Hadron wrote:
> Ian Hilliard <nospam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
>
>> Erik Funkenbusch wrote:
>>
>>>> Even some Microsoft products do not support 64-bit PCs. Of course, open
>>>> source drivers don't have this issue.
>>>
>>> I think the issue here is that, for a variety of reasons, Linux drivers
>>> are typically written in C, and not optimized to the Nth degree for
>>> performance like their Windows counterparts are.
>>>
>>> I'd dare say, most "performance" oriented drivers (video, sound, etc..)
>>> are written largely in assembly language to eek out every ounce of
>>> performance the hardware can give. This makes them less portable, and
>>> developers have much less experience writing 64-bit assembly. C
>>> drivers, unless you're really stupid, largely just need a recompile.
>>
>> ...and yet, where the hardware interface is available, Linux performs
>> better. The USB driver is case in point.
>>
>> The problem is that the Windows driver model is a nightmare to develop
>> and is not particularly efficient. This is probably because of the high
>> degree of abstraction between the drivers and the Windows kernel. The
>> fact that the Windows driver model is a cluster fudge probably doesn't
>> help.
>>
>> Like with most of the deeper API's, the fact that there is no version
>> control mechanism in Windows means that drivers need to pass in details
>> of what they expect so that the kernel libraries can attempt to provide
>> the correct return. It is a very clumsy model.
>>
>> The inherent version control on libraries in Linux plus being Open Source
>> means that the drivers can be closer to the metal and hence perform
>> better. The only caveat is that drivers have to be compiled for the
>> kernel. The Ubuntu nVidia driver has shown that this process can work
>> seamlessly, even where the driver contains a CSS blob.
>>
>> Ian
>>
>>
>>
>
> And yet with Linux (or some distros) new kernel means compiling a new
> video driver. Nightmare.
>
>
http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?p=89130&sid=468f88443356e877b98045f6e281780c
>
Many OSS developers believe that by not making it easy to use the CSS
drivers this will force the producers of these drivers to change their
ways. I personally believe that the producers of these drivers won't change
their ways until there is an economic imperative. The opening of the ATI
hardware spec may just be the necessary catalyst.
Ian
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