[HN Gopher] A Nouveau graphics driver update ___________________________________________________________________ A Nouveau graphics driver update Author : chmaynard Score : 34 points Date : 2023-12-01 22:02 UTC (58 minutes ago) (HTM) web link (lwn.net) (TXT) w3m dump (lwn.net) | calvinmorrison wrote: | There are a number of disadvantages too, though. The firmware | provides no stable ABI, and a lot of the calls it provides are | not documented. The firmware files themselves are large, in the | range of 20-30MB, and two of them are required for any given | device. That significantly bloats a system's /boot directory and | initramfs image (which must provide every version of the firmware | that the kernel might need), and forces the Nouveau developers to | be strict and careful about picking up firmware updates. | | Is 20-30Mb of /boot space really a concern for someone running an | nvidia graphics card? | fny wrote: | I still don't understand why it's so damn hard to use a NVIDIA | GPU on Linux vs Windows. The NVIDIA drivers are closed source for | both. Once deep learning took off, I expected things to change, | but the other day I tried to install drivers for a new card and | my Bluetooth and WiFi stopped working. | smoldesu wrote: | The main difference is probably that Linux has a dozen+ | desktops and (even ideally) multiple desktop implementations to | support. Windows has just one, and they update it continuously | (not to say it works perfectly either). | | In the end, Windows has more users that report bugs on fewer | setups. That makes fixing things much easier than Linux. | tedunangst wrote: | The driver API in the windows kernel changes about once a | decade. And they're not actively hostile to loading closed | source drivers. | axlee wrote: | What exactly is the issue with proprietary drivers? They ship the | hardware, they ship the driver(s). That's their problem. They | probably want people to be able to use their cards. Why fight | this battle? | | If Nvidia wants to lose Linux users by not shipping drivers, let | them fall, but I don't see the point in badly replicating drivers | and making them "open-source". You still bought the GC from | BigCorp, and only Nvidia can make those cards anyway: this "open- | source" driver can't exist without Nvidia making cards. Who | benefits from all that work? | dralley wrote: | Open source drivers can be shipped in the mainline kernel. | Drivers that ship in the mainline kernel, are 1000% less of a | pain in the ass. | vlovich123 wrote: | If that were the case, we'd have almost no HW support on Linux. | The Linux kernel doesn't have a stable API nor ABI which means | the only way to get meaningful HW support is to mainline the | driver. DKMS helps a bit in "stabilizing" but it has it's | warts. ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2023-12-01 23:00 UTC)