Summary:	ASTERISK-05340: driver not available in normal way
Reporter:	yow (yow)	Labels:
Date Opened:	2005-10-21 00:13:59	Date Closed:	2011-06-07 14:02:50
Priority:	Major	Regression?	No
Status:	Closed/Complete	Components:	Core/General
Versions:		Frequency of Occurrence
Related Issues:
Environment:		Attachments:
Description:	A kernel driver is normally is expected to operate this way: you download the latest Linux kernel from www.kernel.org, unpack it, run "make menuconfig", select the driver (possibly NOT as a module, but built-in), run "make", run "make modules", run "make modules_install", and run "make install". By being in the mainline kernel, you get automatic bug fixes. People will run lint-like source code checkers to discover your flaws. The source will also be subject to critical expert review, likely to discover many design problems. Code which does not get this review is suspect. It's also harder to build. The whole CONFIG_CRC_CCITT thing, and all related bug reports, would not have happened because the kernel config system would enforce an automatic selection of the needed option. Furthermore, you're preventing non-moduler kernels. Non-modular kernels are a tiny bit faster, more easy to copy around (one file), and perhaps a bit more secure.
Comments:	By: yow (yow) 2005-10-21 00:17:10 I note that you can close FOUR other bugs if you fix this one. Many problems are related to keeping the driver out of the standard Linux kernel source. This is just not the way things are normally done. By: Mark Spencer (markster) 2005-10-21 00:35:08 The bug tracker is not the place to debate whether modular / non modular kernels make more sense.  Zaptel is generally very rapidly developed and has few kernel dependencies, so it doesn't seem particularly logical to try (again) to get it merged in with the mainstream kernel at the moment.  I understand there can be a lot of debate about this but asterisk-dev probably sounds like a better forum for it.