Reference for constants and macros, data types and structures, and functions.
All application programs must include the header file comedilib.h. (This file itself includes comedi.h.) They contain the full interface of Comedi: defines, function prototypes, data structures.
The following Sections give more details.
CR_PACK is used to initialize the elements of the chanlist array in the comedi_cmd data structure, and the chanspec member of the comedi_insn structure.
#define CR_PACK(chan,rng,aref) ( (((aref)&0x3)<<24) | (((rng)&0xff)<<16) | (chan) )
The chan argument is the channel you wish to use, with the channel numbering starting at zero.
The range rng is an index, starting at zero, whose meaning is device dependent. The comedi_get_n_ranges() and comedi_get_range() functions are useful in discovering information about the available ranges.
The aref argument indicates what reference you want the device to use. It can be any of the following:
is for inputs/outputs referenced to ground.
is for a "common" reference (the low inputs of all the channels are tied together, but are isolated from ground).
is for differential inputs/outputs.
is for any reference that does not fit into the above categories.
Rangetype values are library-internal tokens that represent an array of range information structures. These numbers are primarily used for communication between the kernel and library.
The RANGE_LENGTH() macro returns the length of the array that is specified by the rangetype token.
The RANGE_LENGTH() macro is deprecated, and should not be used in new applications. It is scheduled to be removed from the header file at version 1.0. Binary compatibility may be broken for version 1.1.
This Section explains the data structures that users of the Comedi API are confronted with:
typedef struct subdevice_struct subdevice_struct: typedef struct comedi_devinfo_struct comedi_devinfo; typedef struct comedi_t_struct comedi_t; typedef struct sampl_t_struct sampl_t; typedef struct lsampl_t_struct lsampl_t; typedef struct comedi_sv_t_struct comedi_sv_t; typedef struct comedi_cmd_struct comedi_cmd; typedef struct comedi_insn_struct comedi_insn; typedef struct comedi_range_struct comedi_range; typedef struct comedi_krange_struct comedi_krange; typedef struct comedi_insnlist_struct comedi_insnlist;The data structures used in the implementation of the Comedi drivers are treated elsewhere.
The data type subdevice_struct is used to store information about a subdevice. This structure is usually filled in automatically when the driver is loaded ("attached"), so programmers need not access this data structure directly.
typedef struct subdevice_struct subdevice; struct subdevice_struct{ unsigned int type; unsigned int n_chan; unsigned int subd_flags; unsigned int timer_type; unsigned int len_chanlist; lsampl_t maxdata; unsigned int flags; unsigned int range_type; lsampl_t *maxdata_list; unsigned int *range_type_list; unsigned int *flags_list; comedi_range *rangeinfo; ccomedi_range **rangeinfo_list; unsigned int has_cmd; unsigned int has_insn_bits; int cmd_mask_errno; comedi_cmd *cmd_mask; int cmd_timed_errno; comedi_cmd *cmd_timed; };
The data type comedi_devinfo is used to store information about a device. This structure is usually filled in automatically when the driver is loaded ("attached"), so programmers need not access this data structure directly.
typedef struct comedi_devinfo_struct comedi_devinfo; struct comedi_devinfo_struct{ unsigned int version_code; // version number of the Comedi code unsigned int n_subdevs; // number of subdevices on this device char driver_name[COMEDI_NAMELEN]; char board_name[COMEDI_NAMELEN]; int read_subdevice; // number of read devices int write_subdevice; // number of write devices int unused[30]; };
The data type comedi_t is used to represent an open Comedi device:
typedef struct comedi_t_struct comedi_t; struct comedi_t_struct{ int magic; // driver-specific magic number, for identification int fd; // file descriptor, for open() and close() int n_subdevices; // number of subdevices on this device comedi_devinfo devinfo; subdevice *subdevices; // pointer to subdevice list // filled in automatically at load time unsigned int has_insnlist_ioctl; // can process instruction lists unsigned int has_insn_ioctl; // can process instructions };A valid comedi_t pointer is returned by a successful call to comedi_open(), and should be used for subsequent access to the device. It is a transparent type, and pointers to type comedi_t should not be dereferenced by the application.
typedef unsigned short sampl_t;
The data type sampl_t is one of the generic types used to represent data values in Comedilib. It is used in a few places where a data type shorter than lsampl_t is useful. On most architectures, sampl_t is defined to be uint16.
