xref: /linux/Documentation/core-api/printk-formats.rst (revision ebf68996de0ab250c5d520eb2291ab65643e9a1e)
1=========================================
2How to get printk format specifiers right
3=========================================
4
5:Author: Randy Dunlap <rdunlap@infradead.org>
6:Author: Andrew Murray <amurray@mpc-data.co.uk>
7
8
9Integer types
10=============
11
12::
13
14	If variable is of Type,		use printk format specifier:
15	------------------------------------------------------------
16		char			%hhd or %hhx
17		unsigned char		%hhu or %hhx
18		short int		%hd or %hx
19		unsigned short int	%hu or %hx
20		int			%d or %x
21		unsigned int		%u or %x
22		long			%ld or %lx
23		unsigned long		%lu or %lx
24		long long		%lld or %llx
25		unsigned long long	%llu or %llx
26		size_t			%zu or %zx
27		ssize_t			%zd or %zx
28		s8			%hhd or %hhx
29		u8			%hhu or %hhx
30		s16			%hd or %hx
31		u16			%hu or %hx
32		s32			%d or %x
33		u32			%u or %x
34		s64			%lld or %llx
35		u64			%llu or %llx
36
37
38If <type> is dependent on a config option for its size (e.g., sector_t,
39blkcnt_t) or is architecture-dependent for its size (e.g., tcflag_t), use a
40format specifier of its largest possible type and explicitly cast to it.
41
42Example::
43
44	printk("test: sector number/total blocks: %llu/%llu\n",
45		(unsigned long long)sector, (unsigned long long)blockcount);
46
47Reminder: sizeof() returns type size_t.
48
49The kernel's printf does not support %n. Floating point formats (%e, %f,
50%g, %a) are also not recognized, for obvious reasons. Use of any
51unsupported specifier or length qualifier results in a WARN and early
52return from vsnprintf().
53
54Pointer types
55=============
56
57A raw pointer value may be printed with %p which will hash the address
58before printing. The kernel also supports extended specifiers for printing
59pointers of different types.
60
61Some of the extended specifiers print the data on the given address instead
62of printing the address itself. In this case, the following error messages
63might be printed instead of the unreachable information::
64
65	(null)	 data on plain NULL address
66	(efault) data on invalid address
67	(einval) invalid data on a valid address
68
69Plain Pointers
70--------------
71
72::
73
74	%p	abcdef12 or 00000000abcdef12
75
76Pointers printed without a specifier extension (i.e unadorned %p) are
77hashed to prevent leaking information about the kernel memory layout. This
78has the added benefit of providing a unique identifier. On 64-bit machines
79the first 32 bits are zeroed. The kernel will print ``(ptrval)`` until it
80gathers enough entropy. If you *really* want the address see %px below.
81
82Symbols/Function Pointers
83-------------------------
84
85::
86
87	%pS	versatile_init+0x0/0x110
88	%ps	versatile_init
89	%pF	versatile_init+0x0/0x110
90	%pf	versatile_init
91	%pSR	versatile_init+0x9/0x110
92		(with __builtin_extract_return_addr() translation)
93	%pB	prev_fn_of_versatile_init+0x88/0x88
94
95
96The ``S`` and ``s`` specifiers are used for printing a pointer in symbolic
97format. They result in the symbol name with (S) or without (s)
98offsets. If KALLSYMS are disabled then the symbol address is printed instead.
99
100Note, that the ``F`` and ``f`` specifiers are identical to ``S`` (``s``)
101and thus deprecated. We have ``F`` and ``f`` because on ia64, ppc64 and
102parisc64 function pointers are indirect and, in fact, are function
103descriptors, which require additional dereferencing before we can lookup
104the symbol. As of now, ``S`` and ``s`` perform dereferencing on those
105platforms (when needed), so ``F`` and ``f`` exist for compatibility
106reasons only.
107
108The ``B`` specifier results in the symbol name with offsets and should be
109used when printing stack backtraces. The specifier takes into
110consideration the effect of compiler optimisations which may occur
111when tail-calls are used and marked with the noreturn GCC attribute.
