Julia Evansb0rk@jvns.ca
Jun 26, 2025, 7:08 PMi've always been curious about how to write a Linux USB device driver and this blog post looks like a great intro: https://crescentro.se/posts/writing-drivers/
Replies
Jun 26, 2025, 7:19 PM@b0rk I spent a lot of time breaking Linux USB device drivers
Maybe I should write one too :neobot_woozy:
Christoffer S.nopatience@swecyb.comJun 26, 2025, 7:38 PM
Jun 26, 2025, 8:07 PM@b0rk ooh, interesting! Last time I wrote a device driver for Linux was Lo Those Many Decades Ago so I'm sure everything has changed, and USB didn't even exist back then. I guess debugging is either gonna be a lot harder than sticking oscilloscope probes on the bus, like the last driver I wrote, or a lot easier :rofl:
Benjamin Geerbenjamingeer@piaille.frJun 26, 2025, 8:17 PM@b0rk I would be curious to know the answer to a question that’s been in the back of my mind for years: does device driver code have to be a horrible mess of endless switch-case statements and weird edge cases? A long time ago I had a look at some Linux device drivers and I felt really sorry for the people who wrote them. 😳
waldiwaldi@chaos.socialJun 26, 2025, 10:07 PM@b0rk Once in the past I wrote a fake USB host driver for April Fool's. Including pictures where to solder the wires. Yes, the hardware had support for USB, but the pins where all used for other stuff.
doragasudoragasu@mastodon.sdf.orgJun 27, 2025, 6:58 AM@b0rk It's an interesting article, but I would like to clarify it talks about *userspace* drivers, not about *kernel* drivers. I am highlighting this since when I think about *device drivers* I am thinking about kernel development by default, and that's not the case here.