PipeWire: The Linux audio/video bus [LWN.net]

PipeWire: The Linux audio/video bus

Posted Mar 3, 2021 13:44 UTC (Wed) by pizza (subscriber, #46)
In reply to: PipeWire: The Linux audio/video bus by darwi
Parent article: PipeWire: The Linux audio/video bus

> The good news is that the community as a whole learned a lot from the ALSA→PulseAudio transition fiasco. Remember that everyone is also more than a decade older now

It's probably more accurate to say that a _huge_ number of ALSA and application[+library] bugs were uncovered and fixed during the early PA days, and that work continues to pay dividends, making future migrations much easier.

(The main technical reason for the ease of the PA->PW migration is that PA and PW both provide ALSA plugins so that software natively using the ALSA API continues to JustWork, and of course PW provides a drop-in PA library replacement..)

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PipeWire: The Linux audio/video bus

Posted Mar 4, 2021 4:14 UTC (Thu) by darwi (subscriber, #131202) [Link] (1 responses)

> It's probably more accurate to say that a _huge_ number of ALSA and application[+library] bugs were uncovered and fixed during the early PA days, and that work continues to pay dividends, making future migrations much easier.

Yes, of course. I thought this was implied. I meant also "wiser" in the technical sense.

> (The main technical reason for the ease of the PA->PW migration is that PA and PW both provide ALSA plugins so that software natively using the ALSA API continues to JustWork, and of course PW provides a drop-in PA library replacement..)

It's not only about that.

Anyone can implement compatibility layers; e.g., roaraudio reimplements the PulseAudio APIs. On the ALSA compatability side, ALSA plugins are actually the simplest part of the equation: it's usually a single C file with some hundred lines of code + a 10-line configuration file.

As discussed in the article, how PipeWire is internally designed is actually what helps a lot. Don't underestimate how a proper initial rigorous design makes things much smoother at the later adoption and transition stages of any software project. A proper design makes everything "fit into place".

PipeWire design and code is semantically simpler than PulseAudio; in part, because everyone got wiser. Anyone who has worked inside the PulseAudio code base for a while will know what I mean here ;)

PipeWire: The Linux audio/video bus

Posted Mar 5, 2021 14:22 UTC (Fri) by ecree (guest, #95790) [Link]

> PipeWire design and code is semantically simpler than PulseAudio; in part, because everyone got wiser.

Sounds like PipeWire may be an example of third-system effect. A good sign.