|
|
Re: valkyrie source is now in the wild
06/03/12 04:36 PM
|
|
|
> > How have Linux
> > developers managed to go so long without realising that users would actually benefit
> > from a stable kernel ABI?
>
> They wouldn't, which is why. Now, video support on linux is catastrophic for a number
> of reasons, some good, a large number bad. It's not really the fault of the kernel,
> or maybe it is in the sense that most of it should be in there and isn't.
>
> OG.
Stable kernel ABIs benefit everyone. Suppose I sell an expensive piece of specialised hardware, and provide drivers for it, and then go bankrupt because I can't make a living selling to such a small niche. If the kernel ABI is stable, your drivers continue to work across kernel upgrades. If not, you or someone else will have to hack them up and rebuild them. Putting the drivers into the main kernel tree isn't the solution for two reasons: firstly it's a specialised piece of gear, and I didn't sell a huge number of them, so it's pointless distributing the driver to everyone; secondly, none of the kernel developers will actually have the hardware, so they'll have no hope of maintaining it anyway. Solaris has managed to provide stable kernel ABIs for ages - why is it too hard for the Linux dudes, and apparently Apple, too?
|
|
Index 
Flat 
Re: valkyrie source is now in the wild
Reply
Re: valkyrie source is now in the wild
