7/9/08

Devices update

OK. My driver now supports all the devices it can out of the ones I have. Due to the device differences to support Device X, i need to have a Device X for a week or two. Remote testing doe snot help, so if your device is not in the following list and you want it supported, you need to figure out someone who can lend me one for a week or two, or a way to get me one in another manner. I have: T|E,T|E2, TX, LifeDrive, Zire72, Zire 31, T|T3, Zodiac. Without a device, the driver will be incomplete for your device and act badly. I can explain why:

The driver is composed of 3 Layers: The topmost is the SD/MMC layer that implements the SD/MMC protocol and is hardware-independent. The layer below it is the AAL - Architecture Abstraction Layer. It hides the device-independent SD interface details from the SD/MMC layer. Usually it is based on the SD/MMC controller in use. In most palms that is the processor. So for TX, T5, and LifeDrive the AAL is the same. Thus if you want, for example T|C supported, which has the same processor as the well-supported T|E2, I will not have to make a new AAL for T|C. The lowest level is the DAL - device abstraction layer. It is unique and different for each device. IT patches the OS to make it use the new driver, and talks directly to the hardware to check card lock state, check si card is inserted, and deals with the interrupts. This DAL is very hard to write without a device being present. It is possible that your device will work with a DAL from a similar device, but it will not be good. For example T|C can use the T|E2 DAL, but the device does not notice card insertion/removal and cannot use power management thus wasting battery power. I have decided to not support devices whose DALs I did not write and test well. So if your device is not in the above list of devices I have, and you want it supported, something needs to be done. Perhaps you know someone who can loan me one...

10 comments:

Matthew Johnson said...

Great post, thanks for explaining that. We need to get you some smart phones!

Unknown said...

All Treos past the 650 should support SDHC. The only exception is the 700p, which just requires a few files to be copied from one of the other Treos. So he's not going to write a Treo version, AFAIK.
I hope T5 is going to be supported. (I think in some of the earlier posts Dmitry already said that the T5 should be supported - correct me if i'm wrong.)

Unknown said...

I also hope T5 to be supported. Unfortunately sending it from Poland (in my case) for testing doesn't make to much sense.
So I only hope someone who lives closer to Dmitry will help ...

Dmitry Grinberg said...

t5 is suported!

Unknown said...

GREAT !!!
It wasn't on your list Dmitry and that's where this misunderstanding came from.

I understood that there is no problem with AAL, since it's the same as in TX and LD, but DAL is unique and diferent for each device.

Never mind. I'm really happy and waiting patiently for the release,

Thanks againg,
gregt3

Unknown said...

Dmitry, I think is better make a new table, updated with all devices that the driver is supporting now.
Thanks for all dude, I'm waiting it for buy... =)

nightslide said...
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nightslide said...
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nightslide said...

I'm confused, it supports all the devices you have that it can. Does that mean you won't be able to support the T3, or is work still progressing on that? It would be great to use bigger cards, I'd buy it right away.
Now, if only we could get Fat32 for the T3!
Thanks for all your hard work.

Larry Hengen said...

What is the current status on the driver for the T3? I am very interested in it...