Most drivers represent data transferred by read()
and
write()
using
sampl_t.
Applications should check the subdevice flag
SDF_LSAMPL to determine if the subdevice uses
sampl_t or
lsampl_t.
typedef unsigned int lsampl_t;
The data type lsampl_t is the data type typically used to represent data values in libcomedi. On most architectures, lsampl_t is defined to be uint32.
typedef struct comedi_trig_struct comedi_trig; struct comedi_trig_struct{ unsigned int subdev; /* subdevice */ unsigned int mode; /* mode */ unsigned int flags; unsigned int n_chan; /* number of channels */ unsigned int *chanlist; /* channel/range list */ sampl_t *data; /* data list, size depends on subd flags */ unsigned int n; /* number of scans */ unsigned int trigsrc; unsigned int trigvar; unsigned int trigvar1; unsigned int data_len; unsigned int unused[3]; };
The comedi_trig structure is a control structure used by the COMEDI_TRIG ioctl, an older method of communicating instructions to the driver and hardware. Use of comedi_trig is deprecated, and should not be used in new applications.
typedef struct comedi_sv_struct comedi_sv_t; struct comedi_sv_struct{ comedi_t *dev; unsigned int subdevice; unsigned int chan; /* range policy */ int range; int aref; /* number of measurements to average (for ai) */ int n; lsampl_t maxdata; };
The comedi_sv_t structure is used by the comedi_sv_*() functions to provide a simple method of accurately measuring slowly varying inputs. See the relevant section for more details.
typedef struct comedi_cmd_struct comedi_cmd; struct comedi_cmd_struct{ unsigned int subdev; unsigned int flags; unsigned int start_src; unsigned int start_arg; unsigned int scan_begin_src; unsigned int scan_begin_arg; unsigned int convert_src; unsigned int convert_arg; unsigned int scan_end_src; unsigned int scan_end_arg; unsigned int stop_src; unsigned int stop_arg; unsigned int *chanlist; unsigned int chanlist_len; sampl_t *data; unsigned int data_len; };
More information on using commands can be found in the command section.
typedef struct comedi_insn_struct comedi_insn; struct comedi_insn_struct{ unsigned int insn; unsigned int n; lsampl_t*data; unsigned int subdev; unsigned int chanspec; unsigned int unused[3]; };
Comedi instructions are described by the comedi_insn structure. Applications send instructions to the driver in order to perform control and measurement operations that are done immediately or synchronously, i.e., the operations complete before program control returns to the application. In particular, instructions cannot describe acquisition that involves timers or external events.
The field insn determines the type of instruction that is sent to the driver. Valid instruction types are:
The number of samples to read or write, or the size of the configuration structure is specified by the field n, and the buffer for those samples by data. The field subdev is the subdevice index that the instruction is sent to. The field chanspec specifies the channel, range, and analog reference (if applicable).
Instructions can be sent to drivers using comedi_do_insn(). Multiple instructions can be sent to drivers in the same system call using comedi_do_insnlist().
typedef struct comedi_range_struct comedi_range; struct comedi_range_struct{ double min; double max; unsigned int unit; }comedi_range;
The comedi_range structure conveys part of the information necessary to translate sample values to physical units, in particular, the endpoints of the range and the physical unit type. The physical unit type is specified by the field unit, which may take the values UNIT_volt for volts, UNIT_mA for milliamps, or UNIT_none for unitless. The endpoints are specified by the fields min and max.
typedef struct comedi_krange_struct comedi_krange; struct comedi_krange_struct{ int min; int max; unsigned int flags; };
The comedi_krange structure is used to transfer range information between the driver and Comedilib, and should not normally be used by applications. The structure conveys the same information as the comedi_range structure, except the fields min and max are integers, multiplied by a factor of 1000000 compared to the counterparts in comedi_range.
In addition, kcomedilib uses the comedi_krange structure in place of the comedi_range structure.
typedef struct comedi_insnlist_struct comedi_insnlist; struct comedi_insnlist_struct{ unsigned int n_insns; comedi_insn *insns; };
An instruction list (insnlist) structure is used to communicate a list of instructions.