PROBLEM:
I'm on a fresh install of Ubuntu 20.04 (xorg 1.20.11), with 2 connected
keyboards (built-in and USB).
When I hit keys on each keyboard simultaneously in a program like firefox,
gnome-terminal etc. stalling/lag occurs.
It only happens for keyboards it seems as moving an external mouse and trackpad
together causes no issues.
TO REPRODUCE:
To investigate the problem I wrote a simple C file (see attached 'xorg-lag.c',
compile with $(gcc xorg-lag.c -o xorg-lag))
The program finds keyboard devices under /dev/input/event and uses epoll to
poll them for input via the evdev interface.
If I start entering keys on one keyboard and then switch to the other, the
program stalls briefly.
If I simultaneously enter keys on each keyboard the program stalls indefinitely
until I stop entering keys.
I have tested with different keyboards and experience the same result.
If I switch to a virtual terminal and run I experience no lag.
This makes me think it is a bug with xorg.
--
Ryan McClue, Sydney
// SPDX-License-Identifier: zlib-acknowledgement
#include <stdbool.h>
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <sys/epoll.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <linux/input.h>
#include <sys/ioctl.h>
#include <time.h>
#define EVDEV_BITFIELD_QUANTA \
(sizeof(unsigned long) * 8)
#define EVDEV_BITFIELD_LEN(bit_count) \
((bit_count) / EVDEV_BITFIELD_QUANTA + 1)
#define BILLION 1000000000L
long timespec_diff(struct timespec *start, struct timespec *end)
{
return (BILLION * (end->tv_sec - start->tv_sec)) +
(end->tv_nsec - start->tv_nsec);
}
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
int epoll_fd = epoll_create1(0);
char dev_path[64] = {};
for (int ev_id = 0; ev_id < 64; ++ev_id)
{
sprintf(dev_path, "/dev/input/event%d", ev_id);
if (access(dev_path, F_OK) == 0)
{
int dev_fd = open(dev_path, O_RDWR | O_NONBLOCK);
unsigned long dev_key_capabilities[EVDEV_BITFIELD_LEN(KEY_CNT)] = {};
ioctl(dev_fd, EVIOCGBIT(EV_KEY, KEY_CNT), dev_key_capabilities);
unsigned long esc_keys_letters_mask = 0xfffffffe;
if ((dev_key_capabilities[0] & esc_keys_letters_mask))
{
struct epoll_event event = {};
event.events = EPOLLIN;
event.data.fd = dev_fd;
epoll_ctl(epoll_fd, EPOLL_CTL_ADD, dev_fd, &event);
}
}
}
bool want_to_run = true;
struct timespec prev_timespec = {};
clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC_RAW, &prev_timespec);
while (want_to_run)
{
struct epoll_event epoll_events[5] = {0};
int num_epoll_events = epoll_wait(epoll_fd, epoll_events, 5, 0);
for (int epoll_event_i = 0; epoll_event_i < num_epoll_events; ++epoll_event_i)
{
int dev_fd = epoll_events[epoll_event_i].data.fd;
struct input_event dev_events[4] = {0};
int dev_event_bytes_read = read(dev_fd, dev_events, sizeof(dev_events));
int num_dev_events = dev_event_bytes_read / sizeof(dev_events[0]);
for (int dev_event_i = 0; dev_event_i < num_dev_events; ++dev_event_i)
{
if (dev_events[dev_event_i].code == KEY_Q) want_to_run = false;
}
}
struct timespec end_timespec = {};
clock_gettime(CLOCK_MONOTONIC_RAW, &end_timespec);
printf("ns per frame: %lu\n", timespec_diff(&prev_timespec, &end_timespec));
prev_timespec = end_timespec;
}
return 0;
}