1 .. -*- coding: utf-8; mode: rst -*-
5 *******************************************************************
6 ioctls VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL, VIDIOC_QUERY_EXT_CTRL and VIDIOC_QUERYMENU
7 *******************************************************************
12 VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL - VIDIOC_QUERY_EXT_CTRL - VIDIOC_QUERYMENU - Enumerate controls and menu control items
18 .. c:function:: int ioctl( int fd, int VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL, struct v4l2_queryctrl *argp )
19 :name: VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL
21 .. c:function:: int ioctl( int fd, VIDIOC_QUERY_EXT_CTRL, struct v4l2_query_ext_ctrl *argp )
22 :name: VIDIOC_QUERY_EXT_CTRL
24 .. c:function:: int ioctl( int fd, VIDIOC_QUERYMENU, struct v4l2_querymenu *argp )
25 :name: VIDIOC_QUERYMENU
32 File descriptor returned by :ref:`open() <func-open>`.
40 To query the attributes of a control applications set the ``id`` field
41 of a struct :ref:`v4l2_queryctrl <v4l2-queryctrl>` and call the
42 ``VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL`` ioctl with a pointer to this structure. The driver
43 fills the rest of the structure or returns an ``EINVAL`` error code when the
46 It is possible to enumerate controls by calling ``VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL``
47 with successive ``id`` values starting from ``V4L2_CID_BASE`` up to and
48 exclusive ``V4L2_CID_LASTP1``. Drivers may return ``EINVAL`` if a control in
49 this range is not supported. Further applications can enumerate private
50 controls, which are not defined in this specification, by starting at
51 ``V4L2_CID_PRIVATE_BASE`` and incrementing ``id`` until the driver
54 In both cases, when the driver sets the ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_DISABLED`` flag
55 in the ``flags`` field this control is permanently disabled and should
56 be ignored by the application. [#f1]_
58 When the application ORs ``id`` with ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL`` the
59 driver returns the next supported non-compound control, or ``EINVAL`` if
60 there is none. In addition, the ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_COMPOUND`` flag
61 can be specified to enumerate all compound controls (i.e. controls with
62 type ≥ ``V4L2_CTRL_COMPOUND_TYPES`` and/or array control, in other words
63 controls that contain more than one value). Specify both
64 ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL`` and ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_COMPOUND`` in
65 order to enumerate all controls, compound or not. Drivers which do not
66 support these flags yet always return ``EINVAL``.
68 The ``VIDIOC_QUERY_EXT_CTRL`` ioctl was introduced in order to better
69 support controls that can use compound types, and to expose additional
70 control information that cannot be returned in struct
71 :ref:`v4l2_queryctrl <v4l2-queryctrl>` since that structure is full.
73 ``VIDIOC_QUERY_EXT_CTRL`` is used in the same way as
74 ``VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL``, except that the ``reserved`` array must be zeroed
77 Additional information is required for menu controls: the names of the
78 menu items. To query them applications set the ``id`` and ``index``
79 fields of struct :ref:`v4l2_querymenu <v4l2-querymenu>` and call the
80 ``VIDIOC_QUERYMENU`` ioctl with a pointer to this structure. The driver
81 fills the rest of the structure or returns an ``EINVAL`` error code when the
82 ``id`` or ``index`` is invalid. Menu items are enumerated by calling
83 ``VIDIOC_QUERYMENU`` with successive ``index`` values from struct
84 :ref:`v4l2_queryctrl <v4l2-queryctrl>` ``minimum`` to ``maximum``,
89 It is possible for ``VIDIOC_QUERYMENU`` to return
90 an ``EINVAL`` error code for some indices between ``minimum`` and
91 ``maximum``. In that case that particular menu item is not supported by
92 this driver. Also note that the ``minimum`` value is not necessarily 0.
94 See also the examples in :ref:`control`.
97 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{1.2cm}|p{3.6cm}|p{12.7cm}|
101 .. cssclass:: longtable
103 .. flat-table:: struct v4l2_queryctrl
110 - Identifies the control, set by the application. See
111 :ref:`control-id` for predefined IDs. When the ID is ORed with
112 V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL the driver clears the flag and
113 returns the first control with a higher ID. Drivers which do not
114 support this flag yet always return an ``EINVAL`` error code.
