# Introduction

This HOWTO document describes sound support for Linux -- how to configure the kernel, what applications run under Linux that support sound, and answers to frequently asked questions about sound cards. The intent is to bring new users up to speed more quickly and reduce the amount of traffic in the usenet news groups.

The scope is limited to the aspects of sound cards pertaining to Linux. See the other documents listed in the Other Sources of Information section for more general information on sound cards.

### Acknowledgments

Much of this information came from the `Readme` files provided with the sound driver source code, by Hannu Savolainen (`hannu@voxware.pp.fi`). Thanks go to Hannu and the many other people who developed the Linux kernel sound drivers and utilities.

Thanks to Matt Welsh's Linuxdoc-SGML package, this HOWTO is now available in several formats, all generated from a common source file.

### Revision History

Version 1.1
  first version; posted to SOUND channel of Linux activists mailing list only
Version 1.2
  minor updates; first version available on archive sites
Version 1.3
  converted to SGML ; now available in several formats using Matt Welsh's Linuxdoc-SGML tools; appearance changed due to new format, only minor changes to content
Version 1.4
  minor tweaking of SGML; added answer on PAS16 and Adaptec1542A SCSI adaptor incompatibilities

### New versions of this document

New versions of this document will be periodically posted to `comp.os.linux.announce`. They will also be uploaded to the various anonymous ftp sites that archive such information including `sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO`.

### Feedback

If you have and suggestions, corrections, or comments on the HOWTO, please send them to the author and I will try to incorporate them in the next release.

### Other Sources of Information

The Linux Sound User's Guide covers all of the user visible aspects of using sound under Linux in much more detail (approximately 40 pages). If you are interested in sound under Linux you should definitely get this document. The current version is ALPHA 0.1, and is available on `tsx-11.mit.edu` in the directory `/pub/linux/ALPHA/LDP`. I will continue to maintain the Sound-HOWTO as a concise guide for user's who want to get sound up and running, or just find out what is required, without having to read the full user's guide.

Hannu Savolainen has written a draft version of the Hacker's Guide to VoxWare. The latest version is draft 2, and can be found on `nic.funet.fi` in `/pub/OS/linux/ALPHA/sound`.

The following FAQs are regularly posted to the usenet newsgroup `news.announce` as well as being archived at the site `rtfm.mit.edu` in the directory `/pub/usenet/news.answers`:

    PCsoundcards/generic-faq (Generic PC Soundcard FAQ)
    PCsoundcards/soundcard-faq (comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard FAQ)
    PCsoundcards/gravis-ultrasound/faq (Gravis UltraSound FAQ)
    audio-fmts/part1 (Audio file format descriptions)
    audio-fmts/part2 (Audio file format descriptions)

The FAQs also list several product specific mailing lists and archive sites. The following Usenet news groups discuss sound and/or music related issues:

    alt.binaries.sounds.misc (Digitized sounds and software)
    alt.binaries.sounds.d (Discussion and follow-up group)
    alt.binaries.multimedia (Multimedia sounds and software)
    alt.sb.programmer (Soundblaster programming topics)
    comp.multimedia (Multimedia topics)
    comp.music (Computer music theory and research)
    comp.sys.ibm.pc.soundcard (IBM PC soundcard topics)

The Linux Activists mailing list has a SOUND channel. To find out how to join the mailing list, send mail to `linux-activists-request@joker.cs.hut.fi`.

The `Readme` and `CHANGELOG` files included with the kernel sound driver source code contain useful information about the sound card drivers. These can typically be found in the directory `/usr/src/linux/drivers/sound`.

The Linux Software Map (LSM) is an invaluable reference for locating Linux software. Searching the LSM for keywords such as sound is a good way to identify applications related to sound hardware. The LSM can be found on various anonymous FTP sites, including `sunsite.unc.edu:/pub/Linux/docs/LSM.gz`.

### Version Information

At time of writing, the latest Linux sound driver was version 2.5. It had been submitted to Linus, but had not yet been included in a kernel release.