joel@decwrl.dec.com (Joel McCormack) (04/30/91)
The following report has recently been published from WRL: 91/1 Writing Fast X Servers for Dumb Joel McCormack Color Frame Buffers Abstract: Processor speeds are improving faster than memory access speeds. The current generation of RISC processors can perform many 2-dimensional graphics operations at or near memory or bus bandwidth speeds, rendering specialized hardware unnecessary for all but the most demanding applications. This paper describes the DECStation 3100 and DECStation 500/200CX color frame buffer hardware and several of the graphics algorithms used in the X server implementation. Measured performance numbers are presented and compared to memory bandwidth speed, and the most important contributors to the frame buffer's performance are summarized. To order, send a message to the techreport server at wrl-techreports@wrl.dec.com or DECWRL::WRL-TECHREPORTS. To obtain hard copies of the reports, in the "Subject:" field send a message of the form "order 91/1". Please include your postal address. To obtain the reports in postscript form, send a message of the form "send postscript 91/1" in the "Subject:" field. For more information on how to use the server, send a message saying "help". Through the server you can see abstracts of the reports as well as be added to our mailing lists. -- - Joel McCormack (decwrl!joel, joel@decwrl.dec.com)