Please refer to tools/spi/spidev_test.c, ioctl() requests let your driver read or override the device's current settings for data transfer parameters.
fd = open(device, O_RDWR);
if (fd < 0)
pabort("can't open device");
/*
* spi mode
*/
ret = ioctl(fd, SPI_IOC_WR_MODE32, &mode);
if (ret == -1)
pabort("can't set spi mode");
ret = ioctl(fd, SPI_IOC_RD_MODE32, &mode);
if (ret == -1)
pabort("can't get spi mode");
/*
* bits per word
*/
ret = ioctl(fd, SPI_IOC_WR_BITS_PER_WORD, &bits);
if (ret == -1)
pabort("can't set bits per word");
ret = ioctl(fd, SPI_IOC_RD_BITS_PER_WORD, &bits);
if (ret == -1)
pabort("can't get bits per word");