(trimming the cc-list)

On Fri, Sep 28, 2007 at 07:33:35PM +0200, Markus Hitter wrote:
quoted text
> 
> Am 28.09.2007 um 16:23 schrieb Michael W. Lucas:
> 
> >If you don't have the skills, but you believe that you have sufficient
> >motivation and interest, then you tneed to do the work to motivate a
> >developer.
> 
> There is another option: learning.

Absolutely!  If you're sufficiently interested, break out a compiler
and learn.  Look at the page that lists the driver requirements.  Read
about those requirements.  Read the FreeBSD source code that you'd
have to change, and understand it.  Read "Design & Implementation of
the FreeBSD OS."  I'm afraid I thought that was obvious.

I'm not trying to discount anyone, far from it.  But after hearing for
the umpteenth time "The FreeBSD Project/Foundation outght to set up a
bounty page," I had to say why it wasn't going to happen.  (My
apologies if I offended anyone, that was unintentional.)

I'll stand by saying that when a person says "someone should do
something," that someone is "the person writing that email."  You have
many options for what to do, far more than I could list.  I don't care
what option people choose.  Just do it.

quoted text
> Instead of complaining "nobody has interest" and "your opinion  
> doesn't count" a few hints where to get started as a not-yet-skilled  
> developer would be a lot more helpful.

I would suggest starting with a very specific question.

Somewhere out there is a list of requirements for the amd64 nVidia
port.  (I found one at
http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-hackers/2006-June/016995.html,
but I have no idea if this is the current authoritative list.)  Look
at the list, and do the reading and research necessary to understand
one or more requirements.

If no authoritative list exists, create one.  Do the necessary mailing
list archive searching to determine the status of each.  I assure you
that if you miss anything, the first person to come across your page
will let you know.  ;-)

Pick a tack on that list.  Read it.  Understand it.  Read the
underlying FreeBSD code that supports that function.  Explore the
kernel.  Read D&IotFOS with a highlighter in hand.  Print out source
code, mark it up, understand it.

Then ask a specific question about where to go on one very small part
of your project.  Specific questions get answers.  General ones do
not.  It's sad, but that's how it is.

Take that answer.  Read more code.  Write a few lines of code.  Repeat
until the driver is done.

==ml

-- 
Michael W. Lucas 	mwlucas@BlackHelicopters.org, mwlucas@FreeBSD.org
		http://www.BlackHelicopters.org/~mwlucas/
      Coming Soon: "Absolute FreeBSD" -- http://www.AbsoluteFreeBSD.com
On 5/4/2007, the TSA kept 3 pairs of my soiled undies "for security reasons."
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