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List:       kde-multimedia
Subject:    aRts - AutoSuspend implemented.
From:       Stefan Westerfeld <stefan () space ! twc ! de>
Date:       2000-04-07 18:21:42
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   Hi!

Since many people requested this - here is it: AutoSuspend. Transparent to
client applications, aRts will decide whether it has nothing to do, and if
this happens, suspend itself. The timeout is currently 60 seconds (to allow
realtime apps such as sequencers to operate undisturbed from the suspending).

It will desuspend itself automatically when required. Of course, the code
is very young, and thus pretty untested right now.

In suspended state, artsd will also not do calculations (thus the cpu usage
drops to [almost] zero).

Problems can occur when artsd tries to desuspend itself, but /dev/dsp is
locked by another app. Since suspension happens application transparent
(the apps don't see that artsd has suspended itself), there may be situations
where a resource like "you can play a sample" has been promised to an
application (e.g. game), and can't be delivered now due to suspension,
and unavailability of /dev/dsp upon desuspension.

Some things can be done here (retrying and such), but this basic flaw will
probably never disappear totally. But I think most people will be more happy
with the new behaviour than with strict /dev/dsp locking.

   Cu... Stefan
-- 
  -* Stefan Westerfeld, stefan@space.twc.de (PGP!), Hamburg/Germany
     KDE Developer, project infos at http://space.twc.de/~stefan/kde *-

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