vmw_kms_sou_readback(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💖 vmw_kms_sou_readback(9) 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the Kernel API Manual — this is the page for vmw_kms_sou_readback(9), and honestly? it's giving "one job, does it well." it does a readback from the screen object system to a buffer-object backed framebuffer. that's the whole vibe. 🎀

✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int vmw_kms_sou_readback (struct vmw_private *dev_priv , struct drm_file
*file_priv , struct vmw_framebuffer *vfb , struct drm_vmw_fence_rep
__user *user_fence_rep , struct drm_vmw_rect *vclips , uint32_t
num_clips , struct drm_crtc *crtc );

like, yes, it's a lot of arguments. she's a main character with a lot of luggage. 🧳💅

🌸 ARGUMENTS 🌸

  • dev_priv — the pointer to the device private structure. your whole device's personal diary entry, basically. 📓
  • file_priv — pointer to a struct drm_file that identifies the caller. ⚠️ heads up: it must be set to NULL if user_fence_rep is NULL. no cap, that's a real rule.
  • vfb — pointer to the buffer-object backed framebuffer. the star of the show tbh. ⭐
  • user_fence_rep — the user-space provided structure for fence information. ⚠️ and: it must be set to non-NULL if file_priv is non-NULL. they're a matched set, bestie, they go together like iced coffee and finals week. 🥤
  • vclips — array of clip rects. 🔪 (not that kind of clip)
  • num_clips — the number of clip rects in vclips. so like, how many entries are actually real in that array.
  • crtc — if crtc is passed, readback happens on that crtc only. one crtc. no sharing. 💅

🦋 DESCRIPTION 🦋

okay so here's the tea: it returns 0 on success, and a negative error code on failure. and if it gets interrupted? -ERESTARTSYS. 😭 periodt.

🔥 SEE ALSO 🔥

the kernel file is ./drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx/vmwgfx_scrn.c, and it also wants you to go look at:

that's the whole friend group. go say hi. 👋🫶

✨ and that's the page!! ✨ it lives in ./drivers/gpu/drm/vmwgfx, and this lil edition is dated October 2026 — so screenshot it, cite it, whatever you gotta do. mwah, good luck out there bestie 💋🎀💖

📦 where this page comes from