RE: [linuxdc-dev]Puru puru driver

[RC5Stint <rc5...@ya...>]

> The thing is - I cannot find a standard API/IF for this sort 
> of thing for Unix/Linux. I could write a custom one, but what's 
> the point of that?

If a custom API is generic enough and usable enough, it soon becomes
a standard.  Look what happened with IrixGL. :-)

I seem to remember an article on force feedback devices from MIT
Media Lab a few months ago, on an Assoc. of Computing Machinery
magazine (most probably Communications of the ACM.)  The article
claimed force feedback can be used along with sound cues and speech
synthesis, to successfully guide the blind when using a GUI'ed
computer.  The article referred to a mountain of previous Media Lab
research on the subject, most of it on ACM and IEEE publications.

> If the idea is to have games/software that is as portable 
> as possible then it doesn't make sense.

Sure it does!  To make the API portable and generic enough, take a
look at force feedback APIs in other game console and PC platforms,
or just examine the behavior of similar devices in other gaming
platforms (N64 Rumble Pak, PS1 DualShock, PS2 DualShock 2, etc.)

The PS2 Linux kit supports the Dual Shocks through some API.  The
source code to the kit is GPL'ed, and is available from several
places without having to buy a PS2 nor the kit (email me privately
for some URLs.)  Also, someone recently reversed engineered the PS2
Dual Shock 2 API for native PS2 deving.  I can email you the tarball
if you want it.

Did you look in Mac land?  They're usually on the ball with the human
interface side of things.  But I don't yet know where to look for Mac
API docs (maybe the Darwin site has force feedback device driver
sources or API docs?)

Force feedback devices were all the rage these past few years in
Windows game land.  Maybe you could look in MSDN for helpful hints
from DirectX.  Don't look to hard, or you might borrow some useless
Microsoftism we could do without.

After all this research, just provide an API for this type of device,
make it portable and generic enough, and leave it to UI and
application developers to worry about what to do with it.  Don't
sweat it if you yourself can't find a *nix use for the device.

> Should this be classed as an "input" device - when it 
> only does output? Any clues anyone...

Take a break and shug a beer (or two, or three.)  You've been
thinking too hard. :-)

Not trying to insult you, but if it only does output, it's obviously
an output device, dude.

- --
RC5Stint <rc5...@ya...>
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