117 - Type of control, see :c:type:`v4l2_ctrl_type`.
120 - Name of the control, a NUL-terminated ASCII string. This
121 information is intended for the user.
124 - Minimum value, inclusive. This field gives a lower bound for the
125 control. See enum :c:type:`v4l2_ctrl_type` how
126 the minimum value is to be used for each possible control type.
127 Note that this a signed 32-bit value.
130 - Maximum value, inclusive. This field gives an upper bound for the
131 control. See enum :c:type:`v4l2_ctrl_type` how
132 the maximum value is to be used for each possible control type.
133 Note that this a signed 32-bit value.
136 - This field gives a step size for the control. See enum
137 :c:type:`v4l2_ctrl_type` how the step value is
138 to be used for each possible control type. Note that this an
139 unsigned 32-bit value.
141 Generally drivers should not scale hardware control values. It may
142 be necessary for example when the ``name`` or ``id`` imply a
143 particular unit and the hardware actually accepts only multiples
144 of said unit. If so, drivers must take care values are properly
145 rounded when scaling, such that errors will not accumulate on
146 repeated read-write cycles.
148 This field gives the smallest change of an integer control
149 actually affecting hardware. Often the information is needed when
150 the user can change controls by keyboard or GUI buttons, rather
151 than a slider. When for example a hardware register accepts values
152 0-511 and the driver reports 0-65535, step should be 128.
154 Note that although signed, the step value is supposed to be always
158 - The default value of a ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER``, ``_BOOLEAN``,
159 ``_BITMASK``, ``_MENU`` or ``_INTEGER_MENU`` control. Not valid
160 for other types of controls.
164 Drivers reset controls to their default value only when
165 the driver is first loaded, never afterwards.
168 - Control flags, see :ref:`control-flags`.
171 - Reserved for future extensions. Drivers must set the array to
176 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{1.2cm}|p{5.0cm}|p{11.3cm}|
178 .. _v4l2-query-ext-ctrl:
180 .. cssclass:: longtable
182 .. flat-table:: struct v4l2_query_ext_ctrl
189 - Identifies the control, set by the application. See
190 :ref:`control-id` for predefined IDs. When the ID is ORed with
191 ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_CTRL`` the driver clears the flag and
192 returns the first non-compound control with a higher ID. When the
193 ID is ORed with ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_NEXT_COMPOUND`` the driver clears
194 the flag and returns the first compound control with a higher ID.
195 Set both to get the first control (compound or not) with a higher
199 - Type of control, see :c:type:`v4l2_ctrl_type`.
202 - Name of the control, a NUL-terminated ASCII string. This
203 information is intended for the user.
206 - Minimum value, inclusive. This field gives a lower bound for the
207 control. See enum :c:type:`v4l2_ctrl_type` how
208 the minimum value is to be used for each possible control type.
209 Note that this a signed 64-bit value.
212 - Maximum value, inclusive. This field gives an upper bound for the
213 control. See enum :c:type:`v4l2_ctrl_type` how
214 the maximum value is to be used for each possible control type.
215 Note that this a signed 64-bit value.
218 - This field gives a step size for the control. See enum
219 :c:type:`v4l2_ctrl_type` how the step value is
220 to be used for each possible control type. Note that this an
221 unsigned 64-bit value.
223 Generally drivers should not scale hardware control values. It may
224 be necessary for example when the ``name`` or ``id`` imply a
225 particular unit and the hardware actually accepts only multiples
226 of said unit. If so, drivers must take care values are properly
227 rounded when scaling, such that errors will not accumulate on
228 repeated read-write cycles.
230 This field gives the smallest change of an integer control
231 actually affecting hardware. Often the information is needed when
232 the user can change controls by keyboard or GUI buttons, rather
233 than a slider. When for example a hardware register accepts values
234 0-511 and the driver reports 0-65535, step should be 128.
237 - The default value of a ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER``, ``_INTEGER64``,
238 ``_BOOLEAN``, ``_BITMASK``, ``_MENU``, ``_INTEGER_MENU``, ``_U8``
239 or ``_U16`` control. Not valid for other types of controls.
243 Drivers reset controls to their default value only when
244 the driver is first loaded, never afterwards.
247 - Control flags, see :ref:`control-flags`.
