On Mon, 31 Aug 1998, Terry L Ridder wrote:
> While the previous comments below deal with the technical issues of
> performance of UDI drivers, this comment deals mainly with the
> Licensing Issues.
>
> 1. Can you mix a GNU GPL'ed OS ( Linux & Hurd ) with non-GNU GPL'ed
> drivers?
>
> 2. Can you mix a GNU GPL'ed OS ( Linux & Hurd ) with proprietary
> drivers,
> for which you do not have the source code, and there is not even a
> glimmer of hope that you would ever have the source code?
>
> 3. Can you mix a GNU GPL'ed OS ( Linux & Hurd ) with proprietary
> drivers,
> for which you do have the source code, but the source code is not
> released under the GNU GPL?
>
> 4. Assuming that all Linux UDI drivers are GNU GPL'ed, can a proprietary
> OS
> (SCO, Solaris, HP-UX) use those same drivers? (This could lead us
> down the
> same path that Apache has followed were the currency of trade is
> source code.
> i.e. Yes we will work with you, but we want some of your source code
> hacks.)
>
> 5. Would driver authors be willing to release their drivers under
> multiple
> different licenses?
>
> 6. If the UDI drivers are only available in a binary format, would this
> not
> violate a primary premise that freeware/OpenSource implies.
> Premise: Only trust software you have the source code for.
> Implied Premise: Never trust software you do not have the source code
> for.
>
> I am sure there are other questions concerning the Licensing Issues, but
> these are the ones which come to mind first.
>
>
> David Hollister wrote:
> >
> > Erik Andersen wrote:
> > >
> > > For Linux, it would sure be nice to auto-magically be able to use any device
> > > without the usual pain. I am a bit concerned though. One of the major areas
> > > where Linux shines is speed. If every device is to be run in:
> > > "an encapsulating environment for drivers with well-defined
> > > interfaces which isolate drivers from OS policies and from
> > > platform and I/O bus dependencies"
> > > then isn't this equivalent to saying that performace will suck?
> > >
> > > -Erik
> >
> > My company is involved in a similar architecture design and we actually
> > have drivers running in this environment under HP-UX, and to a lesser
> > extent, Solaris and AIX. I did a lot of the work on HP-UX (and am
> > working on a Linux implementation right now). A LOT of testing in the
> > HP-UX world proved that, at least for our design, there was no noticable
> > performance difference between our native drivers and our "generic
> > driver environment" drivers. UDI probably goes several steps further in
> > the abstraction process than we do, but my feeling is to say that any
> > difference there may be should be minimal. That is to say, the benefits
> > (from the development standpoint) should outweigh the consequences.
> >
> > My personal opinion, though, is that I'd rather write a native driver
> > any day. I see this as killing most of the fun involved in writing
> > drivers. Can't fight progress though.
> >
> > --
> > David Hollister
>
> --
> Terry L. Ridder
> Blue Danube Software (Blaue Donau Software)
> "We do not write software, we compose it."
>
> When the toast is burnt
> and all the milk has turned
> and Captain Crunch is waving farewell
> when the Big One finds you
> may this song remind you that they
> don't serve breakfast in hell
> ==Breakfast==Newsboys
>
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-- Gerhard Mack irc-admin skyline.starchat.net gmack@imag.net InnerFIRE@starchat.netAs a computer I find your faith in technology amusing.
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