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• /* private data - core does not touch */
• void *private; /* FIXME: still SOF-specific, needs to less ambiguous */

Then better to name it sof_private?

Ah, this is a mistake in the FIXME comment. initially we had a field called "sof" and Mark made the following comment:

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so we added a FIXME to track this, then later we moved the field and renamed it 'private' so that it can be used by others if needed but didn't remove the FIXME. Will fix this.

That doesn't really address the issue - there's multiple drivers using any given runtime so none of them can safely use a generically named private data field. Conversely putting a field specific to a given driver into the core data structures opens the door to everyone wanting their custom stuff in the core which is also a problem for different reasons. This would be a lot easier with the DSP represented as a first class device in the system...

I see your point and agree the current direction isn't scalable, but I am not sure about the definition of 'first class device'.

Did you mean 'component' at the same level as the 'platforms' and 'codecs', with all the DSP stuff nicely packaged and maintained in a self-contained way?

Or a subcomponent that might be part of those platforms and codecs?