git: 903873ce1560 - main - Implement and use new mixer(3) library for FreeBSD.

[Hans Petter Selasky]

On 10/3/21 6:03 PM, Mateusz Piotrowski wrote:
> On 22/09/2021 20:03, Hans Petter Selasky wrote:
>> The branch main has been updated by hselasky:
>>
>> URL: 
>> https://cgit.FreeBSD.org/src/commit/?id=903873ce15600fc02a0ea42cbf888cff232b411d 
>>
>>
>> commit 903873ce15600fc02a0ea42cbf888cff232b411d
>> Author:     Hans Petter Selasky <hselasky at FreeBSD.org>
>> AuthorDate: 2021-09-22 13:42:51 +0000
>> Commit:     Hans Petter Selasky <hselasky at FreeBSD.org>
>> CommitDate: 2021-09-22 17:43:56 +0000
>>
>>      Implement and use new mixer(3) library for FreeBSD.
>>      Wiki article: 
>> https://wiki.freebsd.org/SummerOfCode2021Projects/SoundMixerImprovements
>>      This project was part of Google Summer of Code 2021.
> 
> This may be a bit late to discuss but the new mixer has a completely 
> different
> set of options and command-line arguments. In addition to that,
> the output of the command is different.
> 
> Shouldn't we keep supporting the previous way of interacting with mixer?
> I know that people are scripting mixer and its output in production
> in order to control soundcards. Are there any good reasons to keep the new
> mixer(8) as it is now while keeping the old name? Perhaps we could change
> the name of the new mixer to, e.g., newmixer. Users are going to have to
> rewrite their scripts for mixer(8) anyway for 14.0.
> 

Hi Mateusz,

It depends what level of compatibility you need.

If you have a script parsing mixer output, then it needs to be binary 
compatible so to speak. That means some new features like "mute" won't work.

It looks like all BSDs have diverged in the mixer area. NetBSD calls it 
mixerctl:

https://man.netbsd.org/mixerctl.1

During the GSoc there was no requirement for binary compatibility for 
the mixer utility. Only in the kernel APIs are backwards compatible.

Would it help to make a port, like "oldmixer", under "audio" ?

Christos, feel free to chime in.

--HPS