ALSA: Difference between revisions
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=Introduction= | =Introduction= | ||
'''ALSA''' or '''Advanced Linux Sound Architecture''' is a project, which seeks to provide MIDI functionality to the Linux operating system. ALSA has the following significant features. | '''ALSA''' or '''Advanced Linux Sound Architecture''' is a project, which seeks to provide audio and MIDI functionality to the Linux operating system. ALSA has the following significant features. | ||
==Features== | ==Features== | ||
* Effcient support for all soundcards from consumer to professional multichannel audio devices | * Effcient support for all soundcards from consumer to professional multichannel audio devices | ||
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* Support for the older OSS API. | * Support for the older OSS API. | ||
==ALSA over OSS== | ==ALSA over OSS== | ||
There are many advantages ALSA has over the older OSS API: | There are many advantages ALSA has over the older (but perhaps not the newer) OSS API: | ||
* multi-thread safe design | * multi-thread safe design | ||
* transparent use of plugin architecture to handle format,rate,channel cnt and many other conversions | * transparent use of plugin architecture to handle format,rate,channel cnt and many other conversions | ||
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* consistent support for multiple instances of the same card | * consistent support for multiple instances of the same card | ||
* linked operations of multiple cards | * linked operations of multiple cards | ||
=Development API= | =Development API= | ||
Latest revision as of 12:01, 22 February 2015
Introduction
ALSA or Advanced Linux Sound Architecture is a project, which seeks to provide audio and MIDI functionality to the Linux operating system. ALSA has the following significant features.
Features
- Effcient support for all soundcards from consumer to professional multichannel audio devices
- Fully modularized sound drivers
- SMP and thread-safe design
- alsa-lib in order to simplify the high level API
- Support for the older OSS API.
ALSA over OSS
There are many advantages ALSA has over the older (but perhaps not the newer) OSS API:
- multi-thread safe design
- transparent use of plugin architecture to handle format,rate,channel cnt and many other conversions
- support for non-interleaved interfaces
- user-space software mixing (dmix)
- user-space "loopback/snoop" capabilities
- merging multiple cards into a single virtual device
- hiding non-ALSA-drivers behind a consistent user-space API (e.g. IEEE1394 drivers, or JACK)
- consistent and generic control API for managing hardware controls
- Flexible mixer architecture to handle modern audio interfaces fully (rather than reducing them to a simplistic device)
- consistent support for multiple instances of the same card
- linked operations of multiple cards
Development API
Tutorials
ALSA Library API
ALSA Documentation
External links
- ALSA wiki a large wiki pertaining to major ALSA related topics.