Subject: Re: [linux-audio-dev] Re: [linux-audio-user] Audio routing issues for linux..
From: Juan Linietsky (coding_AT_reduz.com.ar)
Date: Mon Jun 10 2002 - 12:31:32 EEST
On Mon, 10 Jun 2002 09:52:10 +0100
Richard Bown <bownie_AT_bownie.com> wrote:
> Juan Linietsky wrote:
>
> [developers choosing JACK over ALSA audio]
>
> > Not to be pessimistic, but I think such thing is not going to
> > happen. Also I find the whole idea redundant. If JACK is easier
> > and faster to integrate then it should replace the ALSA api on
> > that matter. Developers, and specialy new ones, will allways
> > support the official api FIRST.
>
> *cough*
>
> Not lazy ones.
No, allow me to explain better why I think supporting JACK is
pointless and why I wouldnt do it. I'll give you all the reasons I can
think of.
1-It's not a standard. ALSA/OSS are. If i want to write a driver, i
will do for those.
2-If i need low latency, i'm perfect with SCHED_FIFO and low
fragmentsize in eithe alsa/oss.
3-Device sharing is pointless for me if most other programs dont
support JACK.
4-There's not really any useful reason I can think for my app sharing
data with JACK apps, and i'm not going to write eveything
jack-oriented for an API that's not really popular.
5-As I described in my previus mail, Most apps that i'd find cool that
would support jack, just dont do.
6-If dozens of users mail me per month with problems compiling
Cheesetracker because of misconfigured GTK installs, think of the hell
it would be if they had to compile jack.
7-I cant use other apps transparently with JACK to alter their sound
and re-route it.
8-I dislike the design, I really do. I think the functionality of
audio routing must be withing alsa-lib. This makes things harder and
more confusing for end users. Esound and arts are confusing enough,
and adding an extra layer is worse.
For these reasons, I will not support or use JACK until something like
it becomes part of alsa. Why? because I think jack is a mere hack to
go around alsa/linux limitations instead of contributing to them or
improving them. Sorry about my "rant" on JACK, I am not a driver/alsa
programmer, I am an application programmer and I want to make things
easy for users and for myself.
Juan Linietsky.
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