Flattened Devicetree Format: Nim parsing library

Also referred to as Devicetree Blob (DTB). It is a flat binary encoding of data (primarily devicetree data, although other data is possible as well). The data is internally stored as a tree of named nodes and properties. Nodes contain properties and child nodes, while properties are name-value pairs.

The Devicetree Blobs (.dtb files) are compiled from the Devicetree Source files (.dts) through the Devicetree compiler (DTC).

On Linux systems that support this, the blobs can be accessed in /sys/firmware/fdt:

The encoding of strings used in the strings_block and structure_block is actually a subset of ASCII:

https://devicetree-specification.readthedocs.io/en/v0.3/devicetree-basics.html#node-names

Example files:

Application

["Linux", "Das U-Boot"]

File extension

dtb

KS implementation details

License: CC0-1.0
Minimal Kaitai Struct required: 0.9

References

This page hosts a formal specification of Flattened Devicetree Format using Kaitai Struct. This specification can be automatically translated into a variety of programming languages to get a parsing library.

Nim source code to parse Flattened Devicetree Format

dtb.nim

import kaitai_struct_nim_runtime
import options

type
  Dtb* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
    `magic`*: seq[byte]
    `totalSize`*: uint32
    `ofsStructureBlock`*: uint32
    `ofsStringsBlock`*: uint32
    `ofsMemoryReservationBlock`*: uint32
    `version`*: uint32
    `minCompatibleVersion`*: uint32
    `bootCpuidPhys`*: uint32
    `lenStringsBlock`*: uint32
    `lenStructureBlock`*: uint32
    `parent`*: KaitaiStruct
    `rawMemoryReservationBlockInst`*: seq[byte]
    `rawStructureBlockInst`*: seq[byte]
    `rawStringsBlockInst`*: seq[byte]
    `memoryReservationBlockInst`: Dtb_MemoryBlock
    `memoryReservationBlockInstFlag`: bool
    `structureBlockInst`: Dtb_FdtBlock
    `structureBlockInstFlag`: bool
    `stringsBlockInst`: Dtb_Strings
    `stringsBlockInstFlag`: bool
  Dtb_Fdt* = enum
    begin_node = 1
    end_node = 2
    prop = 3
    nop = 4
    end = 9
  Dtb_MemoryBlock* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
    `entries`*: seq[Dtb_MemoryBlockEntry]
    `parent`*: Dtb
  Dtb_FdtBlock* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
    `nodes`*: seq[Dtb_FdtNode]
    `parent`*: Dtb
  Dtb_MemoryBlockEntry* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
    `address`*: uint64
    `size`*: uint64
    `parent`*: Dtb_MemoryBlock
  Dtb_Strings* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
    `strings`*: seq[string]
    `parent`*: Dtb
  Dtb_FdtProp* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
    `lenProperty`*: uint32
    `ofsName`*: uint32
    `property`*: seq[byte]
    `padding`*: seq[byte]
    `parent`*: Dtb_FdtNode
    `nameInst`: string
    `nameInstFlag`: bool
  Dtb_FdtNode* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
    `type`*: Dtb_Fdt
    `body`*: KaitaiStruct
    `parent`*: Dtb_FdtBlock
  Dtb_FdtBeginNode* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
    `name`*: string
    `padding`*: seq[byte]
    `parent`*: Dtb_FdtNode

proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): Dtb
proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb_MemoryBlock], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: Dtb): Dtb_MemoryBlock
proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb_FdtBlock], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: Dtb): Dtb_FdtBlock
proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb_MemoryBlockEntry], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: Dtb_MemoryBlock): Dtb_MemoryBlockEntry
proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb_Strings], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: Dtb): Dtb_Strings
proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb_FdtProp], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: Dtb_FdtNode): Dtb_FdtProp
proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb_FdtNode], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: Dtb_FdtBlock): Dtb_FdtNode
proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb_FdtBeginNode], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: Dtb_FdtNode): Dtb_FdtBeginNode

proc memoryReservationBlock*(this: Dtb): Dtb_MemoryBlock
proc structureBlock*(this: Dtb): Dtb_FdtBlock
proc stringsBlock*(this: Dtb): Dtb_Strings
proc name*(this: Dtb_FdtProp): string


##[
Also referred to as Devicetree Blob (DTB). It is a flat binary encoding
of data (primarily devicetree data, although other data is possible as well).
The data is internally stored as a tree of named nodes and properties. Nodes
contain properties and child nodes, while properties are name-value pairs.

The Devicetree Blobs (`.dtb` files) are compiled from the Devicetree Source
files (`.dts`) through the Devicetree compiler (DTC).

