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- From: steve@ecf.toronto.edu (Steve Kotsopoulos)
- Subject: X on Intel-based Unix Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ]
- Message-ID: <CHD1xq.4yA@ecf.toronto.edu>
- Followup-To: poster
- Summary: X options for Intel-based Unix (SYSV/386, 386BSD, Linux, Mach)
- Originator: steve@cannon.ecf
- Sender: news@ecf.toronto.edu (News Administrator)
- Reply-To: steve@ecf.toronto.edu
- Organization: University of Toronto, Engineering Computing Facility
- Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1993 14:37:02 GMT
- Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu
- Expires: Sat, 1 Jan 1994 05:00:00 GMT
- Lines: 677
- Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.windows.x.i386unix:5733 comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit:7002 comp.unix.bsd:14668 comp.windows.x:76560 comp.answers:2871 news.answers:15283
-
- Archive-name: x-faq/Intel-Unix-X-faq
- Last-modified: 1 Dec 1993
-
- This article includes answers to:
-
- I) What options do I have for X software on my Intel-based Unix system?
- 1. Free options
- 2. Commercial options
- II) What is XFree86 and where do I get it?
- 3. What is XFree86?
- 4. What OSs are supported?
- 5. What video hardware is supported?
- 6. Who else supports accelerated boards?
- 7. Why doesn't XFree86 support 16-color VGA modes?
- 8. What other hardware or software requirements are there?
- 9. Where can I get source for XFree86?
- 10. Where can I get binaries for XFree86?
- IV) What general things should I know about running XFree86?
- 11. Installation directories
- 12. Configuration files
- 13. Determining VGA dot clocks and monitor modes
- 14. Rebuilding/reconfiguring the server from the link kit
- V) What OS-specific things should I know about running XFree86?
- 15. SVR4
- 16. SVR3
- 17. 386BSD
- 18. Linux
- 19. Mach
- VI) What things should I know for building XFree86 from source?
- VII) Is there anything special about building clients with XFree86?
- 20. BSD compatibility library
- 21. ANSICCOPTIONS
- VIII) Where to get more information
-
- This article does NOT include answers to general X questions, since they
- are already covered by the X FAQ that is regularly posted by David B. Lewis
- <faq%craft@uunet.uu.net>.
-
- For information on X packages for DOS systems, consult the (PC)NFS FAQ
- available from seagull.rtd.com:/pub/tcpip/pcnfs.FAQ.v1.2.Z
-
- If you have anything to add or change on this FAQ just let me know.
- (especially if you had a problem that someone else was able to help you with)
- Send changes to steve@ecf.toronto.edu, please put 'FAQ' somewhere
- in the subject line so that my mail filter will put it in the correct folder.
-
- Please DO NOT ask me questions that are not answered in this FAQ. I do not
- have time to respond to these individually. Instead, post your question
- to the net, and send me the question and answer together when you get it.
-
- Frequently Asked Questions About X on Intel-based Unix (with answers)
- =====================================================================
-
- I) What options do I have for X software on my Intel-based Unix system?
-
- 1. Free options
-
- The BEST option is XFree86, which is an enhanced version of X386 1.2.
- Any other version of X386 will be more difficult to compile.
- Information on how to obtain it is listed below.
-
- X386 is the port of the X11 server to System V/386 that was done by
- Thomas Roell (roell@sgcs.com). It supports a wide variety of SVGA boards.
- There are 2 major free versions: X386 1.1 is based on X11R4,
- X386 1.2 is included in MIT's X11R5 distribution (ie. you
- don't need to patch it into the MIT source any more).
- X386 1.3 is the current commercial offering from SGCS (see below).
-
- Several other options are available for people running NeXTSTEP on
- i486 and Pentium hardware. Information on mouseX, Cub'X and Co-Xist
- is available via anonymous ftp from cs.orst.edu in /pub/next/XNeXT.
