[comp.windows.x] Help wanted: Number of colors?

wang@pyr.csuhayward.EDU (Hong Wang) (04/10/91)

Hello, Friends;

I posted a question regarding Motif root menu a few weeks ago, and
received some responses. The problem was incorrect button bindings.
Since then, the root menu has been working just fine. Thanks to people
who gave me the clues. 

I've got another question here. I'm using Sun 3, runnig SunOS 4.1 and
X11 Release 3. The machine has an 8-bit colormap that yeilds 256 colors.
Using SunView, I can get fullly 256 colors on the screen. But, I can
only get 128 colors with X server(using default colormap). I don't know
why this happens.

Could one point out reasons or any clue to me? Thanks in advance! 

Hong Wang
wang@pyr.csuhayward.edu

klee@wsl.dec.com (Ken Lee) (04/11/91)

In article <9104100456.AA13974@pyr.csuhayward.edu>, wang@pyr.csuhayward.EDU (Hong Wang) writes:
|> Using SunView, I can get fullly 256 colors on the screen. But, I can
|> only get 128 colors with X server(using default colormap).

Some other client has allocated the other 128 colors.  If you really
need all 256 colors, you should create a new colormap.  Use the ICCCM
procedure to have it installed.

-- 
Ken Lee
DEC Western Software Laboratory, Palo Alto, Calif.
Internet: klee@wsl.dec.com
uucp: uunet!decwrl!klee

melby@daffy.yk.Fujitsu.CO.JP (John B. Melby) (04/11/91)

>[...] If you really
>need all 256 colors, you should create a new colormap.  Use the ICCCM
>procedure to have it installed.

I recall seeing a discussion on this topic earlier.  The ICCCM
states that the client should let the window manager install its
colormaps, but if there is no window manager running, this will have
no effect.  (yes, I know, the user _should_ be using a window
manager... :-) )

-----
John B. Melby
Fujitsu Limited, Machida, Japan
melby%yk.fujitsu.co.jp@uunet

mouse@lightning.mcrcim.mcgill.EDU (der Mouse) (04/13/91)

>> [...] If you really need all 256 colors, you should create a new
>> colormap.  Use the ICCCM procedure to have it installed.

> I recall seeing a discussion on this topic earlier.  The ICCCM states
> that the client should let the window manager install its colormaps,
> but if there is no window manager running, this will have no effect.
> (yes, I know, the user _should_ be using a window manager... :-) )

Yes.  Would you also maintain that all clients should be capable of
resizing themselves, because there might be no window manager running
when the user wants to resize windows?  Colormap installation is just
as much a window manager function as moving and resizing windows; if
there's no window manager running, it just doesn't work.

That said, I should perhaps mention that my programs often have a
-install option that tells them to do colormap installation themselves.
This is self-defense against window managers that haven't caught up to
the ICCCM yet...perhaps in a few years I'll eliminate it.

					der Mouse

			old: mcgill-vision!mouse
			new: mouse@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu