Linux is not ready for Steam

[darkphoenix22]

The core API matters because we shouldn't have to have 15 different wrappers to get needed functionality. All these wrappers have to work with each other, creating the mess that was outlined on previous pages.

It would be best to have a simple low level sound API that could easily be expanded on without the problems of PulseAudio/ALSA.

This would also make the jobs of the people maintaining JACK, SDL, and OpenAL much easier.

[kraftman]

PulseAudio or OSS

Rather ALSA.

[darkphoenix22]

Rather ALSA.

Rather a choice.

OSSv4 needs to be pushed into the mainstream Linux distributions so it can be tested and fixed.

[kraftman]

the last time I tried OSSv4 it so compeletly fucked up my soundcard that I had to turn off the computer. Thank you very much ossv4.

Me too and no mixing working at all. The hell no for this. It should die and it's dying already.

[kraftman]

Rather a choice.

OSSv4 needs to be pushed into the mainstream Linux distributions so it can be tested and fixed.

To have the same mess like with Qt and Gtk? There's ALSA and it's default. It's being fixed all the time.

[darkphoenix22]

OSSv4 can emulate ALSA very well. It just lacks a few a features at the moment that I'm sure will be fixed/added if it was made a choice in the major Linux distros.

ALSA is a dead end as it can not be easily expanded without resorting to high-level abstraction. OSSv4 does not appear to have this limitation.

[darkphoenix22]

Me too and no mixing working at all. The hell no for this. It should die and it's dying already.

It work well enough for my friend. Did you try the trunk build? The stable build has issues, according to my friend who is now using the trunk build of OSSv4 on Gentoo.

He told me that it also resulted in a huge increase in sound quality and clarity on his computer. He was quite pleased with this surprize.

[pingufunkybeat]

Have you actually ever written any software that used the OSS and/or ALSA API?

I don't see the problem -- ALSA is the interface to the hardware, and there are libraries out there that will do what you want.

I don't understand why a regular user (not a power-user sound engineer, mind you) needs OSSv4 -> ALSA emulation -> PulseAudio -> OpenAL -> app.

Why not ALSA -> OpenAL, and you're done?

[curaga]

Have you actually ever written any software that used the OSS and/or ALSA API?

I don't see the problem -- ALSA is the interface to the hardware, and there are libraries out there that will do what you want.

I don't understand why a regular user (not a power-user sound engineer, mind you) needs OSSv4 -> ALSA emulation -> PulseAudio -> OpenAL -> app.

Why not ALSA -> OpenAL, and you're done?

Or OSS4 -> OpenAL, no?

[darkphoenix22]

Have you actually ever written any software that used the OSS and/or ALSA API?

I don't see the problem -- ALSA is the interface to the hardware, and there are libraries out there that will do what you want.

I don't understand why a regular user (not a power-user sound engineer, mind you) needs OSSv4 -> ALSA emulation -> PulseAudio -> OpenAL -> app.

Why not ALSA -> OpenAL, and you're done?

Like the post above said, the vast majority of programs and libraries on Linux already support OSSv4 as it's backward compatible with OSSv3, which is used as a fallback.

Most programs and libraries are a setting away from using OSSv4 with the ALSA compatibility layer. The others can be compiled to use OSS, with a few minor exceptions where alsa-lib can be used in the short term.

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Open_Sound_System