-
- 2. Commercial options
-
- 1) Metro Link
- 2213 W. McNab Road
- Pompano Beach, FL 33069
- (305) 970-7353
- Fax: (305) 970-7351
- email: sales@metrolink.com
-
- Summary: OS: QNX, SVR3, SVR4.[012], SCO, UnixWare, LynxOS,
- DESQview/X, Venix, ISC, Solaris, Pyramid, SunOS
- HW: EGA, VGA, SVGA, TIGA, TARGA, 8514/A, Mach,
- S3, WD, Fujistu, Matrox, Microfield Graphics, R33020
- Other: Motif, OpenLook/XView, XIE Imaging Extension,
- Xv Video Extension, Audio Drivers, Multi Media
-
- 2) SGCS (Snitily Graphics Consulting Services)
- 894 Brookgrove Lane
- Cupertino, CA 95014
- (800) 645-5501, (408) 255-9665
- Fax: (408) 255-9740
- email: info@sgcs.com or ...!mips!zok!info
-
- Summary: OS: SVR3.2, SVR4
- HW: 8514/A (ATI Ultra), S3 (Diamond Stealth), SVGA
- Other: Motif, Dual-headed server
-
- 3) Consensys Corporation
- 1301 Pat Booker Rd.
- Universal City, TX 78148
- Phone: 1-800-388-1896
- FAX: 1-416-940-2903
- email: info@consensys.com
-
- Summary: OS: Consensys V4.2, Consensys' version of
- Unix System V Release 4.2
- HW: X11R4 server support for VGA, SVGA
- Other: MoOLIT, Motif, X11R5 Clients
-
- 4) The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
- p.o. box 1900
- Santa Cruz, California 95061
- (408) 425 7222, (800) SCO UNIX,
- FAX: (408) 458 4227
- email: info@sco.com
-
- Summary: OS: ODT 1.1, ODT 2.0, ODT 3.0
- HW: X11R5 server support for SVGA, 8514/A, S3, TMS340x0,
- WD90C31, XGA2, QVision, misc. localbus video systems
- (see Hardware Compatibility Handbook for actual card
- vendors).
- Other: Motif
-
- 5) Answer Software & Consulting
- p.o. box 14171
- Columbus, Ohio 43214
- 614-263-XLAB
- email: sales@x4coher.com
-
- Summary: OS: Coherent 4.0.1r72 or greater
- HW: works with any VESA compliant video
-
-
- 6) OpenWindows (shipped as part of the Solaris for x86 OS)
- SunSoft Inc.
- 2550 Garcia Ave.
- Mountain View, CA 94043
- Phone: 415-960-3200
-
- Summary: OS: Solaris for x86, SunSoft's version of SVR4
- HW: Orchid ProDesigner II, Compaq QVision, Paradise
- Accelerator Board, ET 4000 video card with VESA
- configuration file, WD90C30 video card with VESA
- configuration file, IBM XGA.
- Other: X11R4 clients, XView, OLIT, DeskSet
-
- NOTE: Other commercial vendors (including OS vendors describing
- bundled software) are welcome to submit summary information
- summary information such as the above.
-
- II) What is XFree86 and where do I get it?
-
- 3. What is XFree86?
-
- XFree86 is an enhanced version of X386 1.2, which was distributed with
- X11R5. This release consists of many bug fixes, speed improvements, and
- other enhancements. The release is available as source patches against the
- MIT X11R5 code, as well as binary distributions for many architectures.
-
- The following items have been added since XFree86 1.3 was released in
- June 1993:
-
- 1) Support for the following accelerated chipsets has been added:
- IBM 8514/A and true compatibles
- ATI Mach8, Mach32
- S3 86C911, 86C924, 86C801, 86C805, 86C928
- Cirrus 5426, 5428
- WD 90C31
- (see the file AccelCards for information on which specific cards
- have been tested).
- 2) Support for the following SVGA chipsets has been added:
- Cirrus 62x5
- OAK OTI067, OTI077
- 3) A 16 colour generic VGA server (this server is still experimental
- but quite usable at this stage).
- 4) Support for "banked dumb monochrome" boards. Currently the
- Hyundai HGC1280 is supported.
- 5) Support for the following operating systems has been added:
- OSF/1
- BSD/386 1.0
- NetBSD 0.9
- FreeBSD 1.0
- In addition, an OS porting layer has been defined inside the
- device-dependent layer of the server to make further OS ports
- simpler and to ensure that all future servers are supported
- on all OS platforms.
- 6) Support for the syscons driver (with VT switching) for 386BSD,
- FreeBSD and NetBSD.
- 7) Support for the Hitachi Puma Plus tablet as an input device.
- 8) The SuperProbe program introduced with XFree86 1.3 has been updated
- to detect many more chipsets and to be more reliable overall.