112
113Kernel Pointers
114---------------
115
116::
117
118	%pK	01234567 or 0123456789abcdef
119
120For printing kernel pointers which should be hidden from unprivileged
121users. The behaviour of %pK depends on the kptr_restrict sysctl - see
122Documentation/sysctl/kernel.txt for more details.
123
124Unmodified Addresses
125--------------------
126
127::
128
129	%px	01234567 or 0123456789abcdef
130
131For printing pointers when you *really* want to print the address. Please
132consider whether or not you are leaking sensitive information about the
133kernel memory layout before printing pointers with %px. %px is functionally
134equivalent to %lx (or %lu). %px is preferred because it is more uniquely
135grep'able. If in the future we need to modify the way the kernel handles
136printing pointers we will be better equipped to find the call sites.
137
138Struct Resources
139----------------
140
141::
142
143	%pr	[mem 0x60000000-0x6fffffff flags 0x2200] or
144		[mem 0x0000000060000000-0x000000006fffffff flags 0x2200]
145	%pR	[mem 0x60000000-0x6fffffff pref] or
146		[mem 0x0000000060000000-0x000000006fffffff pref]
147
148For printing struct resources. The ``R`` and ``r`` specifiers result in a
149printed resource with (R) or without (r) a decoded flags member.
150
151Passed by reference.
152
153Physical address types phys_addr_t
154----------------------------------
155
156::
157
158	%pa[p]	0x01234567 or 0x0123456789abcdef
159
160For printing a phys_addr_t type (and its derivatives, such as
161resource_size_t) which can vary based on build options, regardless of the
162width of the CPU data path.
163
164Passed by reference.
165
166DMA address types dma_addr_t
167----------------------------
168
169::
170
171	%pad	0x01234567 or 0x0123456789abcdef
172
173For printing a dma_addr_t type which can vary based on build options,
174regardless of the width of the CPU data path.
175
176Passed by reference.
177
178Raw buffer as an escaped string
179-------------------------------
180
181::
182
183	%*pE[achnops]
184
185For printing raw buffer as an escaped string. For the following buffer::
186
187		1b 62 20 5c 43 07 22 90 0d 5d
188
189A few examples show how the conversion would be done (excluding surrounding
190quotes)::
191
192		%*pE		"\eb \C\a"\220\r]"
193		%*pEhp		"\x1bb \C\x07"\x90\x0d]"
194		%*pEa		"\e\142\040\\\103\a\042\220\r\135"
195
196The conversion rules are applied according to an optional combination
197of flags (see :c:func:`string_escape_mem` kernel documentation for the
198details):
199
200	- a - ESCAPE_ANY
201	- c - ESCAPE_SPECIAL
202	- h - ESCAPE_HEX
203	- n - ESCAPE_NULL
204	- o - ESCAPE_OCTAL
205	- p - ESCAPE_NP
206	- s - ESCAPE_SPACE
207
208By default ESCAPE_ANY_NP is used.
209
210ESCAPE_ANY_NP is the sane choice for many cases, in particularly for
211printing SSIDs.
212
213If field width is omitted then 1 byte only will be escaped.
214
215Raw buffer as a hex string
216--------------------------
217
218::
219
220	%*ph	00 01 02  ...  3f
221	%*phC	00:01:02: ... :3f
222	%*phD	00-01-02- ... -3f
223	%*phN	000102 ... 3f
224
225For printing small buffers (up to 64 bytes long) as a hex string with a
226certain separator. For larger buffers consider using
227:c:func:`print_hex_dump`.
228
229MAC/FDDI addresses
230------------------
231
232::
233
234	%pM	00:01:02:03:04:05
235	%pMR	05:04:03:02:01:00
236	%pMF	00-01-02-03-04-05
237	%pm	000102030405
238	%pmR	050403020100
239
240For printing 6-byte MAC/FDDI addresses in hex notation. The ``M`` and ``m``
241specifiers result in a printed address with (M) or without (m) byte
242separators. The default byte separator is the colon (:).
243
244Where FDDI addresses are concerned the ``F`` specifier can be used after
245the ``M`` specifier to use dash (-) separators instead of the default
246separator.
