rich@oxtrap.UUCP (K. Richard Magill) (12/24/87)
I keep looking at the portable X11 server and thinking... With gcc up on 3b1... including the most common library functions from berkeley... It really wouldn't take much work to port. But I have a few questions. I think I know enough about device drivers to replace the oh so limitting /dev/window, and friends but I don't have the tech specs for 3b1 to tell me how to get to the display, the raw keyboard, etc. 1) Can anyone tell me whether the tech manual, the $n00 one, will give me this stuff? eg, is it worth $n00? 2) Can anyone provide this information? eg, addresses, techniques, sample code? 3) Would anyone be willing to provide more generally useful drivers? eg, make it possible to provide a meta key, give me back those slk, and screen manager pixels, make it possible to remove most of the old drivers. 4) Has any of this been done already? 5) Anyone want to help? Note that this would be only a native server with native clients as the 3b1 has no networks to speak of. Note also that the screen size and resolution don't approach that of the typical X service machines. Note also that the 3b1 is *cheap*. Note finally that the window and font packages and services, as provided, stink. I use mine mostly as a gnuemacs machine with occasional mail service. X would make a big difference in this boxes usability. rich.
alex@umbc3.UMD.EDU (Alex S. Crain) (12/25/87)
In article <2422@oxtrap.UUCP> rich@oxtrap.UUCP writes: >I keep looking at the portable X11 server and thinking... With gcc up >on 3b1... Is gcc up on the 3b1? I had heard rumors of people trying to port it, but no one confirmed the port. If so I would like to get diffs/instructions/advice on doing the port. I have run gcc happily on a vax and have the source resident on the 3b1 now, but I haven't seriously attacked it yet. What I found attractive about X.11 was the sysV Makefile. >2) Can anyone provide this information? eg, addresses, techniques, >sample code? mee too! mee too! I would really like to replace the window manager, but the harware mysteries are a real problem. >4) Has any of this been done already? I tend to doubt it, as X.10 was pretty BSD dependent. >5) Anyone want to help? Sure. I don't have time for the whole project, but I will gladly contribute time to a group project. [lots of stuff about 3b1 limitations deleted] What I find really attractive about X is the concept of setting up an IBM clone as an X client for real cheap color graphics without the agony of having to actually work on an 80x86 box. I fear that the small screen size of the 3b1 would be a serious limitation but perhaps a 9600 baud connection between the server & client might work, providing the option of reletively cheap color graphics. None the less, the X primitives should allow more efficient use of the current screen, ie. windows without 1/2" borders. any more thoughts? -- :alex. alex@umbc3.umd.edu