rtl83xx_lock(9)

💅 rtl83xx_lock(9) — from the Kernel API Manual, bestie

okay so picture this: you're deep in the Realtek DSA driver, everything's vibing, and then two regmap operations try to happen at the same time. chaos. not the aesthetic. so we have rtl83xx_lock — the little function that says "one at a time, babes" 🎀

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✨ NAME ✨

rtl83xx_lock — locks the mutex used by regmaps 🔒

like it literally just grabs the mutex and holds it, that's the whole job, and honestly? iconic of it.

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

void rtl83xx_lock (void *ctx );

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• ctx — a realtek_priv pointer 💖 (yes it's void * in the signature, no I don't make the rules, it just gets cast back to the real thing inside)

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👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

so here's the tea ☕️: this function gets handed over to regmap and lives there as the lock function. that's its main character gig.

it also gets called externally — from outside — to block regmap before you go execute a bunch of operations that absolutely must happen in sequence. no skipping the line, no interleaving, no "oops I ran in the middle of your sequence" energy. 🙈

and when you're doing that whole externally-locked sequence thing? those inner operations use realtek_priv.map_nolock instead. because like… you already have the lock, bestie, we're not about to deadlock ourselves trying to grab it twice 💀 iykyk.

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💅 CONTEXT 💅

• can sleep 😴 (so no, this is not the function to call from atomic context, love that for you)
• holds the priv->map_lock lock 🔐

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🌈 RETURN 🌈

nothing. void. it returns vibes and that's it. no status code, no error, no little treat for you at the end 🍓

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⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

all my friends, all my faves, the whole group chat 💜

• rtl83xx_unlock(9)
• rtl83xx_setup_user_mdio(9)
• rtl83xx_probe(9)
• rtl83xx_register_switch(9)
• rtl83xx_unregister_switch(9)
• rtl83xx_shutdown(9)
• rtl83xx_remove(9)
• rtl83xx_port_bridge_join(9)
• rtl83xx_port_bridge_leave(9)
• rtl83xx_port_fast_age(9)
• rtl83xx_port_fdb_add(9)
• rtl83xx_port_fdb_del(9)
• rtl83xx_port_fdb_dump(9)
• rtl83xx_port_mdb_add(9)
• rtl83xx_port_mdb_del(9)
• rtl83xx_port_bridge_flags(9)
• rtl83xx_setup_port_flood_control(9)

and the kernel file itself lives at ./drivers/net/dsa/realtek/rtl83xx.c — go read it, it's giving source of truth ✨

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real talk though: if you call this and then forget to call the unlock, you will simply sit there forever. no cap. that lock does not free itself. 🙏

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okay that's the page, mwah 💋 this lil number is from the <lavender>./drivers/net/dsa/realtek</lavender> corner of the kernel, dated <rainbow>October 2026</rainbow>, and yes — it's rtl83xx_lock(9)` walking out the door in full main character energy 👑✨