- 9) A new README.Config file is included with step-by-step instructions
- for setting up the Xconfig file. This file includes a list of
- generic video mode settings which should provide working modes
- for most video displays.
- 10) Several dozen bug fixes for problems detected and reported for
- XFree86 1.3.
- 11) Hard limits for the maximum dot-clock frequency used are introduced.
- These provide a rudimentary means of protecting the graphic boards
- from overclocking. (See the Known Bugs section for some more details).
-
- Plus a number of other small things. Refer to the CHANGELOG file in the
- source distribution for full details.
-
- Here is a list of the other significant features that XFree86 adds over
- stock X386 1.2 (X11R5):
-
- 1) New servers to support S3, ATI and 8514 accelerated hardware, and
- support for Cirrus and Western Digital accelerated hardware in
- the SVGA server.
- 2) The SpeedUp package from Glenn Lai is an integral part of the
- SVGA server, selectable at run-time via the Xconfig file. Some
- SpeedUps require an ET4000 based SVGA, and others require a
- virtual screen width of 1024. The SpeedUps suitable to the
- configuration are selected by default. With a high-quality
- ET4000 board, this can yield up to 40% improvement of the Xstones
- benchmark over X386 1.2.
- 3) The fX386 packages from Jim Tsillas are included as the default
- operating mode of the SVGA server if SpeedUp is not selected.
- This mode is now equivalent in performance to X386 1.1b (X11R4),
- and approximately 20% faster than X386 1.2.
- 4) A monochrome server that supports bank-switching of available SVGA
- memory to allow virtual screens up to 1600x1200.
- 5) Support for the Hercules mono card in the monochrome server, and
- with it the ability to support a "two headed" server - one mono
- VGA, and one Hercules.
- 6) Support for Hyundai HGC1280 monochrome graphics card in the
- monochrome server.
- 7) An (experimental) 16-color VGA server is included, which supports
- generic VGA hardware.
- 8) SVR3 shared libraries, tested under ISC SVR3 2.0.2, 2.2, 3.0.1 and
- 4.0; SCO 3.2.2, 3.2.4.
- 9) Support for Linux, 386BSD, NetBSD, FreeBSD, BSD/386, Mach, OSF/1,
- SVR4.2, SCO, Amoeba, and Minix-386. Including Linux shared libraries.
- 10) Support for LOCALCONN. This support is for both SVR3.2 and SVR4.
- For SVR4.0.4 with the 'Advanced Compatibility Package' and on
- SVR4.2, local connections from SCO XSight/ODT clients are supported.
- 11) Drivers for ATI, Trident, NCR, Compaq, Cirrus, and OAK SVGA chipsets.
- Refer to chipset-specific README files for details about these
- drivers.
- 12) Support for compressed bitmap fonts has been added (Thomas
- Eberhardt's code from the contrib directory on ftp.x.org).
- 13) Type1 Font code from MIT contrib tape has been included, and is
- compile-time selectable. There are contributed Type1 fonts in the
- contrib directory on ftp.x.org.
- 14) New configuration method which allows the server's drivers and font
- renderers to be reconfigured from both source and binary
- distributions.
- 15) Greatly improved documentation and configuration databases are
- included.
- 16) A new tutorial on how to develop correct video card and monitor
- timing data, written by Eric Raymond (derived from previous
- documentation and a lot of experimentation).
- 17) Greatly improved support for international keyboards, including
- implementation of the Compose key functionality found on many
- vendor servers.
- 18) Many enhancements in error handling and parsing of the Xconfig
- configuration file. Error messages are much more informative and
- intuitive, and more validation is done. There are many new options
- that can be enabled in the Xconfig file.
-
- Also included are a tutorial on monitor timing by Eric Raymond, and the
- current X386 mode database and a sample xdm configuration by David Wexelblat.
-
- Known bugs in XFree86:
-
- 1) There are some problems with some of the 'xset fp' operations (in
- particular 'xset fp rehash'). These seem to be caused by memory
- allocation/deallocation problems in the server's font code. We
- believe that we have worked around this problem, but have not yet
- solved the root cause.
- 2) While not strictly a bug, there is currently a limitation on the
- dot-clock frequencies allowed in the S3 and Mach32 servers. For
- S3 cards with the Bt485 RAMDAC (e.g. #9 GXe), the limit is 85Mhz.
