[GDL]

Thx~~~~~~~~~~

[Sam Taylor]

Currently we don't release the source code for the Android-specific / user-space portions of the Mali driver under an open-source licence. Android support is a feature of our commercially licensed Mali Linux DDK. The Linux Device Driver and UMP kernel modules which are distributed here on the Mali Developer Portal can be used in Android environments, but by themselves are not a full driver stack.

Best regards
Sam

[marcelol]

Sam Taylor, on Aug 20 2010, 07:34 PM, said:

Currently we don't release the source code for the Android-specific / user-space portions of the Mali driver under an open-source licence. Android support is a feature of our commercially licensed Mali Linux DDK. The Linux Device Driver and UMP kernel modules which are distributed here on the Mali Developer Portal can be used in Android environments, but by themselves are not a full driver stack.

Best regards
Sam

So are you saying if someone, say Telechips which uses the Mali200 core in their 8902 processors, supports Android, that they would've had to have licensed the Linux DDK, to be able to ship the Android specific and User Space driver(s) on devices based on their CPU ?

Did I understand you correctly ?

[Sam Taylor]

Yes that's right.

To build a full Linux or Android driver stack you need the complete Linux DDK. Anyone who licenses the Mali hardware will have a license to one or more versions of the Mali DDK as well.

Best regards
Sam

[marcelol]

Sam Taylor, on Sep 10 2010, 04:42 PM, said:

Yes that's right.

To build a full Linux or Android driver stack you need the complete Linux DDK. Anyone who licenses the Mali hardware will have a license to one or more versions of the Mali DDK as well.

Best regards
Sam

So let's say, an ODM who licenses the Telechips 8902 to produce a product, say an Android tablet, would they receive a working Android driver stack that then could be configured to the particulars of their display ( say, screen resolution, pixel density, etc ). Or would the ODM further have to work at the driver itself.

What I'm trying to get at Sam, is if a hardware manufacturer who licenses the Telechips processors, to sell an Android tablet, should be all accounts HAVE to HAVE a licensed Linux DDK, which would include I suppose a working "reference" Mali Driver, which could then be "tweaked" in accordance to their display technology.

Am I also understanding that as well. And yes there is a specific reason I'm asking all this the way that I'm asking. If you wish to know the particulars in specific, please contact me via PM, and I'll be glad to fill you in, in case I've missed something.

Thanks for your assistance thus far.

[Sam Taylor]

Interesting questions Marcelol. Sounds like a detailed discussion could be useful to understand how we can help you. I'll follow-up with you directly.

Best regards
Sam

[marcelol]

Sam Taylor, on Sep 13 2010, 10:44 AM, said:

Interesting questions Marcelol. Sounds like a detailed discussion could be useful to understand how we can help you. I'll follow-up with you directly.

Best regards
Sam

Thank you....you have a PM waiting.

[lkcl]

i'm sorry - there appears to be a post missing from this discussion, in which it was pointed out that the situation with the mali DDK, being proprietary, leaves OEMs and ODMs in the situation where they are required to violate the GPL in order to release linux-based OSes and linux-based applications such as Webkit with WebGL support, Compiz Fusion, Blender, 3D games such as FlightGear and so on.

i don't believe it to be in ARM's interests to be censoring such questions and placing their own customers at risk from GPL violations lawsuits.

i trust that ARM is not going to brush this under the carpet, and is not going to continue censorship or act irresponsibly.

i trust that ARM will get some answers to these issues raised, very very quickly.

i will give you two days to indicate that you understand the seriousness of this situation and to get satisfactory answers.

This post has been edited by lkcl: 22 October 2010 - 10:55 PM

[sirishakti29]

Source code for Mali GPUs Linux Kernel Device Drivers, UMP Device Drivers and DRM Device Drivers under GPLv2 licence.

The Linux version of the Mali GPUs DDKs include three components which run within the kernel. The most important of these, known as the Device Driver, provides the low-level access to the Mali-200 or Mali-400 GPU. An important, secondary component is the Unified Memory Provider (UMP) which can be used in a variety of ways to facilitate zero-copy operations within the driver stack. An additional component, the Mali Direct Rendering Manager (DRM), is provided to integrate the Mali DDKs into the X11 environment and for enabling the Direct Rendering Interface (DRI2).