Re: [Libusb-devel] Questions regarding linux usb driver

[Tim R. <ti...@pr...>]

Lisa Whitehead wrote:
>  
> I am a software engineer at Varian Chromatography Systems.  I have
> some questions about the libusb driver on linux.
>  
> Which kernel is the linux usb driver compatible with?

It doesn't have a driver.  It uses the generic "usbfs" driver that has
been built-in to Linux kernels since sometime in the 2.4 era.


>  Does the license agreement will allow us to use it without requiring
> that we make our proprietary code available to the open source community?

For now, libusb uses the LGPL.  What that means is that if you
statically link libusb with your project, you are required to supply
enough stuff for people to rebuild the product with a different libusb. 
That can be object files, if you want.


> Is this project is actively developed and supported or would we be
> largely on our own if we chose this option?

There's a fair-sized group of people here who care about it.  The
current library, libusb 0.1, is stable but has some limitations: it
doesn't support isochronous pipes, nor does it support asynchronous
requests.  There is a replacement being architected with these
additional features, but it's not quite ready yet.

-- 
Tim Roberts, ti...@pr...
Providenza & Boekelheide, Inc.