On Sun, Jul 23, 2023 at 12:04:50PM -0400, Alan Stern wrote:
> If you've got a WiFi device that connects to the host computer via USB,
> do you refer to it as a "wireless USB device" or as a "USB wireless
> device"?
A "USB wifi device", just like the "PCI wifi device" in my desktop.
Or "USB keyboard", or "USB mouse", or "USB thermometer", etc.
> The second would seem to be more logical, by analogy with things like a
> USB mouse or a USB thumbdrive -- we don't say "mouse USB device" or
> "thumbdrive USB device"!
Exactly.
> Furthermore, the first ("Wireless USB") is in fact the name of a defunct
> specification for an Ultra-WideBand interface that would run the USB
> communication protocol over a wireless connection.
Exactly, let's not get things confused with that obsolete and dead
technology please.
> Nevertheless there are quite a few places in the kernel source that use
> "wireless USB" where they really mean "USB wireless". (A few of them
> are gray cases, like "Sierra Wireless USB-to-WWAN", although here the
> word "Wireless" evidently is redundant -- maybe it is part of a brand
> name?)
>
> Would there be any objection to a patch that does a wholesale conversion
> from "wireless USB" to "USB wireless"?
I would be glad to take such a patch.
> PS: Similar reasoning applies to the term "wireless PCIe device",
> although here the number of offenders is smaller.
Hah, I should have read the whole email :)
thanks,
greg k-h
