Messages in this thread | | | Date | Sat, 21 Jan 2006 17:08:40 +0100 | From | Adrian Bunk <> | Subject | OSS driver removal, a slightly different approach (v2) |
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My proposal to remove OSS drivers where ALSA drivers for the same hardware exists had two reasons:
1. remove obsolete and mostly unmaintained code 2. get bugs in the ALSA drivers reported that weren't previously reported due to the possible workaround of using the OSS drivers
I'm slowly getting more and more reports for the second case.
The list below divides the OSS drivers into the following three categories: 1. ALSA drivers for the same hardware 2. ALSA drivers for the same hardware with known problems 3. no ALSA drivers for the same hardware
My proposed timeline is: - shortly before 2.6.16 is released: adjust OBSOLETE_OSS_DRIVER dependencies to match exactly the drivers under 1. - from the release of 2.6.16 till the release of 2.6.17: approx. two months for users to report problems with the ALSA drivers for the same hardware - after the release of 2.6.17 (and before 2.6.18): remove the subset of drivers marked at OBSOLETE_OSS_DRIVER without known regressions in the ALSA drivers for the same hardware
To make a long story short:
If you are using an OSS driver because the ALSA driver doesn't work equally well on your hardware, send me an email with a bug number in the ALSA bug tracking system now.
A small FAQ:
Q: But OSS is kewl and ALSA sucks! A: The decision for the OSS->ALSA move was four years ago. If ALSA sucks, please help to improve ALSA.
Q: What about the OSS emulation in ALSA? A: The OSS emulation in ALSA is not affected by my patches (and it's not in any way scheduled for removal).
Please review the following list:
1. ALSA drivers for the same hardware
SOUND_AD1889 SOUND_AD1980 SOUND_ALI5455 SOUND_AU1000 SOUND_AWE32_SYNTH SOUND_CMPCI SOUND_CS4232 SOUND_CS4281 SOUND_ES1370 SOUND_ES1371 SOUND_ESSSOLO1 SOUND_FORTE SOUND_FUSION SOUND_GUS SOUND_HARMONY SOUND_MAD16 SOUND_MAESTRO SOUND_MAESTRO3 SOUND_MAUI SOUND_OPL3SA1 SOUND_OPL3SA2 SOUND_RME96XX SOUND_SGALAXY SOUND_SONICVIBES SOUND_SSCAPE SOUND_VIA82CXXX SOUND_WAVEFRONT SOUND_YMFPCI
2. ALSA drivers for the same hardware with known problems
DMASOUND_PMAC - Olaf Hering regarding regressions in SND_POWERMAC: Some tumbler models work only after one plug/unplug cycle of the headphone. early powerbooks report/handle the mute settings incorrectly. there are likely more bugs.
SOUND_AD1816 - ALSA #1301 (Kernel OSS emulation stops working after a few seconds when used with VoIP softphones)
SOUND_EMU10K1 - ALSA #1735 (OSS emulation 4-channel mode rear channels not working)
SOUND_ICH - ALSA #1764 (Recording signal quality is inacceptable (using OSS API)) - Alan Cox: ALSA driver lacks "support for AC97 wired touchscreens and the like"
SOUND_NM256 - ALSA #328 (snd-nm256 freezes Dell Latitude LS)
SOUND_TRIDENT - ALSA #1293 (device supported by OSS but not by ALSA) - maintainer of the OSS driver wants his driver to stay
3. no ALSA drivers for the same hardware
DMASOUND_ATARI DMASOUND_PAULA DMASOUND_Q40 SOUND_ACI_MIXER SOUND_ADLIB SOUND_AEDSP16 SOUND_AU1550_AC97 SOUND_BCM_CS4297A SOUND_HAL2 SOUND_IT8172 SOUND_KAHLUA SOUND_MSNDCLAS SOUND_MSNDPIN SOUND_MSS (also due to SOUND_PSS, SOUND_TRIX and perhaps SOUND_AEDSP16) SOUND_PAS SOUND_PSS SOUND_SB (also due to SOUND_KAHLUA, SOUND_PAS and perhaps SOUND_AEDSP16) SOUND_SH_DAC_AUDIO SOUND_TRIX SOUND_VIDC SOUND_VRC5477 SOUND_VWSND SOUND_WAVEARTIST
cu Adrian
--
"Is there not promise of rain?" Ling Tan asked suddenly out of the darkness. There had been need of rain for many days. "Only a promise," Lao Er said. Pearl S. Buck - Dragon Seed
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