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0f7b58d
(Get the code!)
IMO, given the facts that
- a huge part of wine's users intend to run windows applications comprising audio output with it (particularly games)
and
- PA-focused distros like Ubuntu and its derivates have an enormous market share, attracting an increasing number of users to the linux world,
supporting PA should definitely not be considered a matter of personal preferences or taste (Thereby I do not assume or imply that anybody does so).
Granted, PA is not the best sound server out there and the trouble it brings probably even outruns the benefits. Nevertheless it is being incorporated into a wide spectrum of distros, i.e. employed by a vast user base... and AFAIK there are no indications that this might change in the near future. So this is not just a temporary fashion but rather a part of the contemporary reality of wine use cases.
If I understand wine's goals correctly, they incude striving for the best possible out-of-the-box experience for most of its users. Given that this is the case, this goal is endangered by not adding PA support at least in the long term. Though, once more, I do not imply anyone blocking efforts in this context -- this is purely hypothetical.
So, as long as it does not break anything else, adding a *clean* and *structured* implementation of a PA driver to wine does no harm -- will it? However and doublessly, established wine development paradigms MUST be maintained in doing so. Anything else would be fatal in the context of such a huge project, in which the methods and practices of the leading devs have indeed turned out to be very successful.
But this is just my personal opinion... I hope it's helpful to anybody, providing food for thought.
At least I'm quite sure about this: There are many users out there thinking something like "my audio is not working properly when running my windows apps with wine -> linux is crap"... They'd be glad if you guys could somehow reconcile. :)
Or, to put it a little more direct and to pick up what Maurizio said above, stubbornness -- on any side -- has never gotten anyone anywhere. Especially not among apparently able developers.