Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] aRts, KDE - say it ain't so!
From: Paul Barton-Davis (pbd_AT_Op.Net)
Date: ma loka 11 1999 - 21:58:02 EDT
>What is the OS? Putting it into the linux kernel, excluding every FreeBSD
>and Solaris user, and making plugin crashs take down the whole system?
if it *has* to go into the kernel, then sure, we end up excluding
FreeBSD and Solaris. but i think we all know that it doesn't need to,
and shouldn't be in the kernel. what most people mean by "the OS"
under Linux is both the kernel, a set of system calls, one or more
filesystems, and some basic programs. When you build programs that use
these capabilities and those of a programming language, I think its OK
to say that "its a {Linux|FreeBSD|POSIX} program". When you write
programs that require the presence of a myriad of other subsystems, I
think you have to say "its a {KDE|GNOME|CDE} program".
>Does the idea that there is an X11 server, offering graphics capabilities
>to almost any graphic linux application seriously fracture our community?
>Have you got an alternative plan for that? I mean: having an audio server
>engine is pretty much the same idea, just for audio.
sure. but basing the access to the audio engine on some KDE API is not
the same idea. it would be the same as saying that the way to access
the graphics engine is via Motif. actually, it would be worse, since
at least Motif has some explicit link with the graphics engine. For
KDE to try to take over the definition of a "universal" audio API for
applications is putting that API in the wrong place, IMHO. It belongs
at the same level as the X11 server, which is not part of KDE at all.
>For KDE2 we are working on things like KApplication::play to play a sample
>so that everybody can use it really easily. Or for instance KAudioStream
>which will about be the same as esd offers through their streaming
>record/play API, but easier to use for KDE users, since integrated with
>Qt signals&slots.
this is an example of exactly what i'm worried about. instead of
pushing for an audio server that has the same status as X11, you're
going to end up encouraging people to write applications that use the
KDE audio server (presumably aRts from the sound of it). I think this
is a mistake.
although it has gotten lost in the technical details of the discussion
about the API, the whole purpose of the API we're talking about here
is to create a standard that applications can use whether they run
with KDE, GNOME, Xt, Motif, SVGAlib, text consoles, or whatever.
sure, the KDE audio API can just be a convenient layer over something
else for KDE apps to use, but it steals possible momentum from a more
universal API (albeit one that we haven't even written yet :)))
--p
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