On Linux systems that support this, the blobs can be accessed in
`/sys/firmware/fdt`:

* <https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/ABI/testing/sysfs-firmware-ofw>

The encoding of strings used in the `strings_block` and `structure_block` is
actually a subset of ASCII:

<https://devicetree-specification.readthedocs.io/en/v0.3/devicetree-basics.html#node-names>

Example files:

* <https://github.com/qemu/qemu/tree/master/pc-bios>

@see <a href="https://devicetree-specification.readthedocs.io/en/v0.3/flattened-format.html">Source</a>
@see <a href="https://elinux.org/images/f/f4/Elc2013_Fernandes.pdf">Source</a>
]##
proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): Dtb =
  template this: untyped = result
  this = new(Dtb)
  let root = if root == nil: cast[Dtb](this) else: cast[Dtb](root)
  this.io = io
  this.root = root
  this.parent = parent

  let magicExpr = this.io.readBytes(int(4))
  this.magic = magicExpr
  let totalSizeExpr = this.io.readU4be()
  this.totalSize = totalSizeExpr
  let ofsStructureBlockExpr = this.io.readU4be()
  this.ofsStructureBlock = ofsStructureBlockExpr
  let ofsStringsBlockExpr = this.io.readU4be()
  this.ofsStringsBlock = ofsStringsBlockExpr
  let ofsMemoryReservationBlockExpr = this.io.readU4be()
  this.ofsMemoryReservationBlock = ofsMemoryReservationBlockExpr
  let versionExpr = this.io.readU4be()
  this.version = versionExpr
  let minCompatibleVersionExpr = this.io.readU4be()
  this.minCompatibleVersion = minCompatibleVersionExpr
  let bootCpuidPhysExpr = this.io.readU4be()
  this.bootCpuidPhys = bootCpuidPhysExpr
  let lenStringsBlockExpr = this.io.readU4be()
  this.lenStringsBlock = lenStringsBlockExpr
  let lenStructureBlockExpr = this.io.readU4be()
  this.lenStructureBlock = lenStructureBlockExpr

proc memoryReservationBlock(this: Dtb): Dtb_MemoryBlock = 
  if this.memoryReservationBlockInstFlag:
    return this.memoryReservationBlockInst
  let pos = this.io.pos()
  this.io.seek(int(this.ofsMemoryReservationBlock))
  let rawMemoryReservationBlockInstExpr = this.io.readBytes(int((this.ofsStructureBlock - this.ofsMemoryReservationBlock)))
  this.rawMemoryReservationBlockInst = rawMemoryReservationBlockInstExpr
  let rawMemoryReservationBlockInstIo = newKaitaiStream(rawMemoryReservationBlockInstExpr)
  let memoryReservationBlockInstExpr = Dtb_MemoryBlock.read(rawMemoryReservationBlockInstIo, this.root, this)
  this.memoryReservationBlockInst = memoryReservationBlockInstExpr
  this.io.seek(pos)
  this.memoryReservationBlockInstFlag = true
  return this.memoryReservationBlockInst

proc structureBlock(this: Dtb): Dtb_FdtBlock = 
  if this.structureBlockInstFlag:
    return this.structureBlockInst
  let pos = this.io.pos()
  this.io.seek(int(this.ofsStructureBlock))
  let rawStructureBlockInstExpr = this.io.readBytes(int(this.lenStructureBlock))
  this.rawStructureBlockInst = rawStructureBlockInstExpr
  let rawStructureBlockInstIo = newKaitaiStream(rawStructureBlockInstExpr)
  let structureBlockInstExpr = Dtb_FdtBlock.read(rawStructureBlockInstIo, this.root, this)
  this.structureBlockInst = structureBlockInstExpr
  this.io.seek(pos)
  this.structureBlockInstFlag = true
  return this.structureBlockInst

proc stringsBlock(this: Dtb): Dtb_Strings = 
  if this.stringsBlockInstFlag:
    return this.stringsBlockInst
  let pos = this.io.pos()
  this.io.seek(int(this.ofsStringsBlock))
  let rawStringsBlockInstExpr = this.io.readBytes(int(this.lenStringsBlock))
  this.rawStringsBlockInst = rawStringsBlockInstExpr
  let rawStringsBlockInstIo = newKaitaiStream(rawStringsBlockInstExpr)
  let stringsBlockInstExpr = Dtb_Strings.read(rawStringsBlockInstIo, this.root, this)
  this.stringsBlockInst = stringsBlockInstExpr
  this.io.seek(pos)
  this.stringsBlockInstFlag = true
  return this.stringsBlockInst

proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[Dtb], filename: string): Dtb =
  Dtb.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)

proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb_MemoryBlock], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: Dtb): Dtb_MemoryBlock =
  template this: untyped = result
  this = new(Dtb_MemoryBlock)
  let root = if root == nil: cast[Dtb](this) else: cast[Dtb](root)
  this.io = io
  this.root = root
  this.parent = parent

  block:
    var i: int
    while not this.io.isEof:
      let it = Dtb_MemoryBlockEntry.read(this.io, this.root, this)
      this.entries.add(it)
      inc i

proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[Dtb_MemoryBlock], filename: string): Dtb_MemoryBlock =
  Dtb_MemoryBlock.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)

proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb_FdtBlock], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: Dtb): Dtb_FdtBlock =
  template this: untyped = result
  this = new(Dtb_FdtBlock)
  let root = if root == nil: cast[Dtb](this) else: cast[Dtb](root)
  this.io = io
  this.root = root
  this.parent = parent

  block:
    var i: int
    while true:
      let it = Dtb_FdtNode.read(this.io, this.root, this)
      this.nodes.add(it)
      if it.type == dtb.end:
        break
      inc i

proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[Dtb_FdtBlock], filename: string): Dtb_FdtBlock =
  Dtb_FdtBlock.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)

proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb_MemoryBlockEntry], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: Dtb_MemoryBlock): Dtb_MemoryBlockEntry =
  template this: untyped = result
  this = new(Dtb_MemoryBlockEntry)
  let root = if root == nil: cast[Dtb](this) else: cast[Dtb](root)
  this.io = io
  this.root = root
  this.parent = parent


  ##[
  physical address of a reserved memory region
  ]##
  let addressExpr = this.io.readU8be()
  this.address = addressExpr

  ##[
  size of a reserved memory region
  ]##
  let sizeExpr = this.io.readU8be()
  this.size = sizeExpr

proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[Dtb_MemoryBlockEntry], filename: string): Dtb_MemoryBlockEntry =
  Dtb_MemoryBlockEntry.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)

proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb_Strings], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: Dtb): Dtb_Strings =
  template this: untyped = result
  this = new(Dtb_Strings)
  let root = if root == nil: cast[Dtb](this) else: cast[Dtb](root)
  this.io = io
  this.root = root
  this.parent = parent

  block:
    var i: int
    while not this.io.isEof:
      let it = encode(this.io.readBytesTerm(0, false, true, true), "ASCII")
      this.strings.add(it)
      inc i

proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[Dtb_Strings], filename: string): Dtb_Strings =
  Dtb_Strings.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)

proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb_FdtProp], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: Dtb_FdtNode): Dtb_FdtProp =
  template this: untyped = result
  this = new(Dtb_FdtProp)
  let root = if root == nil: cast[Dtb](this) else: cast[Dtb](root)
  this.io = io
  this.root = root
  this.parent = parent

  let lenPropertyExpr = this.io.readU4be()
  this.lenProperty = lenPropertyExpr
  let ofsNameExpr = this.io.readU4be()
  this.ofsName = ofsNameExpr
  let propertyExpr = this.io.readBytes(int(this.lenProperty))
  this.property = propertyExpr
  let paddingExpr = this.io.readBytes(int((-(this.io.pos) %%% 4)))
  this.padding = paddingExpr

proc name(this: Dtb_FdtProp): string = 
  if this.nameInstFlag:
    return this.nameInst
  let io = Dtb(this.root).stringsBlock.io
  let pos = io.pos()
  io.seek(int(this.ofsName))
  let nameInstExpr = encode(io.readBytesTerm(0, false, true, true), "ASCII")
  this.nameInst = nameInstExpr
  io.seek(pos)
  this.nameInstFlag = true
  return this.nameInst

proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[Dtb_FdtProp], filename: string): Dtb_FdtProp =
  Dtb_FdtProp.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)

proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb_FdtNode], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: Dtb_FdtBlock): Dtb_FdtNode =
  template this: untyped = result
  this = new(Dtb_FdtNode)
  let root = if root == nil: cast[Dtb](this) else: cast[Dtb](root)
  this.io = io
  this.root = root
  this.parent = parent

  let typeExpr = Dtb_Fdt(this.io.readU4be())
  this.type = typeExpr
  block:
    let on = this.type
    if on == dtb.begin_node:
      let bodyExpr = Dtb_FdtBeginNode.read(this.io, this.root, this)
      this.body = bodyExpr
    elif on == dtb.prop:
      let bodyExpr = Dtb_FdtProp.read(this.io, this.root, this)
      this.body = bodyExpr

proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[Dtb_FdtNode], filename: string): Dtb_FdtNode =
  Dtb_FdtNode.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)

proc read*(_: typedesc[Dtb_FdtBeginNode], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: Dtb_FdtNode): Dtb_FdtBeginNode =
  template this: untyped = result
  this = new(Dtb_FdtBeginNode)
  let root = if root == nil: cast[Dtb](this) else: cast[Dtb](root)
  this.io = io
  this.root = root
  this.parent = parent

  let nameExpr = encode(this.io.readBytesTerm(0, false, true, true), "ASCII")
  this.name = nameExpr
  let paddingExpr = this.io.readBytes(int((-(this.io.pos) %%% 4)))
  this.padding = paddingExpr

proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[Dtb_FdtBeginNode], filename: string): Dtb_FdtBeginNode =
  Dtb_FdtBeginNode.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)