From alsa-devel-owner@alsa.jcu.cz  Fri Jan  8 23:34:13 1999
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Date: Fri, 8 Jan 1999 15:33:19 -0700
From: "I. Harold Oga" <ogah@home.com>
To: alsa-devel@alsa.jcu.cz
Subject: Re: Drivers from high-end card makers (was Re: serial midi)
Message-ID: <19990108153319.A1296@home.com>
References: <199901081901.OAA32718@cyphyn.219.org> <Pine.LNX.4.05.9901081420370.9-100000@cyphyn.219.org>
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In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.05.9901081420370.9-100000@cyphyn.219.org>; from Fred Floberg on Fri, Jan 08, 1999 at 02:42:29PM -0500
Reply-To: alsa-devel@alsa.jcu.cz
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On Fri, Jan 08, 1999 at 02:42:29PM -0500, Fred Floberg wrote:
> One thing that may give trouble, technically speaking, is that a driver in
> object code form may cause kernel symbol version errors if not used with the
> same version of kernel that it was compiled on, no?
> 
> If Biff's Super Duper Screachboxes, Inc. writes a driver for 2.0.36 and users
> want to upgrade their kernels to a newer version, they may have to wait for
> Biff, Inc. to supply a driver compiled under that kernel version. And if Biff, 
> Inc. no longer wishes to support ALSA they're stuck.
> 
> Or is it really safe to assume that an object module will keep running on future
> kernels?
Hi,
	No, I don't think it is safe to make this assumption.  Look at the OSS/Linux
drivers. Everytime a new kernel is released, especially the 2.1.x kernels, a
new version of the OSS/Linux drivers is usually released.  It is possible
that a loadable module will be unaffected, as I have been able to load bttv
drivers from a previous kernel with a new one, but I don't think anyone
should assume that old modules will keep running on new kernel.

	One of the main reasons I started using the ALSA drivers was that more
often than not, when I started applying patches to my kernel, say from Alan
Cox, my OSS/Linux  modules would die with a compatability error, leaving me 
without sound until the next official kernel tarball and corresponding OSS/Linux 
version was released. 

-Harold
-- 
I. Harold Oga                      | Email: ogah@home.com
Systems Enterprises Ltd.           | Voice: (403) 244 9738
#211, 1624 16th Ave SW             |
Calgary, AB, T3C 1A1               | "Life Sucks, Deal with it!!"

