Re: [linux-usb-devel] Anything new about Logitech IFeel-Mouse ForceFeedback-Support?

[Vojtech P. <vo...@su...>]

On Thu, Oct 04, 2001 at 08:44:32PM -0400, Adam Goode wrote:
> I started my SF page with the intent to make 2 items:
> 
>  1. The low level kernel drivers,
> 
>  2. the higher level userspace libraries and integration with Qt/GTK+.
> 
> 
> Part 1 more rightfully belongs in the linuxconsole project, I think. They
> have done an excellent job so far with all things USB, and I think they
> will have something excellent for 2.5. They also have a force feedback
> framework in place.
> 
> Part 2 doesn't exist yet, because we don't have Part 1... ;)
> 
> For now, it makes sense to focus resources on linuxconsole, because
> that is where all the good stuff will happen. I looked at doing this,
> but was somewhat stopped by two things:
> 
>  a) The lack of a good way to send interrupt messages to USB devices
>     from userspace (like libusb, but someone suggested this isn't too
>     hard to fix),

You don't need this, if you do b)

>  b) the somewhat more troubling problem of where to fit the iFeel driver.
>     The iFeel mouse is a regular old HID device, and I think that the
>     HID driver does a wonderful job in controlling it. But the iFeel has
>     an extra interrupt endpoint which takes the force feedback commands,
>     and I wasn't sure the best way to put this nonstandard extension
>     into the current USB framework without rewriting or duplicating a
>     lot of code nicely implemented in the HID driver.
> 
> Problem a is not a huge problem, it just makes it easier to test and
> develop the lowest level stuff.
> 
> Problem b is a more complicated issue, and I think this needs to be resolved
> before we can move forward. I don't think it's a huge issue, but it needs
> to be addressed. The place to do it is with the linuxconsole folks...

I have no problem with just adding an hid-ifeel.c driver with reasonable
hooks into the hid-core and hid-input.

> Yay, verbosity. Anyway, I hope that this gives you a better idea of 
> where I'm at, and what needs to get done before we get some progress.
> The actual commands to send to the mouse are dirt simple, we just
> need to get them there smoothly... :)
> 
> For now, my 'tactile' SF project is sleeping. Once we get the basic kernel
> stuff going, I think it would be a good place to work on the higher level
> stuff, perhaps in a more device independent way. (That's why I named it
> 'tactile' and not 'ifeel-linux'.)

-- 
Vojtech Pavlik
SuSE Labs