From alsa-devel-owner@alsa.jcu.cz  Fri Feb 26 21:23:41 1999
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Date: Fri, 26 Feb 1999 21:23:08 +0100 (CET)
From: Jaroslav Kysela <perex@jcu.cz>
To: Kevin Duffey <kduffey@inprise.com>
cc: alsa-devel@alsa.jcu.cz
Subject: Re: Instrument abstract layer
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On Fri, 26 Feb 1999, Kevin Duffey wrote:

> >Because I have got InterWave FFFF format for example. I don't want use
> >some company/hardware specific format and I think that doing of
> >some universal format is imposible. We are playing mostly with cheap
> >hardware. Professional hardware have got probably more complex sound
> >description which highly depends on used components. The universal
> >instrument format is for me good utopia (dream only)..
> >
> >We could probably only implement some very simple wave format for
> >wavetable synthesizers, but this format could be used with analog
> >synthesizers etc..
> >
> >ALSA needn't solve all sound trouble all over the world.
> 
> 
> Hmm..maybe I misunderstood what ALSA was about. I thought it was being done
> so that as many hardware devices (mostly soundcards) could be supported
> with ALL features. If you plan to support SB Live (if that works out), then
> you have to support SF2 in your format..otherwise you cant fully support
> the SB Live. Actually, AWE32/64 support SF2 too. 
> 
> I thought this project was about creating a low-level kernel based
> background sound system that could handle all the high-level applications
> sound requirements. If the high-level application has to do the supporting
> of SF2, etc..then why do you even need a instrument layer? Seems to me the
> ALSAs main job should be supporting the low-level soundcards capabilities
> in hardware, such as calls to play sounds, recording, mixing volumes, etc.
> It shouldn't have anything to do with instruments. That should be left to
> patch editors and applications at the high-level. 

Please, don't mix the instrument abstraction layer with the universal
instrument format. If you read carefully instrument proposal (look to
the introduction section), you have already knew about which I'm talking.
The instrument abstraction layer CAN DELIVER TO THE LOWLEVEL DRIVER
ALL INSTRUMENT FORMATS. It will depend on the low-level driver if the
format will be or won't be supported.

I don't thing that we can create some universal instrument format which
can be used with all hardware (AWE/GUS/OPL2/OPL3/OPL4/S3 SonicVibes/
external MIDI samplers etc).

							Jaroslav

-----
Jaroslav Kysela <perex@jcu.cz>
Academic Computer Centre, University of South Bohemia
Branisovska 31, C. Budejovice, CZ-370 05 Czech Republic


