Re: Call for testing: emu10kx driver for Creative sound cards

From: Scott Long <scottl_at_samsco.org>
Subject: Re: Call for testing: emu10kx driver for Creative sound cards
Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 10:08:15 -0600

> Dag-Erling Smørgrav wrote:
> > Alexander Leidinger <Alexander_at_Leidinger.net> writes:
> > 
> >>Quoting des_at_des.no (Dag-Erling Smørgrav) (Tue, 23 May 2006 14:26:58 +0200):
> >>
> >>>Yuriy Tsibizov <Yuriy.Tsibizov_at_gfk.ru> writes:
> >>>
> >>>>2. Complete mixer support. Some controls that can't fit into OSS
> >>>>mixer are available as sysctl under debug.emu10kxX.
> >>>
> >>>That is not the correct place for it.  Please use the device's sysctl
> >>>context (obtained with device_get_sysctl_ctx())
> >>
> >>This was based upon a suggestion by me. We want to get rid of most
> >>sound related syscalls (at least those which belong into the realm of
> >>the user, and not into the realm of the administrator). Until we have
> >>an application and an interface, we have to life with the sysctls, but
> >>to let the users know that this is not an interface but a temporary
> >>workaround, it's put into the debug MIB. I hope we will not ship
> >>7.0-RELEASE with any such sysctl (any help appreciated).
> > 
> > 
> > Regardless, device-specific sysctl knobs belong in the individual
> > device's sysctl context, which automatically places them in the
> > correct location in the dev tree and automatically destroys them when
> > the device is destroyed.  Please do not create further precedent for
> > breaking this rule, no matter how good your intentions.
> > 
> > DES
> 
> The problem is that Alexander wants these sysctls to only be temporary.
> Recall that big thread from a month or two ago about treating sysctls
> as an API, and how there was heavy disagreement over how to define
> "stable" sysctls that apps could depend on?  If a temporary set of 
> sysctls get put under the dev tree, then it risks becoming permanent,
> which is not what Alexander wants.  So, either we need to decide what
> parts of the sysctl to define as stable, like I asked for in the 
> previous thread, or we need to pretend that it's not a problem that we
> should address, and let you and Alexander continue to argue over the
> 'correct place'.

Then put them under the right place, but create a subtree that's "tmp"

In general, drivers should avoid using the debug.* space.

Warner