[linux-audio-user] Jacklaunch vs. asoundrc jack plugin

[tim hall]

Last Tuesday 26 April 2005 21:23, Christoph Eckert was like:
> > FWIW, it would be really nice to see some united effort to
> > jackify some of the other critical Linux audio apps even if
> > their original authors do not feel like that is one of
> > their priorities
>
> People who start to write an audio application have a
> difficult decicion to do: Which soundsystem to use?

Your posting makes me think that I have developed a very fixed view point 
about such things.

> Because all this mess about audio leads in the following:
>
> * An author of 'professional grade' audio applications will
> make his application an JACK and perhaps additionally an ALSA
> application

Surely the most obvious choice would be to make it an ALSA/JACK application - 
unless it doesn't need JACK? In which case, just ALSA.

> * A KDE programmer will make his application an artsd
> application

> * A Gnome programmer will make his application an esound
> application

Erm, as a user I would regard anything that used only artsd or esd to be 
involved in sound notification. I generally don't need these features. From a 
user perspective Audio applications should use ALSA. If an application does 
not use ALSA I will either not use that app, turn off the sound features or 
figure some other workaround.

> * Others will make their application an ALSA application

...

> * People who want their application to run on other unixes too
> will make their application an OSS application (see the
> commercials like real or Skype)

This is the only other relevant choice.

> There is the example JACK capture client which is a good
> starting point for programming newbies.
>
>
> What would really be useful would be some example code in the
> ALSA wiki showing how to create an application which is
> jackified but even can play and record via an ALSA DMIX
> device and optionally has further input/output plugins for
> esound, artsd and gstreamer. And which can automatically
> detect the audio subsystem to use *sigh* ;-) .

I realise that from the POV of non-music-making applications it might look 
this way, especially if you were bothered about cross-platform portability. I 
think if you were writing a specific Linux Audio application you would use 
ALSA. Please excuse me if I'm missing something that would be obvious to a 
programmer. As a musician and a Linux user I set my machine up to use ALSA 
and get quite annoyed when other apps launch another sound system in the 
background and block my soundcard. Actually It bothers me so much that I'm 
thinking of uninstalling both artsd and esd, but I'm not sure if dependencies 
will allow this.

cheers,

tim hall
http://glastonburymusic.org.uk