spu_unschedule(9)

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

okay so real talk, this one's a little function from the kernel's spu_unschedule corner of the world, and she's important. she removes a context from an SPU, and maybe (just maybe) frees that SPU up for somebody else. lowkey iconic behavior. ✨

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🌸 NAME 🌸

spu_unschedule — remove a context from a spu, and possibly release it. 💖

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

void spu_unschedule (struct spu *spu , struct spu_context *ctx , int
free_spu );

yeah the line wrapping is doing its little thing there — that trailing free_spu on the second line is still the third argument, don't panic. 🫶

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• spu — the SPU you're unscheduling from. like, the one you're breaking up with. 💔
• ctx — the context that's currently scheduled on the SPU. she's the one being unbound, no cap.
• free_spu — "-- undescribed --" 😭 fr fr, the original manpage literally gives us nothing here. all we know is the parameter name itself. so… whether to free the SPU for other contexts. yep. that's the info we've got. 💀

also heads up, the original page's formatting kinda fused ctx's description into free_spu's line ("The context currently scheduled on the SPU free_spu / Whether to free the SPU for other contexts") — I've untangled it above so it actually reads like a human wrote it, but the facts are all still here. 🙈

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🌈 DESCRIPTION 🌈

okay so what does she actually do? she unbinds the context ctx from the SPU spu. that's the whole main character move. 💅

now the free_spu bit — this is the part where you actually have to pay attention:

• if free_spu is non-zero, the SPU is made available for other contexts (ie, may be returned by spu_get_idle). she's back on the market, bestie. 🎉
• if free_spu is zero, the caller is expected to schedule another context to this spu. so you gotta line up the next one, don't just leave her hanging. 🔥

⚠️ real talk: this should be called with ctx->state_mutex held. that's not a suggestion, that's the vibe check you must pass before you call her. 👑

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⭐ SEE ALSO ⭐

• Kernel file ./arch/powerpc/platforms/cell/spufs/sched.c
• spu_bind_context(9)
• spu_unbind_context(9)
• find_victim(9)
• spu_activate(9)
• grab_runnable_context(9)
• spu_deactivate(9)
• spu_yield(9)
• count_active_contexts(9)
• spu_calc_load(9)

like, the whole friend group honestly. go read them too, iykyk. 🌸

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and that's the page!! mwah 💖 this one came from ./arch/powerpc/platforms/cell/... and the date on it is October 2026 — so jot that down, bestie, and go unschedule something responsibly. 🎀🫶✨