watchdog_ping(9)

🎀 NAME 🎀

okay so this is watchdog_ping(9) from the Kernel API Manual (section 9, bestie, we're in the deep kernel stuff now 💅) — and it does exactly what it says on the tin: ping the watchdog. that's it. that's the vibe. 🐶✨

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✨ SYNOPSIS ✨

int watchdog_ping (struct watchdog_device *wdd );

like, you hand it a watchdog device and it gives you back an int. simple. iconic. 🫶

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🦋 ARGUMENTS 🦋

• wdd — the watchdog device you wanna ping, babe. that's the whole assignment. 🎯

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💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

okay so picture this — some watchdogs don't have their own ping operation, right? and if they don't, then they need to be restarted via the start operation instead. this wrapper function does exactly that. no cap, that's its entire job. 🐕🔥

and listen — we only ping when the watchdog device is actually running. not when it's asleep, not when it's vibing, only when it's running. ✋

⚠️ oh and bestie, huge one: the caller must hold wd_data->lock. like, that's not optional, that's not a suggestion, that's the whole rules of the group chat. hold the lock or don't come to the party. 😭🔒

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🌈 RETURN 🌈

• 0 on success 🎉
• error otherwise 💀

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🧚 SEE ALSO 🧚

the kernel file ./drivers/watchdog/watchdog_dev.c — and honestly the whole friend group is here, say hi to:

watchdog_start(9), watchdog_stop(9), watchdog_get_status(9), watchdog_set_timeout(9), watchdog_set_pretimeout(9), watchdog_get_timeleft(9), watchdog_ioctl_op(9), watchdog_write(9), watchdog_ioctl(9), watchdog_open(9), watchdog_release(9), watchdog_cdev_register(9), watchdog_cdev_unregister(9), watchdog_dev_register(9), watchdog_dev_unregister(9), watchdog_set_last_hw_keepalive(9), watchdog_dev_init(9), watchdog_dev_exit(9)

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💌 and that's the whole page, bestie! straight from ./drivers/watchdog, dated October 2026 — go ping responsibly, hold that lock, and slay 💅👑🌸