ata_sff_tf_read(9)

💅 ata_sff_tf_read — the kernel API manual, bestie edition ✨

okay so this is a page from the Kernel API Manual (yes, that Kernel API Manual 🎀) and we're talking about ata_sff_tf_read(9).

---

✨ NAME ✨

ata_sff_tf_read — literally the function that reads out your device's ATA taskfile shadow registers 🦋

---

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

void ata_sff_tf_read (struct ata_port *ap , struct ata_taskfile *tf );

---

💖 ARGUMENTS 💖

• ap — the port you're reading input from, she's the source of truth 🫶
• tf — the ATA taskfile register set where the input gets stored, she's the destination bestie 💅

---

🔥 DESCRIPTION 🔥

So what this icon does: it reads the ATA taskfile registers for the currently-selected device into tf. Periodt.

It assumes the device has a fully SFF compliant task file layout and behaviour. Like, it's trusting the device to be normal about this 🙈. If your device does not — for example it has a different status method — then you will need to provide a replacement tf_read. No cap, you're on your own for that one.

LOCKING: inherited from caller 👑. Meaning: whoever called you already handled it, not your problem, slay.

---

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

Kernel file ./drivers/ata/libata-sff.c and honestly the whole friend group:

• ata_sff_check_status(9)
• ata_sff_altstatus(9)
• ata_sff_irq_status(9)
• ata_sff_sync(9)
• ata_sff_pause(9)
• ata_sff_dma_pause(9)
• ata_sff_wait_ready(9)
• ata_sff_set_devctl(9)
• ata_sff_dev_select(9)
• ata_dev_select(9)
• ata_sff_irq_on(9)
• ata_sff_tf_load(9)
• ata_sff_exec_command(9)
• ata_tf_to_host(9)
• ata_sff_data_xfer(9)
• ata_sff_data_xfer32(9)
• ata_pio_sector(9)
• ata_pio_sectors(9)
• atapi_send_cdb(9)
• __atapi_pio_bytes(9)
• atapi_pio_bytes(9)
• ata_hsm_ok_in_wq(9)
• ata_hsm_qc_complete(9)
• ata_sff_hsm_move(9)
• ata_sff_qc_issue(9)
• ata_sff_qc_fill_rtf(9)
• ata_sff_port_intr(9)
• ata_sff_interrupt(9)
• ata_sff_lost_interrupt(9)
• ata_sff_freeze(9)
• ata_sff_thaw(9)
• ata_sff_prereset(9)
• ata_devchk(9)
• ata_sff_dev_classify(9)
• ata_sff_wait_after_reset(9)
• ata_sff_softreset(9)
• sata_sff_hardreset(9)
• ata_sff_postreset(9)
• ata_sff_drain_fifo(9)
• ata_sff_error_handler(9)
• ata_sff_std_ports(9)
• ata_pci_sff_init_host(9)
• ata_pci_sff_prepare_host(9)
• ata_pci_sff_activate_host(9)
• ata_pci_sff_init_one(9)
• ata_bmdma_fill_sg(9)
• ata_bmdma_fill_sg_dumb(9)
• ata_bmdma_qc_prep(9)
• ata_bmdma_dumb_qc_prep(9)
• ata_bmdma_qc_issue(9)
• ata_bmdma_port_intr(9)
• ata_bmdma_interrupt(9)
• ata_bmdma_error_handler(9)
• ata_bmdma_post_internal_cmd(9)
• ata_bmdma_irq_clear(9)
• ata_bmdma_setup(9)
• ata_bmdma_start(9)
• ata_bmdma_stop(9)
• ata_bmdma_status(9)
• ata_bmdma_port_start(9)
• ata_bmdma_port_start32(9)
• ata_pci_bmdma_clear_simplex(9)
• ata_pci_bmdma_init(9)
• ata_pci_bmdma_prepare_host(9)
• ata_pci_bmdma_init_one(9)
• ata_sff_port_init(9)

---

okay that's the whole page bestie, go read some taskfile registers, ily 💜

sign-off era 🎀: this page lives in ./drivers/ata, dated October 2026, and it's ata_sff_tf_read(9) all day every day. bye bestie 🦋✨