Date: Wed, 10 Nov 1999 01:27:01 -0500 (EST) From: Donn Miller <dmmiller@cvzoom.net> To: current@freebsd.org Subject: Idea for console graphics library Message-ID: <Pine.BSF.4.20.9911100117120.413-100000@lcm202.cvzoom.net>
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There's been a lot of talk about a console graphics library. First off, you'd have to maintain a library of drivers for each video card. So, I suggest this: Why don't we or the XFree86 project fork off a branch dedicated to console graphics? Most of the code necessary is in the XFree86 Xserver. We could just yank out most of the driver and graphics card drivers from XFree86's latest 3.95.16 snapshot. We could make a set of FreeBSD lkm's that we could load on demand if necessary. This would enable us to have something like Linux's `fbcon'. The idea is to separate the graphics drivers from XFree86, and have them running on the console. Then, when startx is invoked, the rest of the Xserver code would just load. That way, some sort of graohics graphics could be running all the time, and the Xserver would just dynamically link with the console grahics when `startx' is invoked. But, the graphics driver would be running all the time, and we could use this graphics mode in lieu of the basic text mode that is in most VGA cards. I've heard that the VGA standard wants to get rid of text mode, and just go with graphics mode anyway. With the idea above, a `partial' Xserver would always be running as part of the system console. Of course, it's not a full Xserver, so it wouldn't be as bloated as actually fully running X with startx. The `full' Xserver would only come into play when startx is invoked. - Donn To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-current" in the body of the message
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