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SubjectRe: Can't we all just get along? (Re: GGI/fbcon/X flamewar)
On Tue, 7 Apr 1998, Brian Gerst wrote:
> I have had about all I can take of this pointless flame war about the
> various methods of doing console graphics on linux. I see the linux
> developers split three ways here: fbcon, KGI, and user space. I've seen
> people complain about the GGI folks being fanatics. IMHO, there are
> fanatics on all three sides. We are getting zilch done by sitting here
> and arguing. It's time to bury the hatchet and start working together
> at producing something that's not KGI, not fbcon, not user space, but
> the best of all three.

GGI offers what amounts to a superset of the functionality of the other two
approaches:
fbcon+userspace = KGI+LibGGI

The main practical difference is that LibGGI is a user library instead of a
trusted server (so the graphics operations don't need to span processes),
and KGI protects any security-sensitive aspects of the hardware.

If I remember correctly, KGI deals with the shared framebuffer by unmmapping
it for all the VTs but the active one, and I think the userspace end is
notified and is responsible for saving the state of the framebuffer if it
needs to (either that, or it at least provides a memory area for the
framebuffer to be saved in if it wants to -- I can't remember which) -- in
any case, I think the framebuffer is erased on VT switch...

> Another thing I wish people would get over is the misconception that
> kernel level video drivers are supposed to replace X. They only replace
> a part of the X server, that part which deals with the card directly.
> This would relieve the burden of supporting the video drivers inside the
> server from the XFree86 developers and will allow them more time to fix
> the outstanding bugs and implement better features.

Exactly.

-=MenTaLboY=-



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