Accessing Keys from Linux Input Device

Open the input device,

#include <stdlib.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <errno.h>
#include <linux/input.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdio.h>

static const char *const evval[3] = {
    "RELEASED",
    "PRESSED ",
    "REPEATED"
};

int main(void)
{
    const char *dev = "/dev/input/by-path/platform-i8042-serio-0-event-kbd";
    struct input_event ev;
    ssize_t n;
    int fd;

    fd = open(dev, O_RDONLY);
    if (fd == -1) {
        fprintf(stderr, "Cannot open %s: %s.\n", dev, strerror(errno));
        return EXIT_FAILURE;
    }

and then read keyboard events from the device:

    while (1) {
        n = read(fd, &ev, sizeof ev);
        if (n == (ssize_t)-1) {
            if (errno == EINTR)
                continue;
            else
                break;
        } else
        if (n != sizeof ev) {
            errno = EIO;
            break;
        }

The above snippet breaks out from the loop if any error occurs, or if the userspace receives only a partial event structure (which should not happen, but might in some future/buggy kernels). You might wish to use a more robust read loop; I personally would be satisfied by replacing the last break with continue, so that partial event structures are ignored.

You can then examine the ev event structure to see what occurred, and finish the program:

        if (ev.type == EV_KEY && ev.value >= 0 && ev.value <= 2)
            printf("%s 0x%04x (%d)\n", evval[ev.value], (int)ev.code, (int)ev.code);

    }
    fflush(stdout);
    fprintf(stderr, "%s.\n", strerror(errno));
    return EXIT_FAILURE;
}

For a keypress,

• ev.time: time of the event (struct timeval type)

• ev.type: EV_KEY

• ev.code: KEY_*, key identifier; see complete list in /usr/include/linux/input.h

• ev.value: 0 if key release, 1 if key press, 2 if autorepeat keypress

See Documentation/input/input.txt in the Linux kernel sources for further details.

The named constants in /usr/include/linux/input.h are quite stable, because it is a kernel-userspace interface, and the kernel developers try very hard to maintain compatibility. (That is, you can expect there to be new codes every now and then, but existing codes rarely change.)