Raul Miller wrote:
On Fri, Dec 17, 2004 at 10:39:26AM +0100, Peter Van Eynde wrote:The API is known, otherwise there would be no Linux driver.The API that is programmed by the firmware -- which you shouldn't confuse with the API used by the driver that downloads the firmware -- is not known to us.
I don't understand you. An API is not "programmed". Something can provide or support an API or use an API. In this case the firmware+hardware provides and API to the linux driver. It is known, we can support it. If the device has bugs in executing the API it makes no difference if there is a firmware or not to the driver, nor does it to our support because we don't provide the firmware, we only use it. The mere fact of uploading the firmware does not give us an obligation to support it.
If your printer misprints a page you don't expect debian to patch it do you? ...
It is useful to re-upload the flash. Nothing else. So what is the difference between this use and the driver that has to load it every time?The "has to" bit.
If the "has to" is to do a specific task, eg connecting to a wifi network, then the "has to" is no different from grub loading the XP bootsector.
In the other case the ipw2100 driver already loads and does some (very limited) work.
Groetjes, Peter