[Python-Dev] Proposed changes to linuxaudiodev

Guido van Rossum guido@python.org
Fri, 29 Nov 2002 20:37:11 -0500


> I've been hacking sporadically on the linuxaudiodev module for the last
> couple of days.  Initial results are in patch #645786
> (www.python.org/sf/645786).  The main goal of this patch is to make
> linuxaudiodev objects a thinner wrapper around the underlying OSS device
> driver, while still providing some highish-level convenience methods --
> see my comments in the patch for details.
> 
> There's a slight theoretical risk of backwards incompatibility, though.
> Since this module has never been documented, and since its current
> behaviour is such that doing anything really funky is severely
> curtailed, I very much doubt this will be a problem.  Is anyone doing
> anything with linuxaudiodev more sophisticated than playing silly beep
> sounds?  Should I ask around on python-list to be sure I won't ruin
> anyone's day with this change?
> 
> Oh yeah: someone noted in the CVS history that the module is misnamed.
> This is true; it should probably have been called ossaudiodev -- OSS is
> the current standard audio API used by Linux and, I think, various BSDs.
> It's also available for a bunch of commercial Unices.

I recommend that you simply check in your new code as ossaudiodev and
we'll mark the linuxaudiodev module as deprecated.

--Guido van Rossum (home page: http://www.python.org/~guido/)