drm_dev_enter(9)

💅 drm_dev_enter(9) — like, the Kernel API Manual page you actually needed 🎀

okay bestie, gather round, because this one is from the Kernel API Manual and it's genuinely so important — it's literally the bouncer at the club door of your driver. let's get into it ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

drm_dev_enter — enter the device critical section, no cap 🚪💖

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

bool drm_dev_enter (struct drm_device *dev , int *idx );

that's it. that's the whole vibe check. returns a bool, takes two args, slays. 💅

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✨ ARGUMENTS ✨

• dev — the DRM device 🖥️ — yes, the whole entire device, main character energy.
• idx — a pointer to the index that gets passed to the matching drm_dev_exit 🎟️ — think of it like the ticket stub you must hand back at the door. keep it safe, bestie. 🫶

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

okay so here's the tea ☕ — this function marks and protects the beginning of a section that should not be entered after the device has been unplugged. literally: if the device is gone, don't walk into that room, the lights are off and nobody's home 😭

the end of that section gets marked with drm_dev_exit — they're a matching set, like besties, like icons, like a two-piece set from your fave brand. you do not split them up. 🎀

and the best part? calls to this function can be nested. yes queen, recursion-adjacent energy, stack 'em up, they're fine with it. 🔥

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⭐ RETURN ⭐

• true — yasss, it is OK to enter the section, come on in 🌈
• false — nope, door's locked, do not pass go, do not collect $200 💀

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👑 SEE ALSO 👑

like, go read these too, they're all part of the same friend group 🫶:

• Kernel file ./drivers/gpu/drm/drm_drv.c
• driver instance overview(9)
• drm_put_dev(9)
• drm_dev_exit(9) — the other half of this duo, obviously 💜
• drm_dev_unplug(9)
• drm_dev_set_dma_dev(9)
• drm_dev_wedged_event(9)
• component helper usage recommendations(9)
• __drm_dev_alloc(9)
• drm_dev_alloc(9)
• drm_dev_get(9)
• drm_dev_put(9)
• drmm_cgroup_register_region(9)
• drm_dev_register(9)
• drm_dev_unregister(9)

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lowkey a reminder that drm_dev_enter and drm_dev_exit are a package deal — if you enter, you exit. no ghosting the exit call, it's rude and the kernel will notice 🙈

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and that's the whole page, bestie! this one came from ./drivers/gpu/drm, dated October 2026, and it's drm_dev_enter(9) — go forth and enter your critical sections responsibly 💅✨🍓