[alsa-devel] Alsa-OSS Duplex bug (revisited)

[Alan Horstmann]

On Friday 01 June 2007 10:56, you wrote:
> At Thu, 31 May 2007 22:00:25 +0100,
>
> Alan Horstmann wrote:
> > On Wednesday 30 May 2007 07:47, you wrote:
> > > Alan Horstmann wrote:

<< Edited snippets >>

> > > fd_playback = open("/dev/dsp", O_WRONLY);
> > > fd_capture = open("/dev/dsp", O_RDONLY);
> > >
> > > > > - change portaudio to open each direction separately, O_RDONLY and
> > > > >   O_WRONLY at first, then use O_RDWR as fallback
> > >
> > > This would be the preferred way.  After all, this is the only way that
> > > is possible with the existing OSS API when you want to use different
> > > sample formats, and it is recommended in all cases (see
> > > <http://manuals.opensound.com/developer/full_duplex.html>).
> >
> > My reading of the 4Front info is different.  I read that they recommend
> > best opening SEPARATE devices, one O_RDONLY and the other O_WRONLY, in
> > their scheme called 'twodevice'.  It also states in fulldup.c:-
> >
> > "... The one device full duplex scheme requires that the device file is
> > opened with O_RDWR."
> >

> Well, I'd say that the current ALSA-OSS implementation _is_ compatible
> to OSS API.  What they do is also a pure hack, as you know, just a
> workaround because the API doesn't provide the functionality
> properly for full-duplex with multi-channels.  The solution might be
> different, but it's not the question about "compatibility".
>
>
> Following this thread, I come to believe that the problem with
> audacity is actually the application problem.  It tries to open a
> full-duplex device with different number of channels for both
> directions.  It cannot work because it's not defined in API.  OTOH, if
> the number of channels are same for both directions, it should work
> with O_RDWR.
>

Thanks for sticking with it so far -hopefully we are moving towards a 
conclusion so that the result is a definitive recommendation for how to solve 
the problem of the OSS API limitation.

So that there is no misunderstanding, are you willing to confirm that, as far 
as Alsa-OSS goes, opening both
	input_handle = open("/dev/dsp", O_RDONLY)
and
	output_handle = open("/dev/dsp", O_WRONLY)
at the same time is a reliable way to open the device bi-directional, enabling 
different sample formats and/or numbers of channels to be set?  (Actually, I 
am curious whether different sample rates would also work?)

Provided this is so, the recommendation then for duplex as I understand it 
is:-
	a) where the format and no.channels is the same in each direction, 
	    use 
		input_handle = output_handle = open("device", O_RDWR)

	b) where the 2 directions have different format or no.channels use
		input_handle = open("device", O_RDONLY)
		output_handle = open("device", O_WRONLY)

since a) may improve compatibility with other OSS's but b) is necessary due to 
the limitations of the OSS API, whether or not it works with other OSS's.

Alan