VALZ(4)

💅 VALZ(4) — like, the Toshiba Programmable I/O controller for Dynabook series, bestie

okay so this is a page from the Kernel Interfaces Manual (VALZ(4), section 4, the kernel interfaces girlies) and it's all about valz, a driver that talks to a very specific Toshiba thing. sit down, grab a strawberry drink 🍓, we're getting into it.

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✨ NAME ✨

valz — the Toshiba Programmable I/O controller for the Dynabook series. that's the whole vibe. no cap. 🎀

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

valz* at acpi?

that's it. that's the line. she's short, she's iconic, she attaches at acpi?. periodt. ✨

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🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

so Toshiba Dynabook series computers literally ship with HCI/SCI I/O controllers, and those controllers handle, like, various interface devices. main character energy for a chip ngl.

this particular special I/O controller is accessed through the "GHCI" ACPI method — yes, that's the exact name, quotes and all, don't come for me — and the valz driver provides some support for it. "some" is doing a lot of heavy lifting there but okay, we move. 💜

here's the part you actually came for — the valz driver handles these hot-keys:

• Fn+F9 — toggle the internal touchpad and trackpoint on and off. yes bestie, both. 🫶
• Fn+Tab — toggle the LCD backlight. glow up, literally. ✨

and a lil real-talk moment 🙈: the valz driver has only been tested on the Dynabook R63/PS and on some Dynabook models from 2013 or later. that's the tester pool. it's giving small sample size, but it's giving honest.

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

go read these next, fr fr:

• acpi(4)
• vald(4)

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⭐ HISTORY ⭐

the valz driver appeared in NetBSD 8.0. she debuted. she ate. 💅

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💀 BUGS 💀

not all HCI/SCI functions are implemented. that's it, that's the bug. some of the functions simply did not make the cut 😭 — no cap, they're just not there.

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lowkey important reminder: this page is from the Debian distribution, dated October 12, 2015 — so when you're citing it, that's the version and date to blame (lovingly). mwah, bye bestie 💖🧚🌈