247
248For Bluetooth addresses the ``R`` specifier shall be used after the ``M``
249specifier to use reversed byte order suitable for visual interpretation
250of Bluetooth addresses which are in the little endian order.
251
252Passed by reference.
253
254IPv4 addresses
255--------------
256
257::
258
259	%pI4	1.2.3.4
260	%pi4	001.002.003.004
261	%p[Ii]4[hnbl]
262
263For printing IPv4 dot-separated decimal addresses. The ``I4`` and ``i4``
264specifiers result in a printed address with (i4) or without (I4) leading
265zeros.
266
267The additional ``h``, ``n``, ``b``, and ``l`` specifiers are used to specify
268host, network, big or little endian order addresses respectively. Where
269no specifier is provided the default network/big endian order is used.
270
271Passed by reference.
272
273IPv6 addresses
274--------------
275
276::
277
278	%pI6	0001:0002:0003:0004:0005:0006:0007:0008
279	%pi6	00010002000300040005000600070008
280	%pI6c	1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8
281
282For printing IPv6 network-order 16-bit hex addresses. The ``I6`` and ``i6``
283specifiers result in a printed address with (I6) or without (i6)
284colon-separators. Leading zeros are always used.
285
286The additional ``c`` specifier can be used with the ``I`` specifier to
287print a compressed IPv6 address as described by
288http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5952
289
290Passed by reference.
291
292IPv4/IPv6 addresses (generic, with port, flowinfo, scope)
293---------------------------------------------------------
294
295::
296
297	%pIS	1.2.3.4		or 0001:0002:0003:0004:0005:0006:0007:0008
298	%piS	001.002.003.004	or 00010002000300040005000600070008
299	%pISc	1.2.3.4		or 1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8
300	%pISpc	1.2.3.4:12345	or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]:12345
301	%p[Ii]S[pfschnbl]
302
303For printing an IP address without the need to distinguish whether it's of
304type AF_INET or AF_INET6. A pointer to a valid struct sockaddr,
305specified through ``IS`` or ``iS``, can be passed to this format specifier.
306
307The additional ``p``, ``f``, and ``s`` specifiers are used to specify port
308(IPv4, IPv6), flowinfo (IPv6) and scope (IPv6). Ports have a ``:`` prefix,
309flowinfo a ``/`` and scope a ``%``, each followed by the actual value.
310
311In case of an IPv6 address the compressed IPv6 address as described by
312http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc5952 is being used if the additional
313specifier ``c`` is given. The IPv6 address is surrounded by ``[``, ``]`` in
314case of additional specifiers ``p``, ``f`` or ``s`` as suggested by
315https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-ietf-6man-text-addr-representation-07
316
317In case of IPv4 addresses, the additional ``h``, ``n``, ``b``, and ``l``
318specifiers can be used as well and are ignored in case of an IPv6
319address.
320
321Passed by reference.
322
323Further examples::
324
325	%pISfc		1.2.3.4		or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]/123456789
326	%pISsc		1.2.3.4		or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]%1234567890
327	%pISpfc		1.2.3.4:12345	or [1:2:3:4:5:6:7:8]:12345/123456789
328
329UUID/GUID addresses
330-------------------
331
332::
333
334	%pUb	00010203-0405-0607-0809-0a0b0c0d0e0f
335	%pUB	00010203-0405-0607-0809-0A0B0C0D0E0F
336	%pUl	03020100-0504-0706-0809-0a0b0c0e0e0f
337	%pUL	03020100-0504-0706-0809-0A0B0C0E0E0F
338
339For printing 16-byte UUID/GUIDs addresses. The additional ``l``, ``L``,
340``b`` and ``B`` specifiers are used to specify a little endian order in
341lower (l) or upper case (L) hex notation - and big endian order in lower (b)
342or upper case (B) hex notation.
343
344Where no additional specifiers are used the default big endian
345order with lower case hex notation will be printed.
346
347Passed by reference.
