[sane-devel] Newbie questions

[Stef]

On 07/24/2012 09:20 PM, Paul Newall wrote:
> I have been through the process of writing a backend myself in the 
> last year.
> The things that I found particularly difficult were:
> 1. The sane build system, using automake. I'd never seen automake 
> before and found it totally baffling. To get your new backend to 
> compile with all the others requires a lot of edits to a lot of files.
> 2. Getting other users to test my backend. I tried distributing a 
> patch for the last official release of sane. This was generally a 
> failure, maybe because I'd never made a patch before, or because most 
> potential users have never compiled anything, never mind patching it 
> first. Sane also requires a number of setup actions as root, 
> particularly to set permissions for usb scanners.
> It was a long time before I got enough reports of sucessful users to 
> feel confident enough to propose adding my backend to sane git.
>
> Having said that, I certainly learnt an awful lot in a short time! I'm 
> not really trying to put anyone off.
>
> I think it would help beginner backend writers significantly to have 
> one of the following:
> a. A special empty backend distributed with sane backends that 
> beginners could tinker with. It would already be included in the build 
> system, so they can concentrate on writing the actual code. Then, when 
> it's all working, they should rename it to a unique name before 
> distribution.
> b. A patch, that adds a new backend to the build system. You would 
> have to edit the patch to give this backend a unique name.
> c. A script, that adds a new backend to the build system with an 
> arbitrary name.
>
> I think the best approach to distributing test versions is to 
> distribute a complete version of sane.
> You still have to provide a lot of support to users on compiling and 
> setting up sane.
>
> Regards,
> Paul
>
     Hello,

     having a template backend and a script that adds it to sources 
would be helpful. I started one (USB only) long ago, and didn't 
completed it due to lack of time. This would help (for instance it could 
have proper plugging/unplugging handling) starting a backend, but only 
for the easiest part which is SANE. Same result could be obtained by 
cloning an existing backend.

Regards,
     Stef