250 - The size in bytes of a single element of the array. Given a char
251 pointer ``p`` to a 3-dimensional array you can find the position
252 of cell ``(z, y, x)`` as follows:
253 ``p + ((z * dims[1] + y) * dims[0] + x) * elem_size``.
254 ``elem_size`` is always valid, also when the control isn't an
255 array. For string controls ``elem_size`` is equal to
259 - The number of elements in the N-dimensional array. If this control
260 is not an array, then ``elems`` is 1. The ``elems`` field can
264 - The number of dimension in the N-dimensional array. If this
265 control is not an array, then this field is 0.
267 - ``dims[V4L2_CTRL_MAX_DIMS]``
268 - The size of each dimension. The first ``nr_of_dims`` elements of
269 this array must be non-zero, all remaining elements must be zero.
272 - Reserved for future extensions. Applications and drivers must set
277 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{1.2cm}|p{0.6cm}|p{1.6cm}|p{13.5cm}|
281 .. flat-table:: struct v4l2_querymenu
289 - Identifies the control, set by the application from the respective
290 struct :ref:`v4l2_queryctrl <v4l2-queryctrl>` ``id``.
294 - Index of the menu item, starting at zero, set by the application.
302 - Name of the menu item, a NUL-terminated ASCII string. This
303 information is intended for the user. This field is valid for
304 ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_MENU`` type controls.
308 - Value of the integer menu item. This field is valid for
309 ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_INTEGER_MENU`` type controls.
313 - Reserved for future extensions. Drivers must set the array to
318 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{5.8cm}|p{1.4cm}|p{1.0cm}|p{1.4cm}|p{6.9cm}|
320 .. c:type:: v4l2_ctrl_type
322 .. cssclass:: longtable
324 .. flat-table:: enum v4l2_ctrl_type
334 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER``
338 - An integer-valued control ranging from minimum to maximum
339 inclusive. The step value indicates the increment between values.
340 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_BOOLEAN``
344 - A boolean-valued control. Zero corresponds to "disabled", and one
346 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_MENU``
350 - The control has a menu of N choices. The names of the menu items
351 can be enumerated with the ``VIDIOC_QUERYMENU`` ioctl.
352 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER_MENU``
356 - The control has a menu of N choices. The values of the menu items
357 can be enumerated with the ``VIDIOC_QUERYMENU`` ioctl. This is
358 similar to ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_MENU`` except that instead of strings,
359 the menu items are signed 64-bit integers.
360 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_BITMASK``
364 - A bitmask field. The maximum value is the set of bits that can be
365 used, all other bits are to be 0. The maximum value is interpreted
366 as a __u32, allowing the use of bit 31 in the bitmask.
367 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_BUTTON``
371 - A control which performs an action when set. Drivers must ignore
372 the value passed with ``VIDIOC_S_CTRL`` and return an ``EINVAL`` error
373 code on a ``VIDIOC_G_CTRL`` attempt.
374 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_INTEGER64``
378 - A 64-bit integer valued control. Minimum, maximum and step size
379 cannot be queried using ``VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL``. Only
380 ``VIDIOC_QUERY_EXT_CTRL`` can retrieve the 64-bit min/max/step
381 values, they should be interpreted as n/a when using
382 ``VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL``.
383 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_STRING``
387 - The minimum and maximum string lengths. The step size means that
388 the string must be (minimum + N * step) characters long for N ≥ 0.
389 These lengths do not include the terminating zero, so in order to
390 pass a string of length 8 to
391 :ref:`VIDIOC_S_EXT_CTRLS <VIDIOC_G_EXT_CTRLS>` you need to
392 set the ``size`` field of struct
393 :c:type:`v4l2_ext_control` to 9. For
394 :ref:`VIDIOC_G_EXT_CTRLS <VIDIOC_G_EXT_CTRLS>` you can set
395 the ``size`` field to ``maximum`` + 1. Which character encoding is
396 used will depend on the string control itself and should be part
397 of the control documentation.
398 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_CTRL_CLASS``
402 - This is not a control. When ``VIDIOC_QUERYCTRL`` is called with a
403 control ID equal to a control class code (see :ref:`ctrl-class`)
404 + 1, the ioctl returns the name of the control class and this
405 control type. Older drivers which do not support this feature
406 return an ``EINVAL`` error code.