348
349dentry names
350------------
351
352::
353
354	%pd{,2,3,4}
355	%pD{,2,3,4}
356
357For printing dentry name; if we race with :c:func:`d_move`, the name might
358be a mix of old and new ones, but it won't oops.  %pd dentry is a safer
359equivalent of %s dentry->d_name.name we used to use, %pd<n> prints ``n``
360last components.  %pD does the same thing for struct file.
361
362Passed by reference.
363
364block_device names
365------------------
366
367::
368
369	%pg	sda, sda1 or loop0p1
370
371For printing name of block_device pointers.
372
373struct va_format
374----------------
375
376::
377
378	%pV
379
380For printing struct va_format structures. These contain a format string
381and va_list as follows::
382
383	struct va_format {
384		const char *fmt;
385		va_list *va;
386	};
387
388Implements a "recursive vsnprintf".
389
390Do not use this feature without some mechanism to verify the
391correctness of the format string and va_list arguments.
392
393Passed by reference.
394
395Device tree nodes
396-----------------
397
398::
399
400	%pOF[fnpPcCF]
401
402
403For printing device tree node structures. Default behaviour is
404equivalent to %pOFf.
405
406	- f - device node full_name
407	- n - device node name
408	- p - device node phandle
409	- P - device node path spec (name + @unit)
410	- F - device node flags
411	- c - major compatible string
412	- C - full compatible string
413
414The separator when using multiple arguments is ':'
415
416Examples::
417
418	%pOF	/foo/bar@0			- Node full name
419	%pOFf	/foo/bar@0			- Same as above
420	%pOFfp	/foo/bar@0:10			- Node full name + phandle
421	%pOFfcF	/foo/bar@0:foo,device:--P-	- Node full name +
422	                                          major compatible string +
423						  node flags
424							D - dynamic
425							d - detached
426							P - Populated
427							B - Populated bus
428
429Passed by reference.
430
431Time and date (struct rtc_time)
432-------------------------------
433
434::
435
436	%ptR		YYYY-mm-ddTHH:MM:SS
437	%ptRd		YYYY-mm-dd
438	%ptRt		HH:MM:SS
439	%ptR[dt][r]
440
441For printing date and time as represented by struct rtc_time structure in
442human readable format.
443
444By default year will be incremented by 1900 and month by 1. Use %ptRr (raw)
445to suppress this behaviour.
446
447Passed by reference.
448
449struct clk
450----------
451
452::
453
454	%pC	pll1
455	%pCn	pll1
456
457For printing struct clk structures. %pC and %pCn print the name of the clock
458(Common Clock Framework) or a unique 32-bit ID (legacy clock framework).
459
460Passed by reference.
461
462bitmap and its derivatives such as cpumask and nodemask
463-------------------------------------------------------
464
465::
466
467	%*pb	0779
468	%*pbl	0,3-6,8-10
469
470For printing bitmap and its derivatives such as cpumask and nodemask,
471%*pb outputs the bitmap with field width as the number of bits and %*pbl
472output the bitmap as range list with field width as the number of bits.
473
474Passed by reference.
475
476Flags bitfields such as page flags, gfp_flags
477---------------------------------------------
478
479::
480
481	%pGp	referenced|uptodate|lru|active|private
482	%pGg	GFP_USER|GFP_DMA32|GFP_NOWARN
483	%pGv	read|exec|mayread|maywrite|mayexec|denywrite
484
485For printing flags bitfields as a collection of symbolic constants that
486would construct the value. The type of flags is given by the third
487character. Currently supported are [p]age flags, [v]ma_flags (both
488expect ``unsigned long *``) and [g]fp_flags (expects ``gfp_t *``). The flag
489names and print order depends on the particular	type.
490
491Note that this format should not be used directly in the
492:c:func:`TP_printk()` part of a tracepoint. Instead, use the show_*_flags()
493functions from <trace/events/mmflags.h>.
494
495Passed by reference.
496
497Network device features
498-----------------------
499
500::
501
502	%pNF	0x000000000000c000
503
504For printing netdev_features_t.
505
506Passed by reference.
507
508Thanks
509======
510
511If you add other %p extensions, please extend <lib/test_printf.c> with
512one or more test cases, if at all feasible.
513
514Thank you for your cooperation and attention.
515