On Thu, May 2, 2013 at 2:29 PM, Dmitry Torokhov
<dmitry.torokhov@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> - any mapping library is going to have to be a mirror of the kernel
>> code, which means it's basically just a lot of duplicated effort with
>> the added penalty of update lag
>
> The library can do much more than that. You also need to calibrate the
> device (per user), adjust it to user's tastes and so on. Maybe you have
> a user that is left-handed and you'd like to remap some keys? It is
> certainly not kernel's job.
I think calibration, dead-zones, easing, button remapping and the
like are a totally orthogonal problem. They are nice to have, but
that's the kind of thing that belongs in a desktop environment's
accessibility settings, not at the input protocol level.
> There also should not be lag if new devices follow the agreed upon
> mapping.
If we can have that, at least, it means the problem is eventually
fixed. Maybe not for years, but at least someday.
> The same thing can be done in a library. Libraries are easier then
> kernels, you do not need to consume memory until needed and you do not
> need to do the conversion if it is not needed. And it should be possible
> to update the library whereas with kernel you mist likely need to reboot
> the box.
>
> Why do people believe that patching the kernel is easier than updating
> userspace?
The kernel is the core of the system; Linux isn't Linux without
the Linux kernel. If I make a game input library and try to get
people to use it, there's a whole chicken-and-egg problem of getting
developers to support something nobody has installed, and getting
users to install something no developers support. I have to convince
the distros to pick it up, and to keep updating it. I have to monitor
changes in the kernel codebase to see if the library needs updating.
I have to deal with the possibility that the library becomes a useful
bandaid, with people saying "meh, this is a hard problem, punt the fix
to the library". I have to hope that telling players to install
another dependency isn't going to lose me customers.
The kernel has authority that a library does not, and it has a
distribution mechanism that a library does not. The kernel is
effectively the source of the data; all I can do outside of that is
provide a filter and hope people use it.
Todd.
--
Todd Showalter, President,
Electron Jump Games, Inc.
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