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Writing a basic Linux device driver when you know nothing about Linux drivers

(crescentro.se)
496 points sbt567 | 2 comments | 22 Jun 25 10:29 UTC | HN request time: 0.389s | source
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ahartmetz ◴[25 Jun 25 20:09 UTC] No.44381377[source]▶
> I also thought I’d message the vendor and ask them if they could share any specifications or docs regarding their protocol. To my surprise, Nanoleaf tech support responded to me within 4 hours, with a full description of the protocol that’s used both by the Desk Dock as well as their RGB strips.

How cool is that? Too many vendors still think that they have valuable intellectual property in such relative trivialities. And that handing out the specs freely helps their competitors more than themselves.

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1. amelius ◴[26 Jun 25 08:49 UTC] No.44385480[source]▶
I wish more vendors would put "Linux support" on the package. Or maybe "Unofficially supported in Linux" or "Linux community support" if they don't want to get their fingers burned.

Maybe this kind of thing should be enforced in the GPL (as many devices use Linux under the hood).

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2. ahartmetz ◴[26 Jun 25 19:35 UTC] No.44390523[source]▶
IME, Linux support is often mentioned on the package these days. But you still need to look it up anyway because it's often a vendor source dump for a particular kernel version. Such drivers are often not that good. Notable exception: my Brother printer-scanner-copier has been working fine with its vendor-provided user space driver for ~10 years now. I think it has not been updated for most of that time. It contains 32 bit binaries!