- For Mach32 boards, the limit is 80Mhz. There is some special
- programming required to use these RAMDACs at higher dot-clocks,
- and we were not able to get it fully developed in time. We intend
- to release a patch with these updates in the near future.
-
- 4. What OSs are supported?
-
- SVR4.0:
- Esix: 4.0.3A, 4.0.4
- Microport: 2.2, 3.1, 4.1, 4.2
- Dell: 2.1, 2.2
- UHC: 2.0, 3.6
- Consensys: 1.2
- MST: 4.0.3 (Load 2.07 and Load 3.02)
- ISC: 4.0.3
- AT&T: 2.1, 4.0
- NCR: MP-RAS
-
- SVR4.2:
- Consensys
- Univel UnixWare
-
- SVR3:
- Interactive: 2.0.2, 2.2, 3.0, 4.0
- SCO: 3.2.2, 3.2.4
- AT&T: 3.2.2
-
- Others:
- 386BSD 0.1, NetBSD 0.9, FreeBSD 1.0
- BSD/386 1.0
- Mach 386
- OSF/1
- Linux 0.99pl13
- Amoeba
- Minix-386
-
- Note that Esix 3.2D is not supported yet, but anyone should feel
- free to submit patches. If you are interested in tackling this,
- send mail to xfree86@physics.su.oz.au
-
- 5. What video hardware is supported?
-
- At this time, XFree86 2.0 supports the following accelerated chipsets:
-
- 8514/A (and true clones)
- ATI Mach8, Mach32
- Cirrus CLGD5426, CLGD5428
- S3 86C911, 86C924, 86C801, 86C805, 86C928
- Western Digital WD90C31
-
- The Cirrus and Western Digital accelerators are supported in the SVGA
- server; the other chipsets each have their own server. A list of cards
- on which the accelerated servers have been tested is included in the file
- AccelCards. They may well work on other cards, but we cannot guarantee it.
- Linux and BSD users of the XS3 server are referred to the README.XS3
- file for information on the differences between XS3 and the XFree86 S3
- server. Xconfig files must be changed when using XF86_S3 instead of XS3.
-
- In addition, the following SVGA chipsets are supported:
-
- Tseng ET3000, ET4000AX, ET4000/W32
- Western Digital/Paradise PVGA1
- Western Digital WD90C00, WD90C10, WD90C11, WD90C30, WD90C31
- Genoa GVGA
- Trident TVGA8800CS, TVGA8900B, TVGA8900C, TVGA8900CL, TVGA9000
- ATI 28800-4, 28800-5, 28800-a
- NCR 77C22, 77C22E
- Cirrus Logic CLGD5420, CLGD5422, CLGD5424, CLGD5426, CLGD5428,
- CLGD6205, CLGD6215, CLGD6225, CLGD6235
- Compaq AVGA
- OAK OTI067, OTI077
-
- All of the above are supported in both 256 color and monochrome modes,
- with the exception of the ATI and Cirrus chipsets, which are only
- supported in 256 color mode.
-
- Refer to the chipset-specific README files (currently for Tseng, Western
- Digital, ATI, and Trident) for more information about using those chipsets.
-
- The monochrome server also supports generic VGA cards, using 64k of video
- memory in a single bank, the Hercules card, and the Hynudai HGC1280 card.
- On the Compaq AVGA, only 64k of video memory is supported for the monochrome
- server, and the GVGA has not been tested with more than 64k.
-
- XFree86 2.0 includes an experimental 16-color generic VGA server. This
- server has not been as extensively tested and debugged as the others, but
- it should work rather well (but slowly) on most hardware. At this time,
- it does not support banking, hence display is currently limited to 64k
- of memory (approximately 800x600).
-
- Note
- ----
- It appears that some of the SVGA card manufacturers are going to
- non-traditional mechanisms for selecting pixel-clock frequencies. To
- avoid having to modify the server to accommodate these schemes XFree86 1.2
- added support for using an external program to select the pixel clock.
- This allows programs to be written as new mechanisms are discovered.
- Refer to the README.clkprog file for information on how these programs
- work, if you need to write one. If you do develop such a program, we
- would be interested in including it with future XFree86 releases.
