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

PipeWire: The Linux audio/video bus

Posted Mar 4, 2021 4:14 UTC (Thu) by darwi (subscriber, #131202)
In reply to: PipeWire: The Linux audio/video bus by pizza
Parent article: PipeWire: The Linux audio/video bus

> 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 ;)