Re: Is it time for remove (crap) ALSA from kernel tree ?

Florian Schmidt
2007-06-29T12:38:37Z

On Friday 29 June 2007, Anton Petrusevich wrote:
> On Friday 29 June 2007 12:30:54 Florian Schmidt wrote:
> > Sadly it seems pretty much everyone, especially closed source apps get
> > this wrong (but to be fair: loads of open source software gets it wrong,
> > too, ekiga for example).
>
> Isn't that because there's a perferct documentation for programming ALSA
> but authors of those apps can't read?

No, like i said, the docs are unclear on these issues :) That's why so many
people get it wrong.

> But in real life I have to use flashplayer, for example.

Yes, in these cases flashplayer should use either the default pcm device
[which the user can then tweak to his liking] or provide some means to
configure it. for example via a dotfile in the user's homedir. This is not
ALSA's fault.

> I am with Linux since 1997, I know bunch of them. I used to use XEmacs, but
> now I prefer VIM. But I am not a .asoundrc programmer, I want to be just a
> user.

I agree that it would be nice to have a tool to select the default device in
ALSA.

> > But skype is a piece of crap anyways. It also doesn't get any sounds out
> > of my other [non ice1712] card. Neither in OSS nor in ALSA mode. Not a
> > beep. And yeah, the device is available [and even has hardware
> > multiplexing]..
> >
> > But 99.9% of problems people have with ALSA are due to badly coded apps..
>
> "Those apps are crap and ALSA is perfect". I hoped some ALSA-developers
> would think of improving usability of ALSA, or I would not talk here.

ALSA must be improved, too. But that doesn't change a thing about these apps
misusing the ALSA API and people blaming ALSA lateron. Which is wrong.

> It's good that people are not thinking that ALSA is already perfect, it
> leaves us (me) a hope it will be improved.

I don't think any serious person believes that ALSA is perfect :)

Regards,
Flo

--
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