v7.13beta [testing] is released!

“wifiwave2” package has been divided into distinct packages: “wifi-qcom” and “wifi-qcom-ac”

IMHO this was a bad naming decision. It is causing confusion already and it is going to confuse - ongoing.

qcom stands for qualcomm.
you need a package called “wifi-qcom-ac” for AC devices.
But you need a “generically named” package like “wifi-qcom” for AX devices.
This is inconsistent in naming. Then you already create a future-problem.
How do you name the drive-package for the standard that follows AX? aka wifi7? I would assume “wifi-qcom-be”.
So you tell users: “install wifi-qcom for AX, but wifi-qcom-be for wifi7 LOL”.
I assume you anticipated to put 802.11be and all upcoming device drivers into the wifi-qcom package - because disk-space is not an issue anymore on modern/upcoming devices (128MB or even more).
But I don’t like this kind of thinking. “super-bundles” that grow in size and somewhen in 2028 that wifi-qcom package has 80MB because you can’t remove AX-drivers because you made a bad packagename decision back in 2023.

Better would have been:

  • wifi-qcom-ac
  • wifi-qcom-ax

Furthermore, better not integrating the new “wifi” config-module into the base ROS bundle already. Having a wifi menu without actually having wifi anywhere? Pretty weird decision.

So better package bundling from my point of view:

  • wifi-common (or wifi-base or wifi-config) → put the wifi config module stuff into this package
  • wifi-qcom-ac → only the AC drivers and related to AC. depends on wifi-common.
  • wifi-qcom-ax → only the AX drivers and related to AX. depends on wifi-common.

Then tell people:

Old wireless: install package “wireless”
New wireless: install package “wifi-common” and depending on your chipset use either “wifi-qcom-ac” or “wifi-qcom-ax”.

No confusion. Everybody understands without even reading a manual.