RE: RE: ACPI -- Workaround for broken DSDT

["Scott T. Smith" <scott-j3vAvQ9dNB9ByuSxxbvQtw@public.gmane.org>]

On Wed, 2004-02-04 at 21:15, Brown, Len wrote: 
> The strategy is to improve ACPI on Linux such that all Linux distros are
> able to successfully ship ACPI enabled kernels.
> 
> When we reach that stage, the OEMs will use these commercial Linux
> products when they validate their platforms -- fixing DSDT problems
> themselves before the 1st BIOS is released to the public.

realistically, that's 3-5+ years away.  In the meantime, what are
existing users to do?  (i.e. those of us who don't like reading 430+
pages of the spec)

> Windows doesn't have to do anything.  By being first to ship ACPI, that
> implementation provided the defacto ACPI compliance test to which all
> BIOS' are tested -- even if that implementation is not ACPI spec
> compliant.  No, only under dire circumstances will we emulate Windows
> bugs in Linux.

So basically we shouldn't use ACPI then, and instead use APM?

If Linux ACPI could emulate the bugs that Windows has, then ACPI would
work on Linux on most platforms right away.  That would make Linux more
accessible to people.  Linux already has a bunch of hacks to support
broken hardware which presumably Windows can work around; this seems to
be just another one of those.

While it would be great if BIOS' used correct DSDT's, then what would
happen if those DSDT's didn't work on Windows?  Which version do you
think they'd ship?  Methinks not the one that works on Linux.

OTOH, what happens when Microsoft tries to fix their existing bugs --
they'll either stick with their buggy version forever, or have to
support several versions, depending on how many bugs are fixed and when
they are fixed.  Or you'll end up with some versions of Windows that
won't run on older or newer laptops.

Seems like a messy situation, any way you look at it.

	Scott



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