Re: OSS: cleanup or throw away

[Bill Davidsen <davidsen@tmr.com>]

Diego Calleja García wrote:
> El Mon, 22 Mar 2004 22:57:09 +0100 Adrian Bunk <bunk@fs.tum.de> escribió:
> 
> 
>>OSS will stay in 2.6 (2.6 is a stable kernel series) but it will most
>>likely be removed in 2.7.
> 
> 
> Personally, as an user, I'd like to have the OSS drivers which don't have
> a ALSA equivalent for my old hardware. There're several
> sound cards with both ALSA and OSS drivers where ALSA works
> much better 99% of the time. Those could be safely removed
> (even in the 2.6 timeframe, I'd argue) but I'd like to keep the ones
> without an alsa equivalent for my old hardware (specially now that we
> have a -tiny tree ;) however I can understand that if they don't
> have a maintainer they'll get removed...

The real issue with removing OSS from a stable kernel is that a kernel 
update should not break existing system software (at least compliant 
software). As of early 2.6 it seemed that you had to update to the ALSA 
mixer and {something I don't remember} if you used the OSS emulation. I 
just used OSS and it worked. Based on only two systems, so it may not apply.

Stable and install new sound software don't seem to mix well. I suggest 
that the current course is a good one, keep both systems in the stable 
kernel.


-- 
    -bill davidsen (davidsen@tmr.com)
"The secret to procrastination is to put things off until the
  last possible moment - but no longer"  -me