C++ – Linux low-level mouse reading

I want to read mouse position and button state in Linux using C++, but no X or some (advanced) libraries etc. The only two possibilities I’ve found are reading from the device /dev/input/mice (using fopen ,…) or using libgpm. Are there any other low-level methods?

Thanks in advance.

In Linux, all mouse events are via /dev/input/mouseX. /dev/input/mice is an accumulator in single-mouse devices. Both gpm and X take the mouse event from /dev/input/mouseX or /dev/input/mice and forward it.

So reading from /dev/input/

mouseX or /dev/input/mice is the lowest level you can get — unless you use libusb/libhid to access the USB mouse device directly. However, accessing the mouse in this way separates it from the kernel, causing a lot of trouble.