[linux-audio-dev] Getting out of the software game

[Fons Adriaensen]

On Wed, Mar 14, 2007 at 06:32:14PM +0100, Christian Schoenebeck wrote:

> I think most of the people on this list know these kind of issues. And I 
> totally agree that this is an argument to avoid using binary drivers, but 
> it's definitely NOT a sufficient argument to completely reject a BDI.

I agree. A BDI would make sense from a purely software engineering POV
as well, and would be an asset to *all* driver developers, including
those writing open source drivers.

You should consider the position of a HW manufacturer who wants
to develop a new product that may require a Linux driver for it.
The project is planned, and a budget is set aside for driver
development. If the kernel to driver interface can change at
any moment, then it becomes almost impossible to estimate the
economic value of the Linux driver - it could be useless the
day after it's finished. So there is little incentive for
investing any money in it. The stability of interfaces *is* 
important.

-- 
FA

Follie! Follie! Delirio vano è questo !