Re: Kernel streaming

From: Iain (IainXXX_at_idcl.co.uk)
Date: 09/30/04 

Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2004 18:18:53 +0100

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 09:55:03 -0700, gonzo wrote:

> Every once in a while I see a reference to " Kernel streaming" here.
>
> What does this refer to and where can I find out more about it?
>
> Thanks,
>
> gonzo

I'm not sure where to start from.

Kernel streaming is a scheme to push data through the PC at the Device
driver level whilst controlling it from an application.

This avoids bringing samples across the OS (kernel) / Application
interface which apparently is inefficient. It also (probably) allows
samples to stream between devices without requiring processor intervention.

The architecture reflects that of Direct Show with Filters and Graphs.

Direct Show itself provides some wrapper filters which sit in application
space but control real filters sitting in kernal space.

The documentation sucks (actually, being English I was strongly inclined
to use a stronger term...).

There is a smidgeon in the Direct Show documentation, but most of what
documentation there is is in the Device Driver SDK.

An example of where you can use this is to use the kernel versions of hte
audio IO devices to achieve VERY low latency ( 2mS is quite feasible)
throughput.

Hope this is useful.

Iain

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