intel_upload_blit_large

intel_upload_blit_large is not a user-executable command. It is an internal function or tracepoint within the Linux kernel's i915 (Intel Graphics) driver. Therefore, it does not have a standard command-line synopsis with options and arguments.

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    As intel_upload_blit_large is not a user-executable command, it does not accept command-line parameters or options.

The term intel_upload_blit_large refers to an internal function or a tracepoint within the Linux kernel's i915 driver, which is the official open-source graphics driver for Intel GPUs. It is not a user-executable command-line utility. Instead, it represents an operation performed by the GPU driver, specifically related to 'blit' (block transfer) operations, which involve moving blocks of pixel data from one memory location to another, often within the GPU's memory or between system memory and GPU memory. The '_large' suffix likely indicates this specific blit operation is optimized for or invoked for larger data transfers, crucial for rendering, video playback, and other graphics-intensive tasks. As a tracepoint, it allows kernel developers and advanced users to monitor the driver's internal activities, performance, and diagnose issues using tools like perf or ftrace.

This is not a standalone command that users can run from the terminal. Attempting to execute it directly will result in a 'command not found' error. Its existence is primarily within the kernel's source code and as potential tracepoints for debugging and performance analysis. Interaction with this internal operation is typically indirect, through applications that use the Intel graphics driver, or directly via kernel tracing tools for diagnostic purposes. It is part of the low-level graphics stack and not intended for general user interaction.

Kernel tracepoints are static instrumentation points within the Linux kernel code that allow developers to gain insight into the kernel's behavior without modifying the kernel itself. Tools like perf and ftrace can be used to enable and read data from these tracepoints, providing detailed logs of events like function calls, scheduling decisions, I/O operations, and, in this case, specific graphics driver operations like large blits. These are invaluable for debugging complex issues and optimizing kernel performance.

Blitting is a fundamental operation in computer graphics, short for 'block image transfer'. It involves rapidly copying a rectangular block of pixel data from one memory location to another. This is a common operation in 2D and 3D graphics for various tasks such as drawing sprites, updating textures, compositing layers, or copying framebuffer contents. Graphics drivers often have highly optimized blit routines, sometimes implemented directly on the GPU hardware, to achieve high performance.

The underlying blitting operations and their optimizations have been an integral part of graphics driver development for decades. Specific functions like intel_upload_blit_large are created and refined as part of the ongoing development of the Intel i915 kernel module, adapting to new Intel GPU architectures and performance requirements. Its exposure as a potential tracepoint reflects the continuous effort to improve driver debuggability and performance profiling capabilities within the Linux kernel.

perf(1), ftrace (kernel tracing), i915 (kernel module), intel_gpu_tools (utility suite)