Re: [2.6 patch] schedule obsolete OSS drivers for removal


On 2006-01-05, at 11:57, Jan Engelhardt wrote:

Software mixing in the kernel is like FPU ops in the kernel...

Could you please elaborate a tad bit more on the analogy? It doesn't appear to
be stunningly obvious.

It has never been done before in Linux, so there must be a reason to it.
There was also a reason why khttpd was (going in and) going out.

Are you aware of the reasons why floating point operations are avoided inside
the kernel?

Because it is "unportable". You cannot expect to have every hardware Linux
runs on today to have an FPU engine (hey, like that ol' i386 I got, needs
CONFIG_MATH_EMU...), especially in the Embedded Devices sector.

First - the answer you provide is far from complete and it doesn't even touch the more important reasons why the kernel avoids doing FPU. (No, I don't feel obliged to explain the issue to you. Just a note: The reasons are just merely *technical* and not principal.)

Second - you still didn't explain why this allows you to conclude that sound mixing should in no way be done inside the kernel.
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