Newsgroups: comp.windows.x.i386unix,comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit,comp.unix.bsd,comp.windows.x,comp.answers,news.answers Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!news.kei.com!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!usc!cs.utexas.edu!utnut!skule.ecf!steve From: steve@ecf.toronto.edu (Steve Kotsopoulos) Subject: X on Intel-based Unix Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ] Message-ID: Followup-To: poster Summary: X options for Intel-based Unix (SYSV/386, 386BSD, Linux, Mach) Sender: steve@ecf.toronto.edu (Steve Kotsopoulos) Reply-To: steve@ecf.toronto.edu Organization: University of Toronto, Engineering Computing Facility Date: Tue, 3 Aug 1993 16:06:01 GMT Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Expires: Wed, 1 Sep 1993 04:00:00 GMT Lines: 639 Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu comp.windows.x.i386unix:3026 comp.unix.pc-clone.32bit:5706 comp.unix.bsd:13917 comp.windows.x:71044 comp.answers:1499 news.answers:10986 Archive-name: Intel-Unix-X-faq Last-modified: 3 Aug 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. What about 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 . 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 SVR4.2 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. Here are the highlights of the enhancements: 1) The SpeedUp package from Glenn Lai is an integral part of XFree86, 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 (VRAM), this can yield up to 40% improvement of the xStones benchmark over X386 1.2. 2) The fX386 packages from Jim Tsillas are included as the default operating mode 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. 3) A monochrome server that supports bank-switching of available SVGA memory to allow virtual screens up to 1600x1200. 4) Support for the Hercules mono card has been added to the monochrome server, and with it the ability to support a "two headed" server - one VGA, and one Hercules. 5) SVR3 shared libraries, tested under ISC SVR3 2.0.2, 2.2 and 3.0.1; SCO 3.2.2, 3.2.4. 6) Support for Linux, 386BSD, Mach, SVR4.2, SCO, Amoeba, and Minix-386. 7) Support for LOCALCONN. This support is for both SVR3.2 and SVR4. For SVR4.0.4 with the 'Advanced Compatibility Package', local connections from SCO XSight/ODT clients are supported. 8) Drivers for ATI, Trident, NCR, Compaq, and Cirrus SVGA chipsets. Refer to the files README.ati and README.trident for details about the ATI and Trident drivers. 9) Support for compressed bitmap fonts has been added (Thomas Eberhardt's code from the contrib directory on export.lcs.mit.edu). 10) 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 export.lcs.mit.edu. 11) New configuration method which allows the server's drivers and font renderers to be reconfigured from both source and binary distributions. 12) 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). 13) Greatly improved support for international keyboards, including implementation of the Compose key functionality found on many vendor servers. 14) 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. The following key features were added with the release of XFree86 1.3 (they were not in XFree86 1.2): 0) The server binary names have been changed from 'X386' and 'X386mono' to 'XF86_SVGA' and 'XF86_Mono'. This is not particularly important, but may confuse people at first. 1) MIT public fixes to X11R5 up to fix-25 have been incorporated 2) Support for the following operating systems has been added: SCO SVR3 3.2.2 and 3.2.4 ISC 2.0.2 Amoeba Minix-386 3) Support for the following SVGA chipsets has been added: Western Digital 90C3x Cirrus 542x Trident 8800CS, 8900B, 8900CL NCR 77C22, 77C22E Compaq AVGA We believe that the ET4000/W32 will also work with this release. 4) For SVR3/4, the local connection mechanism used is selectable at run-time, rather than compile time. 5) For 386BSD, the server now determines the console driver at run-time, removing the need for separate server binaries. 6) Support for building Linux shared libraries is integrated into the source kit. 7) The server Link Kit now includes driver sources, which allows for modification and addition of new drivers, without requiring the server source tree. 8) The interface between the server and the drivers has been fully documented, and a stub driver is included. 9) A preliminary version of the 'SuperProbe' program is included. This is a Unix-based program designed to detect and identify installed video hardware. 10) The binary package is no longer required to exist in /usr/X386. Support for a $XWINHOME environment variable has been added to all hard-coded paths. 11) PEX is now supported in the XFree86 source tree, and has been ported to Linux. 12) The Hercules code has been fixed for Linux, 386BSD, Mach and SCO. 13) The handling of the "overscan" region of the display has been dramatically improved. This should prevent the area of the display outside the raster from changing to odd colors when colormap changes are made. 14) Support has been added to handle mice that can switch between Microsoft and MouseSystems modes via toggling of DTR for OSs that provide a mechanism for manipulating RS-232 control leads. 15) Support for a banked operation has been added to the ET3000 driver in the monochrome server. Plus a number of other small things. Refer to the CHANGELOG file in the source distribution for full details. 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. 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 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 SCO: 3.2.2, 3.2.4 AT&T: 3.2.2 Others: 386BSD 0.1, NetBSD 0.8 Mach 386 Linux Amoeba Minix-386 A set of patches to support XFree86 1.3 on BSDI's BSD/386 is available from the following sites: ftp.physics.su.oz.au:/XFree86/bsdi-1.3-unoff export.lcs.mit.edu:/contrib/XFree86/bsdi-1.3-unoff This is contributed code, and not part of the official 1.3 release. These patches will be integrated into XFree86 2.0, hence 2.0 will have native support for BSD/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 1.3 supports the following SVGA chipsets: Tseng ET3000, ET4000 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 Compaq AVGA 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, and the Hercules 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. 