At 12:43 28.08.00, Michael Schmitz wrote:
quoted
quoted
When I go back to a kernel without new input layer, I have to change all
this back. This wouldn't be necessary if drivers for both /dev/adbmouse
and /dev/input/mice could coexist..
Well, that's the reason why I originally wanted this compatibility code.
However, after more thinking, I figured out that if we do that, all it
will result is yet another configuration mess with users and more support
emails ;)
We'll have the configuration mess either way. And few things are as
frustrating as answering the question 'why does the screen just keep
flashing on me when I boot this new 2.4 kernel, and how do I fix it' a
hundred times.
But if you have a clean cut you can actually tell people what to do if they
use 2.4. And with people I mean the mass of users that nearly never switch
kernels, not developers like us :-). And if they switch they usually don't
ever switch back after a trial phase.
For 2.2 backwards compatibility is a must, but 2.4 is a major kernel
release and the right time to drop some backwards compatibility. And this
change doesn't even require updated user tools, it just requires slight
config changes.
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Note that you can have the new input layer with 2.2 using my kernels. I
Which has working adbmouse if you remove all #ifndef INPUT_MOUSEDEV and
corresponding #endif in adbmouse.c.
In 2.2 adbmouse compatibility is there anyways, the only problem we are
still investigating is with Xpmac+adbmouse (well, Xpmac doesn't actually
use adbmouse right now), but this should be solved with the pending Xpmac
rev 11.
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still have to verify what's up with Vojtech, but I beleive the input
layer is part of the USB backport, meaning that future "kernel.org"
2.2s+backport will provide the same functionality as 2.4.
Meaning that functionality will be lost ... thanks for the warning.
In 2.2 we will include backwards compatibility with adbmouse, only in 2.4
you will only have the either/or choice. We want to encourage people to use
the input layer in 2.4, so /dev/adbmouse can be dropped completely during 2.5.
And no functionality is lost (the mouse still works), just backwards
compatibility. And I completely agree with Linus on dropping backwards
compatibility as soon as possible. Maybe we would have functional and fast
XF3/4 display drivers by now for all of our (few) chips, if we would have
dropped Xpmac compatibility in 2.3.1?
Franz.
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