On Thu, 1 Nov 2001 12:55:56 +0000 (GMT), Justin Cormack wrote:

> Do you think that userspace code is intrinsically better for protocols
> such as IrDA, or is it just that it is better written and cross platform?

Userspace is intrinsically better for debugging! It's so nice to
use gdb for debugging these days ;-) It's also good to avoid
stuffing more code into the kernel. When I started the
Linux-IrDA project many years ago, the first application was
IrLAN which is a virtual Ethernet interface. Having an Ethernet
interface in user-space is probably not a good idea, so I
decided to put the stack inside the kernel (and kernel hacker
sounded better anyway). Today, the main application for IrDA is
PPP, and interfacing something with PPP from userland is very
easy.

But the main reason was licensing. The kernel is GPL land!!
Linus allows closed source modules, but it's a mess to maintain
and distribute, and it's a lot easier for me to distribute
something which will work even if you upgrade your kernel.

-- Dag
-- 
Dag Brattli,                     Mail:  [EMAIL PROTECTED]
CEO, ObexCode AS                 Web:   http://www.obexcode.com
Tromsoe Science Park             Phone: +47 776 33 690 
Forskningsparken                 Fax:   +47 776 79 750
NO-9291 Tromsoe, NORWAY          Cell:  +47 481 06 352

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