-
- NOTE: The Diamond SpeedStar 24 (and possibly recent SpeedStar+) boards are
- NOT supported, even though they use the ET4000. The same is valid
- for all of Diamond's S3 boards. The reason for this is that
- Diamond has changed the mechanism used to select pixel clock
- frequencies, and will only release programming information under
- non-disclosure. We are not willing to do this (as it would mean
- that source cannot be provided). We have had discussions with
- Diamond over this, and they do not intend to change this policy.
- Hence we will do nothing to support Diamond products going forward
- (i.e. don't send us a program to run to set their clocks). XFree86
- DOES NOT SUPPORT DIAMOND HARDWARE. It is possible to make some
- of it work, but we will not assist in doing this.
-
- 6. Who else supports accelerated boards?
-
- This support is available in commercial products from SGCS and
- MetroLink (for SVR3 and SVR4).
-
- An S3 server is available for 386BSD and Linux. Contact
- <hasty@netcom.com> for 386BSD or <???> for Linux.
-
- A beta 8514/A server is available for Linux. Contact <martin@cs.unc.edu>.
- Note: these servers are NOT part of XFree86.
-
- 7. Why doesn't XFree86 support 16-color VGA modes?
-
- This section will disappear in the future, as XFree86 2.0 supports
- 16-color VGA.
-
- 8. What other hardware or software requirements are there?
-
- Obviously, a supported SVGA board and OS are required. To run
- X efficiently, 12-16MB of real memory should be considered a minimum.
- The various binary releases take 10-40MB of disk space, depending
- on the OS (e.g. whether or not it supports shared libraries).
- To build from sources, at least 80MB of free disk space will
- be required, although 120MB should be considered a comfortable
- lower bound.
-
- 9. Where can I get source for XFree86?
-
- Source patches based on X11R5 PL25, from MIT, and as an upgrade from
- XFree86 1.3 are available via anonymous FTP from:
- ftp.x.org (under /contrib/XFree86)
- ftp.physics.su.oz.au (under /XFree86)
- ftp.win.tue.nl (under /pub/XFree86)
- ftp.prz.tu-berlin.de (under /pub/pc/src/XFree86)
-
- (For the rest of this FAQ, these 4 location will be called $FTP)
-
- Refer to the README file under the specified directory for information
- on which files you need to get to build your distribution (which will
- depend on whether this is a new installation or an upgrade from an
- earlier version of XFree86).
-
- 10. Where can I get binaries for XFree86?
-
- Binaries are available via anonymous FTP from:
- ftp.physics.su.oz.au - SVR4 binaries
- under /XFree86/SVR4
- ftp.win.tue.nl - SVR4 binaries
- under /pub/XFree86/SVR4
- ftp.tcp.com - SVR4 binaries
- under /pub/SVR4/XFree86
- stasi.bradley.edu - SVR4 binaries
- under /pub/XFree86/SVR4
- stasi.bradley.edu - SVR3 (SCO) binaries
- under /pub/XFree86/sco
- ftp.physics.su.oz.au - SVR3 (SCO) binaries
- under /XFree86/SCO
- blancmange.ma.utexas.edu - SVR3 (ISC) binaries
- under /pub/ISC
- ftp.prz.tu-berlin.de - SVR3 (ISC) binaries
- under /pub/pc/isc/XFree86
- tsx-11.mit.edu - Linux binaries
- under /pub/linux/packages/X11
- ftp.unipi.it - Linux binaries
- under /pub/linux/XFree86_2.0
- XFree86.cdrom.com - FreeBSD binaries
- under /pub/XFree86/FreeBSD/XFree86-2.0
- gil.physik.rwth-aachen.de - FreeBSD binaries
- under /pub/XFree86
- agate.berkeley.edu - NetBSD 0.9 binaries
- under /pub/NetBSD/ports
- sun-lamp.cs.berkeley.edu - NetBSD 0.9 binaries
- under /pub/NetBSD/ports
- ftp.cs.mcgill.ca - NetBSD 0.9 binaries
- under /pub/NetBSD/XFree86
- ftp.cs.uwm.edu - Mach386 binaries
- under /i386
-
- Ensure that you are getting XFree86 2.0 - some of these sites may archive
- older releases as well. Each binary distribution will contain a README
- file that describes what files you need to take from the archive, and
- which compile-time option selections were made when building the
- distribution.
-
- IV) What general things should I know about running XFree86?
-
- 11. Installation directories
-
- The top-level installation directory is specified by the ProjectRoot
- (/usr/X386, by default) variable in config/site.def. Binaries, include
- files, and libraries are installed in $ProjectRoot/{bin,include,lib}.
