On Mon, Nov 17, 2008 at 12:02:33AM +0200, Hannu Savolainen wrote: > ALSA is not a 'HAL' but a 'HEL' (Hardware Exposing Layer). For good > hardware abstraction as much details as possible should be hidden from > the applications. Having 1500+ different functions means that there is > hardly any abstraction left. For this reason ALSA usually needs to be > hidden behind additional libraries (Jack, PulseAudio and dozens of more
The large number of functions, which is indeed a misery, is not a result of 'exposing the hardware'. There are other reasons for this. 'Hardware abstraction' means to abstract *the way something is implemented in hardware*, and the details of the software that have to deal with this. It does NOT_ mean *hiding the functionality* of the hardware, or reducing it to some minimal common set. You seem to be confusing the two. For audio hardware, sample rate, or it source, are fundamental parameters that must not be hidden from the user. Except maybe in the case of a desktop media player. But certainly not in a production or research environment. It seems very much that your view of the audio world is limited to its use for desktop entertainment. BTW, if OSS presents a MADI card as 32 separate stereo devices then it is completely missing the point of using such cards. I have been very critical of ALSA in the past, and have kept an open eye on OSS regardless of any 'political correctness' issues. But if OSS is driven by the ideas you have expressed in recent posts I'll have to forget about it. Ciao, -- FA Laboratorio di Acustica ed Elettroacustica Parma, Italia Lascia la spina, cogli la rosa. _______________________________________________ Linux-audio-dev mailing list [email protected] http://lists.linuxaudio.org/mailman/listinfo/linux-audio-dev
