app-pri.rst 1.3 KB

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  1. .. -*- coding: utf-8; mode: rst -*-
  2. .. _app-pri:
  3. ********************
  4. Application Priority
  5. ********************
  6. When multiple applications share a device it may be desirable to assign
  7. them different priorities. Contrary to the traditional "rm -rf /" school
  8. of thought a video recording application could for example block other
  9. applications from changing video controls or switching the current TV
  10. channel. Another objective is to permit low priority applications
  11. working in background, which can be preempted by user controlled
  12. applications and automatically regain control of the device at a later
  13. time.
  14. Since these features cannot be implemented entirely in user space V4L2
  15. defines the :ref:`VIDIOC_G_PRIORITY <VIDIOC_G_PRIORITY>` and
  16. :ref:`VIDIOC_S_PRIORITY <VIDIOC_G_PRIORITY>` ioctls to request and
  17. query the access priority associate with a file descriptor. Opening a
  18. device assigns a medium priority, compatible with earlier versions of
  19. V4L2 and drivers not supporting these ioctls. Applications requiring a
  20. different priority will usually call :ref:`VIDIOC_S_PRIORITY
  21. <VIDIOC_G_PRIORITY>` after verifying the device with the
  22. :ref:`VIDIOC_QUERYCAP` ioctl.
  23. Ioctls changing driver properties, such as
  24. :ref:`VIDIOC_S_INPUT <VIDIOC_G_INPUT>`, return an ``EBUSY`` error code
  25. after another application obtained higher priority.