TechnologyAugust 30, 2026

ioctl

EYE-oh-kot-uhl

Definition

A system call in Unix-like operating systems used to manipulate the underlying device parameters of special files or hardware devices.

Etymology

The term is an abbreviation for 'input/output control.' It originated in the early Unix operating system era to provide a mechanism for managing device-specific settings that did not fit standard read or write operations.

In the news

The article mentions that the AMD PMF platform driver now uses an ioctl interface to expose hardware device metrics to the operating system.

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Phoronix

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