Subject: re: dev/audiobell.c proposal
To: Perry E. Metzger <perry@piermont.com>
From: matthew green <mrg@eterna.com.au>
List: tech-kern
Date: 01/11/2004 15:47:22
   
   Ben Harris <bjh21@NetBSD.org> writes:
   > Since audio(9) doesn't export any interfaces for playing sounds within the
   > kernel, audiobell() just uses the standard user interface.  This makes the
   > code very simple, but means that it doesn't make a noise if the audio
   > device is already open, since it can only be opened once.
   
   It would be nice if we built a kernel mixer facility so that the
   device COULD be opened more than once. Frequently one wants to listen
   to to an mp3 and still get console feeps and the occasional sound from
   a chat program. That would give us a more general way to fix this...


well, no.  keep the software audio mixer *in userland* [1].  if a device
supports multiple inputs (ie, has a real hardware mixer), then we should
allow multiple writes to it - some devices already allow this my attaching
multiple instances of /dev/audioN.




.mrg.


[1] gnome & kde both have such daemons, and i believe there is at least
one more that's (now less) commonly used...