-
- This can be changed when rebuilding from sources, and can be modified
- via symbolic links for those OSs that support them. This directory is
- nonstandard, and was chosen this way to allow XFree86 to be installed
- alongside a commercial/vendor-supplied X implementation.
-
- 12. Configuration files
-
- The XFree86 server reads a configuration file ("Xconfig") on startup.
- The search path, contents and syntax for this file are documented in
- the server manpage, which should be consulted before asking questions.
-
- 13. Determining VGA dot clocks and monitor modes
-
- David E Wexelblat (dwex@mtgzfs3.att.com) maintains a database of known
- clock settings for VGA cards and monitor settings.
- The database is installed in /usr/X386/lib/X11/etc/modeDB.txt, and
- is in the source tree under mit/server/ddx/x386/etc. This database is
- also available from him (for the latest copy), and is kept on
- export.lcs.mit.edu in ~/contrib/X386.modeDB.Z, which is updated
- occasionally. Obtain a copy of this database. It just might have the
- settings you need. If you create new settings, please send them to
- David for inclusion in the database.
-
- If this doesn't help you, the VideoModes.doc (by Eric Raymond) file
- with XFree86 contains tutorials on how to come up with these timings.
- It may be helpful to start with settings that almost work, and use
- this description to get them right. When you do, send the information
- to David Wexelblat for inclusion in the database.
-
- NOTE: The old 'clock.exe' program is not supported any more, and
- is completely unnecessary. If you need to determine dot
- clock values for a new board, remove the 'Clocks' line from
- your Xconfig file (if present), and start the server. The
- server will probe for clocks itself and print them out.
- You can use these values to put a 'Clocks' line into your
- Xconfig file, which is not necessary, but will speed up
- starting the server in the future.
-
- 14. Rebuilding/reconfiguring the server from the link kit
-
- If you have installed the server Binary Link Kit, it is possible to
- reconfigure the drivers and font renderers in the server. This is
- fully explained in the README file that is available with the link kit.
-
- V) What OS-specific things should I know about running XFree86?
-
- First of all, the server must be installed suid-root (mode 4755).
-
- 15. SVR4
- Why won't my xterm run properly?
-
- If your kernel is not built with the consem module, you should define
- CONSEM=no in you environment. Otherwise xterm won't run.
- csh users should use 'setenv CONSEM no'
-
- The Esix console driver patch 403019 is known to cause keymapping
- problems with XFree86. It recommended that this patch not be
- installed. Alternatively they keymap can be fixed with xmodmap.
-
- 16. SVR3
-
- Make sure you look at $FTP/README.ISC, if that's what you are running.
-
- 17. 386BSD
-
- Make sure you look at $FTP/README.386BSD.
-
- Also, a separate 386BSD FAQ is maintained by Richard Murphey
- <Rich@Rice.edu>. The latest version should be available in the
- file XFree86-1.2-386BSD-FAQ at the following ftp sites:
-
- agate.berkeley.edu:/pub/386BSD/0.1-ports/XFree86-1.2
- wuarchive.wustl.edu:/mirrors4/386bsd/0.1-ports/XFree86-1.2
- grasp.insa-lyon.fr:pub/386BSD/0.1-ports/XFree86-1.3
-
- 18. Linux
-
- You must be running Linux 0.99pl13 or greater, and have the 4.4.1 gcc
- jump libraries and ld.so-1.3 installed.
-
- Make sure all the servers XF86_*, xload and xterm are setuid root.
-
- If your kernel doesn't have TCP support compiled in, you'll have to
- run the server as "X -pn". The default startup configuration assumes
- that TCP is not available. If it is, change the two files
- /usr/X386/bin/startx and /usr/X386/lib/X11/xdm/Xservers, removing the
- -pn argument to X386.
-
- Make sure /dev/console is either a link to /dev/tty0 or has the major
- number 4, minor number 0. Also note that if /dev/console is not
- owned by the user running X, then xconsole and xterm will not permit
- console output redirection. Xdm will properly change the owner, but
- startx won't.
-
- When running xdm from rc.local, you will need to provide it with
- a tty, for example "xdm < /dev/console &".
-
- For more detailed information, please read the files README and
- X11-HOWTO present with the distribution on tsx-11.mit.edu.
