Re: What is accepted into the standard kernel sources ?
Rogier Wolff (R.E.Wolff@BitWizard.nl)
Wed, 4 Feb 1998 10:13:57 +0100 (MET)
Jan Vroonhof wrote:
>
> Henrik Storner <storner@image.dk> writes:
>
> > In a wider perspective, a hardware vendor who wants to support Linux
> > currently has three options:
>
> You forgot one
>
> >
> > 1) Release hardware specs and let someone write a driver.
> > 2) Write a driver himself and release it in binary form only.
> > 3) Provide an API for dealing with the hardware, and have someone
> > develop a driver based on this API (the "Olicom" way).
>
> 4) Write a driver himself and release it under GPL in full (i.e. with
> full source).
>
> Nr 4) is the preferred option from the Linux community point of view.
> This may be totally naive but personally I fail to see what a company
> in the business of selling hardware could gain by not giving out
> source code.
The problem with this is that many of those "in power" think that the
intimate details of tinkering with the hardware gives out vital design
secrets.
Wether or not this is true, those in power at Olicom think so. In the
case at hand, Olicom cannot give out a full-source driver.
Roger.
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