[openbeos] Re: hardware list
- From: "Jonas Sundström" <jonas@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: openbeos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 06 Jun 2007 04:13:40 +0200 CEST
Karl vom Dorff <karl@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
...
> The ultimate goal is to come up with something like this:
>
> http://www.haikuware.com/index.php?
> option=com_content&task=view&id=38&Itemid=1
>
> I know there's been discussion of the database I made here:
>
> http://www.haikuware.com/index.php?option=com_sobi2
About a possible hardware support/diagnostic/fixer agent/daemon thing &
webservice for Haiku..
I would think there is need for a website search function that lets the
agent ask for a driver (a download or info webpage) for a device with
certain characteristics. There could be multiple hits on the same
device metadata, if there are multiple drivers for it.
As different classes of hardware have different identifying metadata
embedded in the devices, this would have to be reflected in the server
query and in the database schema. Something like this ..
http://www.haikuware.com/query.php?class=PCI&vendor=0x14d2&id=8020
http://www.haikuware.com/query.php?class=USB&Product=X&Manufacturer=X&Class=0&Subclass=0&Protocol=0&VendorID=1118&ProductID=106&Version=21
(I don't know which of these are good. I just copied them from the
USBDeskbarView.)
.. and so on for other classes.
I don't think it's a good idea to try to squeeze all possible drivers
(like future official nvidia drivers) into a blessed, installable
format. It could be more like a search engine presenting potential
matches.
The database, which would map device metadata to a download that with
some degree of probability support the device, could be maintained
manually* and not be based on any kind of device driver binary standard
and package format with metadata. That would be overkill and not likely
to work for drivers that can't be repackaged or be installed in an
automated fashion, like drivers packaged as installers. One could of
course have a blessed format for drivers that -can- be installed in an
automated fasion but which for some reason can not be bundled with
Haiku.
A naive relational db schema that could be used would be to have each
driver able map to one or more sets of device metadata, like sets of
vendor and card IDs (for PCI device drivers). Ideally one set of device
metadata should be able to map multiple drivers. It's been years since
I did any SQL, so I'll leave that to someone else.
*I don't think there's any way around some amount of actual manual
work. It's got to be done somewhere, either by the one packaging a
device driver, or by someone cataloguing a set of premade drivers.
My clock says 04:12, so perhaps this is just crazy talk. :P
/Jonas.
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