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Date:      Sat, 16 Dec 2017 00:05:28 +0100
From:      Sid <sid@bsdmail.com>
To:        freebsd-ports@freebsd.org, yuri@rawbw.com, fjwcash@gmail.com, gurenchan@gmail.com
Subject:   Re: OSS Audio
Message-ID:  <trinity-591c5f9d-357f-4ae9-88b2-d5d603fb8de4-1513379128533@3c-app-mailcom-lxa04>

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> Yuri; Fri Dec 15 20:22:24 UTC 2017
> Jack isn't needed in theory, but OSS drivers for many popular sound=20
> devices don't support midi=2E PCI audio devices generally don't support=
=20
> midi, only USB ones do=2E So if you want midi, you have to go with=20
> soft-midi (ex=2E Jack+fluidsynth)=2E

> Jack is a very powerful audio server, though a bit buggy=2E

sndiod covers MIDI hardware, which is installed by audio/sndio
Now I get it, I think she is looking for MIDI, and driver capabilities for=
 physical hardware=2E

> Freddie Cash; Fri Dec 15 16:22:36 UTC 2017
=E2=80=8B> FreeBSD has had the ability to play sounds from multiple progra=
ms
> simultaneously since the 4=2Ex days=2E  Back then, the kernel developed =
a
> "virtual channels" layer to accommodate this (program X uses /dev/dsp0,
> program Y uses /dev/dsp1, program Z uses /dev/dsp2, audio is mixed and
> played out the speakers together)=2E  Later this was done automatically =
by
> multiple programs simply accessing /dev/dsp=2E

This was my misconception=2E I think what happened is, the frontend/API fo=
r many programs from the
portstree got improved this year, when sndio was brought over allowing dif=
ferent programs
to access these drivers at once=2E It was easier for them to bring make th=
ose adjustments,
when it was fixed for that other operating system=2E

This is a description of sndio on FreeBSD=2E
https://forums=2Efreebsd=2Eorg/threads/62892/#post-363265
https://forums=2Efreebsd=2Eorg/threads/43417/#post-368500

>From what I understand is, that OSS and Sndio have their drivers in the /d=
ev/ directory,
and separately have a frontend or API to connect to user programs=2E
OSS hardware drivers are compiled into the kernel or started as modules=2E
Sndiod hardware drivers can also be turned on, to be seen in /dev/=2E

> blubee blubeeme;
> If you want to test for yourself, install audio/oss then run osstest and
> report back=2E

The program audio/oss is a frontend=2E FreeBSD by default uses OSS hardwar=
e drivers,
as that's what most sound devices in /dev/ are=2E To use a newer OSS backe=
nd/hardware driver,
you'd have to get updated source if available, and recompile your kernel=
=2E

It's not that FreeBSD is limiting features, it is more that, OSS is a clus=
ter of complexities,
when it is brought to FreeBSD, it is cleaned up, trimmed, and made efficie=
nt for this OS=2E

Different frontends/API's (ALSA, JACK, PULSEAUDIO, OSS, SNDIO, native APIs=
) just work together
on top of FreeBSD's native OSS hardware driver=2E



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