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

Carlo Florendo subscribermail at gmail.com
Thu Mar 15 00:59:24 UTC 2007


Lee Revell wrote:
> On 3/14/07, Christian Schoenebeck <cuse at users.sourceforge.net> wrote:
>> Am Mittwoch, 14. März 2007 15:21 schrieb Lee Revell:
>> > Binary drivers make the kernel impossible to debug,
>>
>> That's an exaggerated statement. I would accept "harder" though. ;)
>>
> 
> With binary drivers kernel debugging requires the cooperation of the
> vendor in the best case, and lots of guesswork and reverse engineering
> in the worst case.  The main technical argument in favor of open
> source is that anyone can fix a bug.  With binary drivers, you're at
> the mercy of the vendor.  At that point you might as well run Windows.

Custom-built kernels will never be fully compatible with binary drivers
for the simple and naive reason that these drivers are compiled against a
particular build of the kernel not necessarily the same with that of others.

Come on, anyone who has compiled ALSA from the ground-up would know that it 
would work best together with the kernel with which it was compiled for.  It is
not guaranteed to work with other kernel builds.

This is true for most drivers.

Thank you very much.

Best Regards,

Carlo


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Carlo Florendo
Softare Engineer/Network Co-Administrator
Astra Philippines Inc.
UP-Ayala Technopark, Diliman 1101, Quezon City
Philippines
http://www.astra.ph

--
The Astra Group of Companies
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