Re: "options atapicam" and/or "device ATA_CAM" in kernel config?

> On 11/27/11, Lowell Gilbert <freebsd-questions-local_at_be-well.ilk.org> wrote:
> > "b. f." <bf1783_at_googlemail.com> writes:

> >>> > > What is the role of "options atapicam" and "device ATA_CAM" in kernel
> >>> > > config file?

> >>> > > Are they redundant?  Kernel will build with both these options, but
> >>> > > will it make things go awry?  Is ATA_CAM deprecated?

> >> They are redundant and incompatible.  atapicam is deprecated, and
> >> ATA_CAM is the new default on FreeBSD 9 and 10. Unless you have some
> >> special requirements, you should use ATA_CAM on recent versions of
> >> FreeBSD, because it usually performs better than the old ATA code, and
> >> has added functionality.

> > Ah. My apologies to anyone I confused with my incorrect comments.

> > I must say that I'm thoroughly disappointed that my searches through the
> > official documentation didn't turn up anything related to this. Even the
> > Handbook, with extensive practical descriptions of how to use this
> > functionality, doesn't mention that its advice is irrelevant to anything
> > past 8.x.
   
> The handbook does contain some oblique and scattered references to the
> new code, or at least to constructs that are common to both the old
> and the new code, but the addition of a brief discussion of the
> differences between the new and old ATA code in the handbook -- i.e.,
> the kernel and userland components that are now obsolete, and their
> replacements -- might be of some help to users.  The primary author of
> the new code did add some material to various notes and manpages, but
> he has been very busy writing and debugging code, and English is not
> his first language, so others will have to supplement his efforts.
> Perhaps you could ask for some additions on the freebsd-doc mailing
> list?
         
> b.

Now I see it's "options ATA_CAM" or "device atapicam".  It looks like I
inadvertently transposed "device" and "options" in subject line.

Now I think I'll try to rebuild the kernel with "options ATA_CAM" and drop
"device atapicam".

This question needs to be better resolved in time for FreeBSD 9.0-RELEASE.

I cross-post this message to freebsd-current_at_freebsd.org so the developers
will see it.  FreeBSD users want to be able to burn CDs and DVDs, and since
SCSI hardware has fallen out of style, I can say very few if any FreeBSD 9.0 
users will have an actual SCSI CD or DVD drive.

Tom