘create_proc_entry’ [-Werror=implicit-function-declaration]
proc_entry = create_proc_entry(feature->name, pmode, omnibook_proc_root);
^
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/init.c:281:14: warning: assignment makes pointer from integer without a cast
proc_entry = create_proc_entry(feature->name, pmode, omnibook_proc_root);
^
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/init.c:290:13: error: dereferencing pointer to incomplete type
proc_entry->data = feature;
^
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/init.c:291:13: error: dereferencing pointer to incomplete type
proc_entry->read_proc = &procfile_read_dispatch;
^
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/init.c:293:14: error: dereferencing pointer to incomplete type
proc_entry->write_proc = &procfile_write_dispatch;
^
/root/omnibook-2.20070211/init.c:294:13: error: dereferencing pointer to incomplete type
proc_entry->owner = THIS_MODULE;
^
cc1: some warnings being treated as errors
scripts/Makefile.build:257: recipe for target '/root/omnibook-2.20070211/init.o' failed
make[2]: *** [/root/omnibook-2.20070211/init.o] Error 1
Makefile:1333: recipe for target '_module_/root/omnibook-2.20070211' failed
make[1]: *** [_module_/root/omnibook-2.20070211] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory '/usr/lib/modules/3.16.1-1-ARCH/build'
Makefile:88: recipe for target 'omnibook.ko' failed
make: *** [omnibook.ko] Error 2
I have honestly no idea what to make of any of this and would really appreciate any help towards a solution. Thanks for reading

Welcome to Arch Linux
That looks like it is a 2.6 kernel module
http://sourceforge.net/p/omnibook/bugs/58/
Did you try either of these AUR offerings?
ewaller$@$odin ~ 1001 %packer -Ss omnibook
aur/omnibook-git 20110911-9 (7)
Kernel module for HP OmniBook,Pavilion,Toshiba and Compal ACL00 laptops
aur/omnibook-svn-zen 268-1 (1)
Kernel module for HP OmniBook, Pavilion, Toshiba and Compal ACL00 laptops
ewaller$@$odin ~ 1002 %
Last edited by ewaller (2014-08-23 23:33:53)

How to write a kernel module for Solaris

Hi
I would like to know where I can find information about writing a kernel module for Solaris. Is there a pdf developers reference?

http://docs.sun.com
Search "writing device drivers".Even if I don't intend writing a device driver?

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Here is an example:
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# chkconfig: 2345 25 19
# description: Set ASM Permissions on to devices at boot.
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start)
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/bin/chmod 0660 /dev/sdb1
stop)
#do nothing
status)
ls -l /dev/sdb1
echo "Usage: $0 {start|stop|status}"
exit 1
esac
exit o
You need to replace the /dev/sdb1 for your acctual partitions.
Please check the Docs to be sure that you meet all pre-reqs.
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/relnotes.112/e23558/toc.htm
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/install.112/e22489/toc.htm
http://docs.oracle.com/cd/E11882_01/install.112/e24321/toc.htm
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Please disregard.
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Loading modules for old kernel during boot up

Hello
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Usage: modprobe [-v] [-V] [-C config-file] [-d <dirname> ] [-n] [-i] [-q] [-b] [-o <modname>] [ --dump-modversions ] <modname> [parameters...]
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slytux wrote:
Samana, what does your error message say? Do you have anything in /lib/modules/2.6.39-ARCH/misc/ ?
You can also try rebuilding the initrd image as jni suggested.
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I have no "misc" folder in 2.6.39-ARCH
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I rebuilt the image and got a few errors in autodetect that might be a clue.
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==> Building image "default"
==> Running command: /sbin/mkinitcpio -k 2.6.39-ARCH -c /etc/mkinitcpio.conf -g /boot/kernel26.img
:: Begin build
:: Parsing hook [base]
:: Parsing hook [udev]
:: Parsing hook [autodetect]
WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/oldusbload, it will be ignored in a future release.
WARNING: All config files need .conf: /etc/modprobe.d/oldusbload, it will be ignored in a future release.
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:: Parsing hook [scsi]
:: Parsing hook [sata]
:: Parsing hook [filesystems]
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:: Begin build
:: Parsing hook [base]
:: Parsing hook [udev]
:: Parsing hook [pata]
:: Parsing hook [scsi]
:: Parsing hook [sata]
:: Parsing hook [filesystems]
:: Generating module dependencies
:: Generating image '/boot/kernel26-fallback.img'
:: Image generation successful
==> SUCCESS
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ot fix the error]
Last edited by Samana (2011-07-09 17:46:02)

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# object files to build
obj-m += nnic.o
nic-objs += nnic_driver.o
all:
make -C /lib/modules/$(shell uname -r)/build M=$(pwd) modules
clean:
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make[3]: *** [silentoldconfig] Error 1
/usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build/Makefile:512: recipe for target 'silentoldconfig' failed
make[2]: *** [silentoldconfig] Error 2
scripts/Makefile.build:44: /usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build/arch/x86/syscalls/Makefile: No such file or directory
make[2]: *** No rule to make target '/usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build/arch/x86/syscalls/Makefile'. Stop.
/usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build/arch/x86/Makefile:183: recipe for target 'archheaders' failed
make[1]: *** [archheaders] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory '/usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build'
Makefile:7: recipe for target 'all' failed
make: *** [all] Error 2
After poking around online, I decided to try running make as root. I got the following output:
make -C /lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build M= modules
make[1]: Entering directory '/usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build'
scripts/kconfig/conf --silentoldconfig Kconfig
scripts/Makefile.build:44: /usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build/arch/x86/syscalls/Makefile: No such file or directory
make[2]: *** No rule to make target '/usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build/arch/x86/syscalls/Makefile'. Stop.
/usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build/arch/x86/Makefile:183: recipe for target 'archheaders' failed
make[1]: *** [archheaders] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory '/usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build'
Makefile:7: recipe for target 'all' failed
make: *** [all] Error 2
Now, when runing 'make' as a normal user, I get:
make -C /lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build M= modules
make[1]: Entering directory '/usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build'
Makefile:608: Cannot use CONFIG_CC_STACKPROTECTOR_REGULAR: -fstack-protector not supported by compiler
scripts/Makefile.build:44: /usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build/arch/x86/syscalls/Makefile: No such file or directory
make[2]: *** No rule to make target '/usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build/arch/x86/syscalls/Makefile'. Stop.
/usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build/arch/x86/Makefile:183: recipe for target 'archheaders' failed
make[1]: *** [archheaders] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory '/usr/lib/modules/3.14.1-1-ARCH/build'
Makefile:7: recipe for target 'all' failed
make: *** [all] Error 2
I have the linux-headers package installed. I do not need to build the whole kernel, only this small module. What am I missing here? What is the correct procedure for this?
Last edited by alex.forencich (2014-04-25 08:16:31)

Sigh, found the problem. Should be $(PWD) and not $(pwd) in my makefile.

Unable to compile module for Intel VTUNE with 3.16.4-1 kernel

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/opt/intel/vtune_amplifier_xe_2013/sepdk/src/vtsspp/collector.c: In function ‘vtss_target_new’:
/opt/intel/vtune_amplifier_xe_2013/sepdk/src/vtsspp/collector.c:985:35: error: ‘VSYSCALL_START’ undeclared (first use in this function)
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Grepping the headers could not help at all.
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It looks like the macros:
VSYSCALL_START
VSYSCALL_SIZE
VSYSCALL_END
VSYSCALL_MAPPED_PAGES
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Advice on writing kernel module for old pen device (ISA)

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