On Mon, 10 Jan 2005 16:51:07 -0500, Glenn Maynard <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Again, by this logic, all software in contrib due to non-free library > dependencies should go in main; after all, they're "useful" for developing > and testing free reimplementations of those libraries. This is just an > argument for dropping contrib entirely and merging it back into main.
The firmware download is an incidental function of the driver, and in almost all cases there are some versions or states of the hardware in which it can be skipped during the driver probe. (Probably there is some hardware to which this doesn't apply; obviously there's still a need for case-by-case analysis.) It's a different scenario from the usual "main source builds main and contrib binaries", in which the part that's, say, written in Java (and dependent on recent J2SDK bits) or linked against Oracle's client library doesn't belong in the main binary package. Given the factual context of the kernel, I think there's enough "constitutional" room to place the border between main and non-free right at the module-firmware boundary rather than mandate that the driver be in the "contrib" DMZ. But IANADD, and YMMV. Cheers, - Michael -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
