Re: Kernel 2.6.X roadmap ?

Hi Jean,

On Fri, 25 Jun 2004, Jean Tourrilhes wrote:

> 	I believe it's about time we start talking on how to get the
> at76c503a driver included in the Linux kernel. Both the driver and the
> kernel are mature enough, so I feel it's the right time. If we wait
> too much, 2.6.X will be in feature freeze and we will have to deal
> with 2.7.X.
> 	I think everybody would benefit from this, the drivers would
> automatically be included in most distro, the driver would
> automatically get fixed when the USB API changes, you would get more
> exposure, and so on. Furthermore, Jeff has made some negative comments
> about drivers outside the kernel, which could make your life more
> difficult in the future.
> 	As far as I can see, the only contentious point would be
> firmware images. But, you already support hotplug firmware loading, so
> I guess migrating all firmwares to hotplug should not be too much
> work.
> 	I would appreciate to get your thoughts on the subject, and if
> possible, establish a roadmap to get the driver in the kernel.

Thanks for asking! I'd definitely like to have the driver in the
kernel. It still contains an ugly work-around for the USB reset problem,
which may be obsolete with 2.6.7 (due to the changelog comment by
[email protected]).

I'd like to look into this, trying to remove it and release version 0.12.
Guess it will be 3-4 weeks from now until we have a patch to the kernel
source to send to Jeff.
This will leave out: WPA enabled firmware, tests with at76c505a devices
recently added (I've got none here and the guy to test it didn't answer),
suppport for the common 802.11 stack in the kernel.

Jean, would this timeframe be OK? Do I have to use BitKeeper for the
patch? Which place in the kernel is appropriate: drivers/net/wireless
or drivers/usb/net?

Nick, is there any stuff you'd like to add in 0.12?

Regards,
Jörg.