-
- 19. Mach
-
- Make sure you look at $FTP/README.Mach.
-
- VI) What things should I know for building XFree86 from source?
-
- This section has been removed from the FAQ, since it is
- fully explained in $FTP/README and the OS-specific READMEs.
- Please look at those files for information on building XFree86.
-
- VII) Is there anything special about building clients with XFree86?
-
- 20. BSD compatibility library
-
- A lot of clients make use of BSD functions like bcopy(), etc.
- The default configuration files are set up to link with libXbsd.a
- which contains emulation for bcopy(), bzero(), bcmp(), ffs(), random(),
- seed(). A better way of providing the 'b' functions is to include
- <X11/Xfuncs.h> in source files that call them. Xfuncs.h provides macro
- definitions for these in terms of the SYSV 'mem' functions. If you are
- linking with a vendor supplied library which calls some of these
- functions, then you should link with libXbsd.a
-
- 21. ANSICCOPTIONS
-
- This is something that was added to allow a developer to get rid of the
- ANSI-ness defined in the default CCOPTIONS without having to rewrite
- the entire CCOPTIONS line. For example, with stock MIT, you'd see
- something like
- CCOPTIONS="-ansi -O2 -fwritable-strings"
- and to get rid of the ANSI-ness, the developer would have to put
- CCOPTIONS="-O2 -fwritable-strings"
- in his Imakefile. With this change, you would see a default of
- ANSICCOPTIONS="-ansi"
- CCOPTIONS="-O2 -fwritable-strings"
- and all the developer would have to put in the Imakefile is:
- ANSICCOPTIONS=
- to get rid of the ANSI-ness (many X clients will die a horrible death
- with -ansi). The effect is even more dramatic in practice, because
- CCOPTIONS is actually quite complex. The other issue is that one must
- add 'ANSICCOPTIONS=$(ANSICCOPTIONS)' to a PassCDebugFlags definition.
-
- VIII) Where to get more information
-
- Additional documentation is available in the XFree86(1), Xconfig(4/5),
- XF86_SVGA(1), XF86_Mono(1), XF86_VGA16(1), XF86_Accel(1) and XF86keybd(1)
- manual pages. In addition, several README files and tutorial documents are
- provided. These are available in /usr/X386/lib/X11/etc in the binary
- distributions, and in mit/server/ddx/x386 and ddx/x386/etc in the source
- distribution.
-
- The files README.Config and VideoModes.doc should be consulted for
- information on how to set up the XFree86 servers. All supplied documents
- and manual pages should be read before contacting the XFree86 team for
- assistance.
-
- Documentation on SVGA driver development can be found in the directory
- /usr/X386/lib/Server/VGADriverDoc in the binary distribution, and in the
- directory mit/server/ddx/x386/VGADriverDoc in the source distribution.
-
- There exists a Usenet news group comp.windows.x.i386unix that contains
- mostly discussions about XFree86 and related topics. Many questions can
- be answered there.
-
- If you are totally at a loss, you can contact the XFree86 Core Team at
- xfree86@physics.su.oz.au.
-
- --------------------------------------------------
-
- XFree86 Contact Information
-
- Ongoing development planning and support is coordinated by the XFree86
- Core Team. At this time the Core Team consists of (in alphabetical order):
-
- Robert Baron <Robert.Baron@ernst.mach.cs.cmu.edu>
- David Dawes <dawes@physics.su.oz.au>
- Dirk Hohndel <hohndel@informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de>
- Glenn Lai <glenn@cs.utexas.edu>
- Rich Murphey <Rich@Rice.edu>
- Jon Tombs <jon@gtex02.us.es>
- David Wexelblat <dwex@goblin.org>, <dwex@aib.com>
- Thomas Wolfram <wolf@prz.tu-berlin.de>
- Orest Zborowski <orestz@microsoft.com>
-
- E-mail sent to <xfree86@physics.su.oz.au> will reach all of the Core Team.
-
- --------------------------------------------------
-
- Thanks to all the people who already sent me corrections or additions,
- especially David Wexelblat (one of the major contributors of updates).
- --
- Steve Kotsopoulos P.Eng. mail: steve@ecf.toronto.edu
- Systems Analyst bitnet: steve@ecf.UTORONTO.BITNET
- Engineering Computing Facility uucp: uunet!utai!ecf!steve
- University of Toronto phone: (416) 978-5898
-