407 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_U8``
411 - An unsigned 8-bit valued control ranging from minimum to maximum
412 inclusive. The step value indicates the increment between values.
413 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_U16``
417 - An unsigned 16-bit valued control ranging from minimum to maximum
418 inclusive. The step value indicates the increment between values.
419 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_U32``
423 - An unsigned 32-bit valued control ranging from minimum to maximum
424 inclusive. The step value indicates the increment between values.
428 .. tabularcolumns:: |p{6.6cm}|p{2.2cm}|p{8.7cm}|
432 .. cssclass:: longtable
434 .. flat-table:: Control Flags
439 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_DISABLED``
441 - This control is permanently disabled and should be ignored by the
442 application. Any attempt to change the control will result in an
443 ``EINVAL`` error code.
444 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_GRABBED``
446 - This control is temporarily unchangeable, for example because
447 another application took over control of the respective resource.
448 Such controls may be displayed specially in a user interface.
449 Attempts to change the control may result in an ``EBUSY`` error code.
450 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_READ_ONLY``
452 - This control is permanently readable only. Any attempt to change
453 the control will result in an ``EINVAL`` error code.
454 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_UPDATE``
456 - A hint that changing this control may affect the value of other
457 controls within the same control class. Applications should update
458 their user interface accordingly.
459 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_INACTIVE``
461 - This control is not applicable to the current configuration and
462 should be displayed accordingly in a user interface. For example
463 the flag may be set on a MPEG audio level 2 bitrate control when
464 MPEG audio encoding level 1 was selected with another control.
465 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_SLIDER``
467 - A hint that this control is best represented as a slider-like
468 element in a user interface.
469 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_WRITE_ONLY``
471 - This control is permanently writable only. Any attempt to read the
472 control will result in an ``EACCES`` error code error code. This flag
473 is typically present for relative controls or action controls
474 where writing a value will cause the device to carry out a given
475 action (e. g. motor control) but no meaningful value can be
477 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_VOLATILE``
479 - This control is volatile, which means that the value of the
480 control changes continuously. A typical example would be the
481 current gain value if the device is in auto-gain mode. In such a
482 case the hardware calculates the gain value based on the lighting
483 conditions which can change over time.
487 Setting a new value for a volatile control will be ignored
489 :ref:`V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_EXECUTE_ON_WRITE <FLAG_EXECUTE_ON_WRITE>`
491 Setting a new value for a volatile control will *never* trigger a
492 :ref:`V4L2_EVENT_CTRL_CH_VALUE <ctrl-changes-flags>` event.
493 * - ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_HAS_PAYLOAD``
495 - This control has a pointer type, so its value has to be accessed
496 using one of the pointer fields of struct
497 :c:type:`v4l2_ext_control`. This flag is set
498 for controls that are an array, string, or have a compound type.
499 In all cases you have to set a pointer to memory containing the
500 payload of the control.
501 * .. _FLAG_EXECUTE_ON_WRITE:
503 - ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_EXECUTE_ON_WRITE``
505 - The value provided to the control will be propagated to the driver
506 even if it remains constant. This is required when the control
507 represents an action on the hardware. For example: clearing an
508 error flag or triggering the flash. All the controls of the type
509 ``V4L2_CTRL_TYPE_BUTTON`` have this flag set.
515 On success 0 is returned, on error -1 and the ``errno`` variable is set
516 appropriately. The generic error codes are described at the
517 :ref:`Generic Error Codes <gen-errors>` chapter.
520 The struct :ref:`v4l2_queryctrl <v4l2-queryctrl>` ``id`` is
521 invalid. The struct :ref:`v4l2_querymenu <v4l2-querymenu>` ``id``
522 is invalid or ``index`` is out of range (less than ``minimum`` or
523 greater than ``maximum``) or this particular menu item is not
524 supported by the driver.
527 An attempt was made to read a write-only control.
530 ``V4L2_CTRL_FLAG_DISABLED`` was intended for two purposes: Drivers
531 can skip predefined controls not supported by the hardware (although
532 returning ``EINVAL`` would do as well), or disable predefined and private
533 controls after hardware detection without the trouble of reordering
534 control arrays and indices (``EINVAL`` cannot be used to skip private
535 controls because it would prematurely end the enumeration).