[comp.unix.ultrix] color X server

franco@bbn.com (Frank A. Lonigro) (02/23/90)

Hi:
	I've been trying to get connected to the QAR system for 2 days now
and can't seem to get threw, so I'm reporting the bug here.

	I just upgraded my DECstation3100 from field test 1 to field test 2
of Ultrix 4.0.  I installed the manditory patches after that and rebuilt the
kernel and all of that sort of stuff.  I reboot and then log in.  I run a
program called "xcmap" which displays my color map of already used up colors,
which to my surprise, I find that I have used up 128 colors, when in fact I
should only be using up 2 or 3(black, white and/or gray).  I then thought of
bringing back the previous version of Xcfb, which by the way worked properly
before in field test 1, but when I installed and used that instead, I had
the same problem.  So, if it isn't the Xcfb that is using up the colors, what
is????  I'm using the same .Xdefaults file I always used.

	This is very very bad!!!  I now have to backup to a previous release
of Ultrix, unless another solution is found very soon.

Thanks for listening,
-franco

Frank A. Lonigro	     (franco@bbn.com, ...!harvard!bbn!franco)
Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc., 10 Moulton St., Cambridge, Mass. 02138
"e, s, s, s, n, e, e, nw, get chest, se, w, s, d" - Sound familiar???

evans@testmax.ZK3.DEC.COM (Marc Evans Ultrix Q/A) (02/23/90)

This is happening because of the DPS extension being initialized. You have the
option of disabling the automatic initialization of this by setting a resource
in the /.Xdefaults file as shown below:

	XSessionManager*initializeDPS:	False

Keep in mind that this will make programs which use the DPS extension
potentially
start slower, as well as not necessarily have the environment (such as colors)
that it may desire.

- Marc
==========================================================================
Marc Evans - WB1GRH - evans@decvax.DEC.COM  | Synergytics    (603)893-8481
     Unix/X-window Software Contractor      | 3 Koper Ln, Pelham, NH 03076
==========================================================================

grunwald@foobar.colorado.edu (Dirk Grunwald) (02/24/90)

I don't think that

	XSessionManager*initializeDPS:	False

is going to fix it. I've noticed this problem & I'm running X11R4
clients on a UWS2.2 server, none of which initialize the DPS
extensions.

However, I do use DPS applications - I made xtex use DPS to display
\psfig specials in TeX files. At first, I created&destroyed a context
for each DPS picture. Now, I reuse a single context per xtex window -
this has cut down on the bloat somewhat, but not enough.

IMHO, if DEC would like to people to use/develop DPS applications and
spread the fame of DEC products, they would make a new Xmfb and Xcfb
available for the DECstations via anonymous FTP or netmail. Likewise
for the VAXstation if they suffer from this bloat as well. The current
situation certainly precludes my using it on a daily basis.

Dirk Grunwald -- Univ. of Colorado at Boulder	(grunwald@foobar.colorado.edu)
						(grunwald@boulder.colorado.edu)