snd_ac97_con...ler_register(9)

💅 snd_ac97_controller_register (9) — from the Kernel API Manual, bestie 🎀

okay so like. you know how someone has to be the main character in the AC-link friend group? yeah. that's this function. it's the one that registers an ac97 controller. no cap. ✨

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🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

struct ac97_controller * snd_ac97_controller_register (const struct
ac97_controller_ops *ops , struct device *dev , unsigned short
slots_available );

like literally that's the whole signature, do not come for me about the line breaks, they came like that 💅

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• ops — the ac97 bus operations. that's it, that's the vibe. the ops. the operations. for the bus. 🫶
• dev — the device providing the ac97 DC function. it's giving "provider energy", it's the one holding it down 💖
• slots_available — a mask of the ac97 codecs that can be scanned and probed. the bits map out like this, and yes it's exactly as unhinged as it looks: bit0 => codec 0, bit1 => codec 1 ... bit 3 => codec 3. one bit per codec, iconic behaviour honestly 🌈

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⭐ DESCRIPTION ⭐

so what this does is Register a digital controller which can control up to 4 ac97 codecs. four!! that's the max, don't get greedy 🍓

think of it like a group chat: this is the controller side of the AC97 AC-link (the one running the chat, sending the announcements), while the slave side are the codecs (the members, reading the messages, doing the actual sound stuff). iykyk 🧚

and the return value? Returns a valid controller upon success, negative pointer value upon error. so like... if it's positive you slayed, if it's a negative pointer value you did NOT slay and you need to check yourself 😭 check IS_ERR()-style vibes before you use it, fr fr.

careful bestie: negative pointer value on error means you can't just do if (!ptr). that's a trap. check properly 🙈

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🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

• Kernel file ./sound/ac97/bus.c — go read the source, it's right there, it's free 👑
• snd_ac97_codec_driver_register(9)
• snd_ac97_codec_driver_unregister(9)
• snd_ac97_controller_unregister(9) — the breakup song to this function's love ballad 💔

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🎀 cute little sign-off 🎀

this page lives in ./sound/ac97, dated October 2026, and it's called snd_ac97_con...ler_register(9) (yes the title itself is abbreviated, we don't ask questions 💀). now go forth and register that controller, bestie. slay ✨💜🦋🌸