1 This is an explanation of what i2c is, and what is supported.
2
3 I2C and SMBus
4 =============
5
6 I2C (pronounce: I square C) is a protocol developed by Philips. It is a
7 slow two-wire protocol (10-100 kHz), but it suffices for many types of
8 devices.
9
10 SMBus (System Management Bus) is a subset of the I2C protocol. Many
11 modern mainboards have a System Management Bus. There are a lot of
12 devices which can be connected to a SMBus; the most notable are modern
13 memory chips with EEPROM memories and chips for hardware monitoring.
14
15 Because the SMBus is just a special case of the generalized I2C bus, we
16 can simulate the SMBus protocol on plain I2C busses. The reverse is
17 regretfully impossible.
18
19
20 Terminology
21 ===========
22
23 When we talk about I2C, we use the following terms:
24 Bus -> Algorithm
25 Adapter
26 Device -> Driver
27 Client
28 An Algorithm driver contains general code that can be used for a whole class
29 of I2C adapters. Each specific adapter driver depends on one algorithm
30 driver.
31 A Driver driver (yes, this sounds ridiculous, sorry) contains the general
32 code to access some type of device. Each detected device gets its own
33 data in the Client structure. Usually, Driver and Client are more closely
34 integrated than Algorithm and Adapter.
35
36 For a given configuration, you will need a driver for your I2C bus (usually
37 a separate Adapter and Algorithm driver), and drivers for your I2C devices
38 (usually one driver for each device).
39
40
41 Included Drivers
42 ================
43
44 Base modules
45 ------------
46
47 i2c-core: The basic I2C code, including the /proc interface
48 i2c-dev: The /dev interface
49
50 Algorithm drivers
51 -----------------
52
53 i2c-algo-bit: A bit-banging algorithm
54 i2c-algo-pcf: A PCF 8584 style algorithm
55
56 Adapter drivers
57 ---------------
58
59 i2c-elektor: Elektor ISA card (uses i2c-algo-pcf)
60 i2c-elv: ELV parallel port adapter (uses i2c-algo-bit)
61 i2c-philips-par: Philips style parallel port adapter (uses i2c-algo-bit)
62 i2c-velleman: Velleman K9000 parallel port adapter (uses i2c-algo-bit)
63
This page was automatically generated by the
LXR engine.
Visit the LXR main site for more
information.