Mastering Linux Device Driver Development

Master the art of developing customized device drivers for your embedded Linux systems

Key Features

• Stay up to date with the Linux PCI, ASoC, and V4L2 subsystems and write device drivers for them
• Get to grips with the Linux kernel power management infrastructure
• Adopt a practical approach to customizing your Linux environment using best practices

Book Description

Linux is one of the fastest-growing operating systems around the world, and in the last few years, the Linux kernel has evolved significantly to support a wide variety of embedded devices with its improved subsystems and a range of new features. With this book, you’ll find out how you can enhance your skills to write custom device drivers for your Linux operating system.

Mastering Linux Device Driver Development provides complete coverage of kernel topics, including video and audio frameworks, that usually go unaddressed. You’ll work with some of the most complex and impactful Linux kernel frameworks, such as PCI, ALSA for SoC, and Video4Linux2, and discover expert tips and best practices along the way. In addition to this, you’ll understand how to make the most of frameworks such as NVMEM and Watchdog. Once you’ve got to grips with Linux kernel helpers, you’ll advance to working with special device types such as Multi-Function Devices (MFD) followed by video and audio device drivers.

By the end of this book, you’ll be able to write feature-rich device drivers and integrate them with some of the most complex Linux kernel frameworks, including V4L2 and ALSA for SoC.

What you will learn

• Explore and adopt Linux kernel helpers for locking, work deferral, and interrupt management
• Understand the Regmap subsystem to manage memory accesses and work with the IRQ subsystem
• Get to grips with the PCI subsystem and write reliable drivers for PCI devices
• Write full multimedia device drivers using ALSA SoC and the V4L2 framework
• Build power-aware device drivers using the kernel power management framework
• Find out how to get the most out of miscellaneous kernel subsystems such as NVMEM and Watchdog

Who this book is for

This book is for embedded developers, Linux system engineers, and system programmers who want to explore Linux kernel frameworks and subsystems. C programming skills and a basic understanding of driver development are necessary to get started with this book.