[alsa-devel] underruns and strange code in pcm_rate.c (and patch)

[Stas Sergeev]

Stas Sergeev wrote:
> The patch is attached, any comments?
I am actually a bit surprised
with the lack of the response
to this. Esp given the existance
of the threads like this:
http://www.mail-archive.com/alsa-user@lists.sourceforge.net/msg15494.html
(btw, can someone please e-mail
the address of Scott Waye, so that
I can ask him to test the patch?)
and the amount of entries google
gives on "alsa underrun" request.
I also have one private reply, which
says that my patch fixes also
portaudio+espeak, but that's all.

That patch may not be correct, but
at least I think it worth some attention.
Without the patch, I am (and many
other users apparently) getting a
constant stream of underruns and
a choppy sound from pretty much
anything. With the patch - its
almost perfect. Well, it is perfect,
but I can still get an underrun by
the rapid console switching between
X and text. And I think I see the
source of these underruns too:
snd_pcm_wait() checks for avail>=avail_min
in userspace, and then proceeds to
poll(). snd_pcm_playback_poll() (in
kernel) doesn't check for anything
and calls poll_wait(). If between
these events the fragment was completed
(by an irq handler), this poll_wait()
will miss the right time. I guess that
the fix is to use the wait_for_completion()
here, but I am not sure.

Anyway. If this work is ignored now,
then I can bet the problems will stay
for the next few years or more, until
someone else will expire to start fixing them.
Which would probably be a bit disappointing.