docs: Add documentation for TIOCSERGSTRUCT ioctl in serial driver

Add a new section documenting the TIOCSERGSTRUCT debug ioctl and CONFIG_SERIAL_TIOCSERGSTRUCT Kconfig option. The section covers enabling the feature, how the ioctl copies driver-internal state to user space, example usage with the 16550 UART driver, and a warning about the non-stable nature of exposed structures.

Signed-off-by: Arjav Patel <arjav1528@gmail.com>
This commit is contained in:
Arjav Patel
2026-03-10 23:20:57 +05:30
committed by Matteo Golin
parent 5c717342ea
commit cc464ea7f3
@@ -48,3 +48,112 @@ Serial Error Reporting
It is possible to check if there are some frame, parity, overrun, break, or
other error using the ioctl TIOCGICOUNT just like on Linux.
Serial Debug Structure (TIOCSERGSTRUCT)
---------------------------------------
.. note::
This is a **debug-only** ioctl. The internal structures it exposes are
driver-specific, may change without notice, and must not be relied upon
as a stable ABI.
The ``TIOCSERGSTRUCT`` ioctl allows a developer to retrieve a copy of the
serial driver's internal state structure for diagnostic and debugging purposes.
It is defined in ``include/nuttx/serial/tioctl.h``::
#define TIOCSERGSTRUCT _TIOC(0x0032) /* Get device TTY structure */
Enabling ``TIOCSERGSTRUCT``
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support is controlled by the Kconfig option ``CONFIG_SERIAL_TIOCSERGSTRUCT``.
To enable it:
1. ``CONFIG_DEBUG_FEATURES`` must be enabled (the option depends on it).
2. Either ``CONFIG_MCU_SERIAL`` or ``CONFIG_16550_UART`` must be active (i.e.,
the board must use an MCU serial driver or the generic 16550 UART driver).
3. The specific low-level serial driver for your hardware must implement the
``TIOCSERGSTRUCT`` case in its ``ioctl`` method. Most serial drivers in
the tree already do (63+ drivers across ARM, ARM64, RISC-V, Xtensa, and
MIPS architectures).
Via ``menuconfig``, navigate to:
.. code-block:: text
Device Drivers --->
Serial Driver Support --->
[*] Support TIOCSERGSTRUCT
If the option is not visible, ensure that ``CONFIG_DEBUG_FEATURES`` is enabled
first.
How It Works
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Because the exact layout depends on the serial driver selected for your board,
there is no single portable structure definition. The caller must consult the
driver source for the struct definition and size the buffer accordingly.
If ``arg`` is ``NULL``, the ioctl returns ``-EINVAL``.
Example Usage
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following example shows how an application might use ``TIOCSERGSTRUCT``
with the 16550 UART driver to inspect internal state. Adapt the structure type
and header to match the serial driver used on your board.
.. code-block:: c
#include <stdio.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <sys/ioctl.h>
#include <nuttx/serial/tioctl.h>
/* Include the driver-specific header for the struct definition.
* This example uses the 16550 UART; replace with the header that
* defines your board's serial driver state structure.
*/
#include <nuttx/serial/uart_16550.h>
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
struct u16550_s devstate;
int fd;
int ret;
fd = open("/dev/ttyS0", O_RDONLY);
if (fd < 0)
{
perror("open");
return 1;
}
ret = ioctl(fd, TIOCSERGSTRUCT, (unsigned long)&devstate);
if (ret < 0)
{
perror("ioctl TIOCSERGSTRUCT");
close(fd);
return 1;
}
/* Inspect driver-internal fields for debugging. Field names
* are specific to the driver; consult the driver source for
* the struct definition.
*/
printf("UART base address: 0x%08lx\n",
(unsigned long)devstate.uartbase);
close(fd);
return 0;
}
.. warning::
The structure layout and field names are internal to each driver
implementation and **may change between NuttX releases**. Use this ioctl
for interactive debugging and diagnostics only — never in production
application logic.