VIA Publishes 2D/3D Documentation, Partners With OpenChrome

[phoronix]

Phoronix: VIA Publishes 2D/3D Documentation, Partners With OpenChrome

Earlier this year VIA announced they wanted to join the open-source bandwagon by establishing an open-source driver development initiative, releasing documentation and source-code, and to better engage with the Linux community at large. They have made a few small steps over the past few months, but today they have made their largest open-source contribution yet by releasing four programming documentation guides that cover the video, 2D, and 3D programming for their Chrome 9 graphics processor. In addition, they are now partnering with the community-spawned OpenChrome developers.

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=13134

[IanW]

Waitaminute!

First Adobe release a 64-bit Linux Flash player, now this happens THE SAME WEEK?

Next you'll be telling us Duke Nukem Forever got released, with a LINUX CLIENT!

[conholster]

Why do you always use the "bandwagon" word? From my experience it has a negative meaning and is usually used to describe copycat bands (that record crappy music).

[Eragon]

Well, now Nvidia is the only one left to "open up", but they already have a good closed-source driver. (which is why I just bought a 512 MB GeForce 8 to replace the crappy Nvidia card that came with my comp).

Plus, with gallium 3d merget into nouveau, we can look forward to a working 3d nouveau driver, altough to satisfy me, it has to be exactly as stable in games as the nvidia closed-source one, also with propietary games.

[libv]

Why do you always use the "bandwagon" word? From my experience it has a negative meaning and is usually used to describe copycat bands (that record crappy music).

Wellll...

In oktober 2007 I was once again contacted by yet another VIA person (this was not the first time, but all of such contacts were an effective waste of time) who wondered what ideas i had for VIAs open source strategy. This was of course many months before their marketing team accidentally put all of the current stuff in motion. The first thing i said was that i was now working for SUSE, and i was actively helping a hardware vendor doing the right thing, becausei was of course very heavily involved with the AMD project, and them making docs available...

This was followed by a long silence at the other side of the line, something which was very telling.

So bandwagon is a very correct choice of words from where i sit.

[Svartalf]

This was followed by a long silence at the other side of the line, something which was very telling.

So bandwagon is a very correct choice of words from where i sit.

I think they might have caught a clue with Harald over there. I'm not done yet with the perusal of the register specs, but it's looking remotely possible that they gave out enough info to at least get a full-on GL 1.3 level driver done with the info provided. A proper 1.5/2.0 capable renderer would probably have to rely on the Gallium3D framework and the LLVM to produce CPU-centric Vetex shader support at the least, based on the cursory reading here.

So far, it's looking a lot better than the story we got last pass from them. This may actually be a useful doc release from them.

[schlobinux]

I think they might have caught a clue with Harald over there. I'm not done yet with the perusal of the register specs, but it's looking remotely possible that they gave out enough info to at least get a full-on GL 1.3 level driver done with the info provided. A proper 1.5/2.0 capable renderer would probably have to rely on the Gallium3D framework and the LLVM to produce CPU-centric Vetex shader support at the least, based on the cursory reading here.

So far, it's looking a lot better than the story we got last pass from them. This may actually be a useful doc release from them.

The docs are a big and visible step forward, not cheap talk. Unfortunately, it lacks informations on the shaders, but openchrome requested these informations from VIA. They are currently gathering and checking them for 3rd party IP before a future public release.

It takes time and a lot of diplomacy to build a healthy relationship with a manufacturer. Harald is doing a great job at driving VIA toward better understanding and support of the opensource community and this indeed helps openchrome and other opensource project a lot.
On the other hand, I certainly believe constant mud-throwing is not helping the community a single bit, libv. I prefer to follow a more pragmatic approach.

[Kano]

Well as usually the date of releasing the specs is not the same date of a working driver... So no need to jump on the desk.

[Svartalf]

Well as usually the date of releasing the specs is not the same date of a working driver... So no need to jump on the desk.

Heh... Depends on whether or not the info's...

1) All there...
2) Complicated or not...

I'm checking into the "all there" part right now. The 3D document's only 157 pages in size for the VX700 3D programming doc (First thing I noticed, they did it under a Creative Commons license...definitely a change of pace...)- if it's all there, it means it's a somewhat simpler chip (explains the performance deltas, no?).

We'll see. It might be up and going against the old DRI framework quickly. I'd rather see a Gallium backend myself, but that may have to wait until the final cuts of the Intel Gallium3D support show up for that one.

[jeffro-tull]

It is also a bit odd that their leading priorities are multi-head and RandR support, when those aren't really huge sought after features for IGP customers compared to say improving the 3D support or improving video acceleration.

I know why they're worried about RandR and multi-head support. Their Nano reference boards are finally making it to OEM's. Meaning there should finally be a "second wave" of VIA-powered netbooks. I think I speak for all netbook owners when I say it's nice when the VGA-out actually works.