>From: sos@login.dkuug.dk (S|ren Schmidt)
>Date: Thu, 6 Jan 94 15:49:29 MET
>Sender: owner-current-users@sun-lamp.cs.berkeley.edu
>
>So I now have the driver that uses the built in speaker as an
>"real" audio device. It plays raw and .au format soundfiles with
>reasonable sound quality.
>
>Now there are some questions that needs be adressed before it can be
>put easily into the kernel.
>
>2. Should it be a device or a pseudo-device.

Is it possible to make /dev/audio a pseudo-device that forwards audio
data to another driver, that being a driver for whatever audio
hardware exists in the system?  What I mean by this is, the sound
driver would be divided into two parts, one hardware-dependent and one
not.  There would be a front-end (pseudo-device), which performs all
of the work that is independent of the audio hardware; and a number of
back ends (non-pseudo device) for the PC speaker, soundblaster,
MPU-401, microsoft sound system, &c., that control the actual audio
hardware.  A "standard" interface between the two parts would have to
created.

>4. We need a name for this driver, speaker is allready taken :-(

Why not audio, it's /dev/audio after all.

>5. What kind of device interface ? /dev/audio sun style or
>   something more esoteric...

It may be best to start with /dev/audio and work from there.  As far
as I know, /dev/audio is the only "standard" interface around.
-- 
Mike Long                                         Mike.Long@Analog.com
VLSI Design Engineer                              voice: (617)461-4030
Analog Devices, SPD Div.                            FAX: (617)461-3010
Norwood, MA 02062                            *this = !opinion(Analog);

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