tty_prepare_flip_string(9)

💅 tty_prepare_flip_string(9) 💅

okay so this is a page from the Kernel API Manual — yes babes, the kernel has a manual and it's giving library-core energy 📚✨ stay with me, this one's actually cute and short.

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✨ NAME ✨

tty_prepare_flip_string — make room for characters 🎀

like literally, that's the whole job. it makes room. for characters. iconic behavior honestly.

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

size_t tty_prepare_flip_string (struct tty_port *port , u8 **chars ,
       size_t size );

that's the whole signature bestie, look at it, it's beautiful 😭

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🌸 ARGUMENTS 🌸

• port — the tty port 💖 your main character, the thing we're making room inside of.
• chars — a return pointer for the character write area 🫶 like, this is where the function hands you back the address of the space it just carved out for you. it's an out-param, it's a vibe.
• size — the desired size 🌈 how much room you're asking for, in the size_t way.

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🧚 DESCRIPTION 🧚

So basically: this prepares a block of space in the buffer for data. that's it. that's the function. it's a room-prep service 🏨✨

Lowkey the important part: this one is for drivers that need their own block copy routines into the buffer �� — like, you're not using the normal insert path, you've got your own copy game going, and you just need the buffer to hand you a chunk of space to write into. go off, do your own memcpy, i'm not judging 💅

⚠️ and here's the caution, no cap: there is no guarantee the buffer is a DMA target! so do NOT assume you can just yeet it at a DMA engine. the manpage said what it said. take it seriously bestie 🙈

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⭐ RETURN ⭐

It returns the length available 💫 and, through chars, the buffer pointer to the space which is now allocated and accounted for as ready for normal characters 👑

so: length available + a pointer to your freshly-allocated space. both. at once. multitasking queen. 🎀

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💜 SEE ALSO 💜

Live in the kernel file ./drivers/tty/tty_buffer.c — that's the home base for all of this, bestie 🏡

and the whole friend group, in order, don't skip any of them:

• tty_buffer_lock_exclusive(9)
• tty_buffer_unlock_exclusive(9)
• tty_buffer_space_avail(9)
• tty_buffer_free_all(9)
• tty_buffer_alloc(9)
• tty_buffer_free(9)
• tty_buffer_flush(9)
• __tty_buffer_request_room(9)
• tty_ldisc_receive_buf(9)
• flush_to_ldisc(9)
• tty_flip_buffer_push(9)
• tty_insert_flip_string_and_push_buffer(9)
• tty_buffer_init(9)
• tty_buffer_set_limit(9)

that's the whole group chat, all fifteen... wait, fourteen, but whatever, they all ate 🔥

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and that's the page!! 🦋 sourced from ./drivers/tty, dated October 2026, filed under tty_prepare_flip_string(9) — mwah, go make some room for characters bestie 💋💖✨