DeviceKit is a modular
hardware abstraction layer
Hardware abstractions are sets of routines in software that provide programs with access to hardware resources through programming interfaces. The programming interface allows all devices in a particular class ''C'' of hardware devices to be acce ...
designed for use in
Linux
Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, which ...
systems that is designed to simplify device management and replace the current
monolithic
A monolith is a monument or natural feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock.
Monolith or monolithic may also refer to:
Architecture
* Monolithic architecture, a style of construction in which a building is carved, cast or excavated ...
Linux
HAL. DeviceKit includes the ability to enumerate system devices and send notifications when hardware is added or removed from the computer system.
In May 2008, HAL developer David Zeuthen announced his intention to deprecate HAL, mainly because of its complexity and redundancy with other libraries in the Linux environment. The only missing part in those libraries would be a centralized service to enumerate existing devices, signal adding/removal of devices and merging and classifying available hardware information in one point. DeviceKit is the new library providing those services, while the hardware is supposed to be accessed through other libraries instead of HAL or DeviceKit.
The first distribution to include DeviceKit was
Fedora
A fedora () is a hat with a soft brim and indented crown.Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1958). ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company. It is typically creased lengthwise down the crown and "pinched" near the front on both sides ...
11.
Ubuntu
Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: ''Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All the ...
9.10 replaced some of the old HAL features with DeviceKit and functionality from
udev
udev (userspace ) is a device manager for the Linux kernel. As the successor of devfsd and hotplug, udev primarily manages device nodes in the directory. At the same time, udev also handles all user space events raised when hardware devices ar ...
.
On 1 December 2009, it was announced that DeviceKit-disks was renamed to udisks and that a similar rename would happen for DeviceKit-power.
Future
According to DeviceKit devel mailing list, DeviceKit is getting merged with and the existing DeviceKit programs such as
DeviceKit-disks
GNOME Disks is a graphical front-end for udisks. It can be used for partition management, S.M.A.R.T. monitoring, benchmarking, and software RAID (until v. 3.12). An introduction is included in the GNOME Documentation Project.
Disks used to be ...
and
DeviceKit-power will be switched over to use .
See also
*
Haiku Device Kit
is a type of short form poetry originally from Japan. Traditional Japanese haiku consist of three phrases that contain a ''kireji'', or "cutting word", 17 '' on'' (phonetic units similar to syllables) in a 5, 7, 5 pattern, and a ''kigo'', or s ...
*
HAL
*
PackageKit
PackageKit is a free and open-source suite of software applications designed to provide a consistent and high-level front end for a number of different package management systems. PackageKit was created by Richard Hughes in 2007, and first intro ...
*
PolicyKit
Polkit (formerly PolicyKit) is a component for controlling system-wide privileges in Unix-like operating systems. It provides an organized way for non-privileged processes to communicate with privileged ones. Polkit allows a level of control ...
References
External links
DeviceKit Homeat freedesktop.org
Human–computer interaction
Free system software
User interfaces
Freedesktop.org
Applications using D-Bus
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