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. If you are purchasing new hardware for the purpose of using XFree86, it is suggested that you purchase an ET4000-based board such as the Orchid ProDesigner IIs. Avoid recent Diamond boards; XFree86 will not work with them, because Diamond won't provide programming details. In fact, the XFree86 project is actively not supporting new Diamond products, as long as such policies remain in effect. Contributions of code will NOT be accepted (because of the potential liabilities). If you would like to see this change, tell Diamond about it. Some people have asked if XFree86 would work with local bus or EISA video cards. Theoretically, the means of communication between the CPU and the video card is irrelevant to Xfree86 compatibility. It could be ISA, EISA, or local bus. What should matter is the chipset on the video card. Unfortunately, the developers don't have a lot of access to EISA or VLB machines, so this is largely an untested theory. However, we have yet to see any reports of things not working on one of these buses and we have several reports of Xfree86 working fine on them. 6. What about accelerated boards? At this point, XFree86 does not support any accelerated chipsets. These include the S3 86Cxxx, the ATI Mach8 and Mach32, the IBM 8514/A, the new Western Digital chipset (on the Diamond SpeedStar 24X), the new Cirrus and Tseng chipsets, and TIGA (TI 340x0). This support is available in commercial products from SGCS and MetroLink (for SVR3 and SVR4). Some of these will be supported in XFree86 2.0. An S3 server is available for 386BSD and Linux. Contact for 386BSD or for Linux. A beta 8514/A server is available for Linux. Contact or . Note: these servers are NOT part of XFree86. 7. Why doesn't XFree86 support 16-color VGA modes? The reason that this is not supported is the way VGA implements the 16-color modes. In 256-color modes, each byte of frame buffer memory contains 1 pixel. But the 16-color modes are implemented as bit- planes. Each byte of frame- buffer memory contains 1 bit from each of each of 8 pixels, and there are four such planes. The MIT frame- buffer code is not designed to deal with this. If VGA handled 16-color modes by packing 2 4-bit pixels into each byte, the MIT code could be modified to support this (or it already may; I'm not sure). But for the VGA way of doing things, a complete new frame-buffer implementation is required. Some beta testers are looking into this, but nothing is yet available from the project. 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 for the current version (1.3, based on X11R5 PL25 from MIT), are available via anonymous FTP from: export.lcs.mit.edu (under /contrib/XFree86) ftp.physics.su.oz.au (under /XFree86) ftp.win.tue.nl (under /pub/XFree86) (For the rest of this FAQ, these 3 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 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 agate.berkeley.edu - 386BSD binaries under /pub/386BSD/0.1-ports/XFree86-1.3 gatekeeper.dec.com - 386BSD binaries under /pub/BSD/386bsd/0.1-ports/XFree86-1.3 wuarchive.wustl.edu - 386BSD binaries under /mirrors4/386bsd/0.1-ports/XFree86-1.3 XFree86.cdrom.com - 386BSD binaries under /pub/XFree86/XFree86-1.3 ftp.cs.uwm.edu - Mach386 binaries under /i386 Ensure that you are getting XFree86 1.3 - 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 . 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 grasp1.univ-lyon1.fr:pub/386BSD/0.1-ports/XFree86-1.2 18. Linux You must be running Linux 0.99pl10 or greater, and have the 4.4 gcc jump libraries installed. Make sure the binaries XF86_SVGA, XF86_mono, 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 file README 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 $FTP/README and the OS-specific READMEs. Please look at those files for information on building XFree86. VII) Is there anything special about building clients with XFree86? 20. BSD compatibility library A lot of clients make use of BSD functions like bcopy(), etc. The default configuration files are set up to link with libXbsd.a which contains emulation for bcopy(), bzero(), bcmp(), ffs(), random(), seed(). A better way of providing the 'b' functions is to include in source files that call them. Xfuncs.h provides macro definitions for these in terms of the SYSV 'mem' functions. If you are linking with a vendor supplied library which calls some of these functions, then you should link with libXbsd.a 21. ANSICCOPTIONS This is something that was added to allow a developer to get rid of the ANSI-ness defined in the default CCOPTIONS without having to rewrite the entire CCOPTIONS line. For example, with stock MIT, you'd see something like CCOPTIONS="-ansi -O2 -fwritable-strings" and to get rid of the ANSI-ness, the developer would have to put CCOPTIONS="-O2 -fwritable-strings" in his Imakefile. With this change, you would see a default of ANSICCOPTIONS="-ansi" CCOPTIONS="-O2 -fwritable-strings" and all the developer would have to put in the Imakefile is: ANSICCOPTIONS= to get rid of the ANSI-ness (many X clients will die a horrible death with -ansi). The effect is even more dramatic in practice, because CCOPTIONS is actually quite complex. The other issue is that one must add 'ANSICCOPTIONS=$(ANSICCOPTIONS)' to a PassCDebugFlags definition. VIII) Where to get more information Additional documentation is available in the XFree86(1) 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. Documentation on SVGA driver development can be found in the directory /usr/X386/Server/VGADriverDoc in the binary distribution, and in the directory mit/server/ddx/x386/VGADriverDoc in the source distribution. 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 David Dawes Dirk Hohndel Glenn Lai Rich Murphey Jon Tombs David Wexelblat Thomas Wolfram Orest Zborowski E-mail sent to 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