Re: [OT] ALSA userspace API complexity

Olivier Galibert
2006-01-05T14:21:20Z

On Thu, Jan 05, 2006 at 01:23:23PM +0100, Jaroslav Kysela wrote:
> It means that you are saying that kernel should be bigger and bigger.
> Please, see the graphics APIs. Why we have X servers in user space (and
> only some supporting code is in the kernel) then? It's because if we
> would move everything into kernel it will be even more bloated. The kernel
> should do really the basic things like direct hardware access, DMA
> transfer etc.

You plan to remove the network stack from the kernel when then? X is
in user space for some rather strange values of userspace[1] for
historical and political reasons, not technical ones. When
performance raises its ugly head and you end up having to listen to
engineers again you end up with DRI and that:

Module Size Used by
nvidia 3464380 12

X is a beautiful example of how things should not have been done. Its
only redeeming quality is that it exists and works, and that's
definitively a non-negligible one.

> But it's a question, if OSS application developers take this proposal.

You seem to be missing the point that the entire reason why OSS is
important is that it isn't a library.

OG.

[1] Direct hardware access, DMA, pci enumeration, hardware
reconfiguration, what a beautiful userspace we have there.