Re: jackd to be uninstall, do I need it?

[cmetzler@speakeasy.net]

H.S. wrote:
> 
> I am in the process of upgrading selected packages in my Testing
> machine, running 2.6.12 kernel. For the time being, I am not touching
> kde (since it wants to remove k3b). But if I try to upgrade alsa
> packages, jackd is to be uninstalled:
> 
> $> sudo apt-get -s install alsaplayer-alsa
> Reading package lists... Done
> Building dependency tree... Done
> The following extra packages will be installed:
>   alsaplayer-common alsaplayer-daemon alsaplayer-esd alsaplayer-gtk
> alsaplayer-jack alsaplayer-nas alsaplayer-oss alsaplayer-text
>   alsaplayer-xosd libflac7 libjack0.100.0-0 liboggflac3
> The following packages will be REMOVED:
>   jackd
> The following NEW packages will be installed:
>   libflac7 libjack0.100.0-0 liboggflac3
> The following packages will be upgraded:
>   alsaplayer-alsa alsaplayer-common alsaplayer-daemon alsaplayer-esd
> alsaplayer-gtk alsaplayer-jack alsaplayer-nas alsaplayer-oss
>   alsaplayer-text alsaplayer-xosd
> 10 upgraded, 3 newly installed, 1 to remove and 291 not upgraded.
> 
> 
> 
> So, do I need jackd for anything or should I let the upgrade remove it?
> In other words, what will be affected by jackd's removal?

First of all, if you had any packages installed that had a dependancy
on jackd, then they'd be listed in the "will be REMOVED" list as well;
the fact that you don't means you're OK, in principle, unless you've
installed something from outside the Debian packaging system that
depends on JACK (e.g. you're running a CVS version of Ardour or
Rosegarden or LinuxSampler or something like that).  So only you
can answer the question of whether you need it.

jackd, aka JACK, JACKit or the "JACK Audio Connection Kit", is a
low-latency audio connection system/server; it exists to allow
JACK-aware audio applications to pass audio streams between each
other.  The list of JACK-aware applications is still pretty short,
and is mainly limited to pro-audio tools -- and it'll probably stay
that way, since pro-audio work is really the only stuff that *needs*
what JACK brings.  For most audio stuff that the typical desktop user
does, doing stuff through JACK would be overkill and thus really
unnecessary.

-c