Subject: Re: SunOS/Solaris driver for DBRIe
To: Erik E. Fair <fair@clock.org>
From: Jason Evans <jasone@keaggy.canonware.com>
List: port-sparc
Date: 12/19/1997 00:58:20
On Thu, 18 Dec 1997, Erik E. Fair wrote:
> The Sun SPARC LX and SPARCstation 10 (and 20?) have a built-in, combination
> sound and ISDN system. So far as I know, they aren't produced any more, or
> supported. That being the case, do you think it would be difficult to get
> the SunOS or Solaris device driver source code released to NetBSD?
It would likely be a major headache to release the source for that. Sun
has a rather strange view of what constitutes intellectual property. The
fact that the driver has various kernel function calls "could possibly
disclose IP concerning the architecture of the kernel".
Now, if you were looking for programming specs for the devices (and I
could find them, which isn't likely in this case), as long as the manuals
didn't have "confidential" stamped all over them, I could give that info
out freely. The sound/ISDN subsystem is most likely a product of SMCC (as
opposed to SME, where I work), so finding manuals in SME would be very
difficult even if the product were relatively new.
Sorry I can't be of more help on this one.
Jason