Editor’s note: the following are Richard Stallman’s views on
Intel’s proposal for free software developers to develop kernel
drivers for UDI–posted on the kernel-dev list October 4.
Further comments are on slashdot.org
UDI and Free Software
Intel has a project called UDI: Uniform Driver Interface. The
idea is to define a single interface between operating system
kernels and device drivers. What should the free software movement
make of this idea?
If we imagine a number of operating systems and hardware
developers, all cooperating on an equal footing, UDI (if
technically feasible) would be a very good idea. It would permit us
to develop just one driver for any given hardware device, and then
all share it. It would enable a higher level of cooperation.
When we apply the idea to the actual world, which contains both
free software developers seeking cooperation, and proprietary
software developers seeking domination, the consequences are very
different. No way of using UDI can benefit the free software
movement. If it does anything, it will divide and weaken us.
If Linux supported UDI, and if we started designing new drivers
to communicate with Linux through UDI, what would the consequences
be?
* People could run free GPL-covered Linux drivers with Windows
systems.
This would help only Windows users; it would do nothing for us
users of free operating systems. It would not directly hurt us,
either; but the developers of GPL-covered free drivers could be
discouraged to see them used in this way, and that would be very
bad. It can also be a violation of the GNU GPL to link the drivers
into a proprietary kernel. To increase the temptation to do so is
asking for trouble.
* People could run non-free Windows drivers on GNU/Linux
systems.
This would not directly affect the range of hardware supported
by free software. But indirectly it would tend to decrease the
range, by offering a temptation to the millions of GNU/Linux users
who have not learned to insist on freedom for its own sake. To the
extent that the community began to accept the temptation, we would
move to using non-free drivers instead of writing free ones.
UDI would not in itself obstruct development of free drivers. So
if enough of us rejected the temptation, we could still develop
free drivers despite UDI, just as we do without UDI.
But why encourage the community to be weaker than it needs to
be? Why make unnecessary difficulties for the future of free
software? Since UDI does no good for us, it is better to reject
UDI.
Given these consequences, it is no surprise that Intel has
started to “look to the Linux community for help with UDI.” How
does a rich and self-seeking company approach a cooperating
community? By asking for a handout, of course. They have nothing to
lose by asking, and we might be caught off guard and say yes.
Cooperation with Intel is not out of the question. We should not
label Intel, or anyone, as a Great Satan. But before we participate
in any proposed deal, we must judge it carefully, to make sure it
is advantageous for the free software community, not just for
proprietary system developers. On this particular issue, that means
requiring that cooperation take us a step further along a path that
leads to the ultimate goal for free kernels and drivers: supporting
*all* important hardware with free drivers.
One way to make a deal a good one could be by modifying the UDI
project itself. Eric Raymond has proposed that UDI compliance could
require that the driver be free software. That would be ideal, but
other alternatives could also work. Just requiring source for the
driver to be published, and not a trade secret, could do the
job–because if that driver is not free, it would at least tell us
what we need to know to write a free driver.
Intel could also do something else, outside of UDI, to help the
free software community solve this problem. For example, there may
be some sort of certification that hardware developers seek, that
Intel plays a role in granting. If so, Intel could agree to make
certification more difficult if the hardware specs are secret. That
might not be a complete solution to the problem, but it could help
quite a bit.
One difficulty with any deal involving UDI is that we would do
our part for Intel at the beginning, but Intel’s payback would
extend over a long time. In effect, we would be extending credit to
Intel. But would Intel continue to repay its loan? Probably yes, if
we get it in writing and there are no loopholes; otherwise, we
can’t count on it. Corporations are notoriously untrustworthy; the
people we are dealing with may have integrity, but they could be
overruled from above, or even replaced at any time with different
people. When making a deal with a corporation, always get a binding
commitment in writing.
Given Intel’s involvement in I2O, a broad plan to keep hardware
specifications secret, it is not likely that they will accept a
deal that gives us what we need. In fact, UDI seems like a plan to
make it easier to keep specifications secret.
Still, there is no harm in keeping the door unlocked, as long as
we are careful whether we let Intel in.
Copyright 1998 Richard Stallman
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