+ Amitai Schlair + is a pkgsrc developer who has worked in such diverse + areas as Mac OS X platform support and packages of + software by Dan Bernstein. His full-time undergraduate + studies at Columbia are another contributing factor + to his impending insanity. He consults in software + and IT. +
+ ]]>+ Most parts of the operating system (from low kernel, + through to libraries, all the way up to X, and then + even to applications) use fairly obvious interface + layers, where the "communication protocols" or + "argument passing" mechanisms (ie. APIs) can be + understood by any developer who takes the time to + read the free code. Device drivers pose an additional + and significant challenge though: because many + vendors refuse to document the exact behavior of + their devices. The devices are black boxes. And + often they are surprisingly weird, or even buggy. +
++ When vendor documentation does not exist, the + development process can become extremely hairy. + Groups of developers have found themselves focused + for months at a time, figuring out the most simple + steps, simply because the hardware is a complete + mystery. Access to documentation can ease these + difficulties rapidly. However, getting access to + the chip documentation from vendors is ... almost + always a negotiation. If we had open access to + documentation, anyone would be able to see how + simple all these devices actually are, and device + driver development would flourish (and not just in + OpenBSD, either). +
++ When we proceed into negotiations with vendors, + asking for documentation, our position is often + weak. One would assume that the modern market is + fair, and that selling chips would be the primary + focus of these vendors. But unfortunately a number + of behemoth software vendors have spent the last + 10 or 20 years building political + hurdles against the smaller players. +
++ A particularly nasty player in this regard has been + the Linux vendors and some Linux developers, who + have played along with an American corporate model + of requiring NDAs for chip documentation. This has + effectively put Linux into the club with Microsoft, + but has left all the other operating system communities + -- and their developers -- with much less available + clout for requesting documentation. In a more fair + world, the Linux vendors would work with us, and + the device driver support in all free operating + systems would be fantastic by now. +
++ We only ask that users + help us in changing the political landscape. +
+ ]]> +