Messages in this thread | | | Date | Fri, 27 Mar 1998 17:48:17 -0500 (EST) | From | bytor@logicsou ... | Subject | Re: What do you think about UDI? |
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On Fri, 27 Mar 1998, Paul Koning wrote:
> >>>>> "Linux" == Linux Lists <lists@cyclades.com> writes: > Having written drivers for various operating systems, my immediate > reaction (without looking at the web page you mentioned) is that this > is an idea that makes little or no sense. > > Most drivers are largely OS specific code (the actual hardware > fondling is in the minority). Abstracting that in a meaningful way to > a meaningful range of operating systems is unlikely to succeed, unless > you don't mind having no performance at all.
Sounds like a WINner to me :) ... But in point of fact, what warrants more concern is perhaps convincing hardware manufacturers to always provide explicit data, specifications and even source code for their devices/drivers and let the OS guru's take over, rather than rely on Joe Programmer who may or may not have the slightest idea how to interface with a particular OS. Sure, the driver may run quake... But does it run as good as or better than its counterpart in other operating systems? Linux has great hardware support -- general hardware support that in some cases does little to take advantage of extra features offered by the hardware. While a "universal driver" may not be such a wonderful idea, I believe that focusing on less general, more diverse drivers would do wonders for the Linux community.
+----------------------+----------------------------------------+ | bytor@logicsouth.com | UNIX _is_ user-friendly. It's just not | | By-Tor@EfNet | ignorant-friendly and idiot-friendly. | +----------------------+----------------------------------------+
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