Re: [RFC PATCH v1 0/5] VT: Add ability to get font requirements

[Jiri Slaby]

Cc Thomas (fbdev/fbcon fadeaway -- search SUSE below)

On 16. 02. 24, 14:26, Alexey Gladkov wrote:
> On Fri, Feb 16, 2024 at 08:21:38AM +0100, Jiri Slaby wrote:
> > On 15. 02. 24, 16:37, Alexey Gladkov wrote:
> > > We now have KD_FONT_OP_SET_TALL, but in fact such large fonts cannot be
> > > loaded. No console driver supports tall fonts.
> >
> > I thought fbcon can, no? If not, we should likely remove all the
> > KD_FONT_OP_SET_TALL checks here and there.
>
> I thought so too until kbd users started trying to use such fonts. A month
> after adding KD_FONT_OP_SET_TALL, support for large fonts was turned off
> in fbcon:
>
> https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux.git/commit/?h=2b09d5d364986f724f17001ccfe4126b9b43a0be

Hmmm -- it has been a year!

> But I don't think we need to remove KD_FONT_OP_SET_TALL completely. Maybe
> support for large fonts can be fixed.

Either someone needs it so (not necessarily the same) someone fixes it, 
or we remove it.

Note that this whole fbdev is deprecated in favor of (simple)drm. I 
wonder if we want to invest any time to fix this mess at all? Or we 
simply drop the defunct parts now.

I believe SUSE and Fedora (and others very likely too) are currently in 
the process of moving away from fbdev completely at last. I don't know 
the current state, though. Thomas?

> > Eventually, we need to invent a v3 interface with some better font_op
> > struct with reserved fields for future use and so on.
>
> Yes, yes, yes! Can we discuss this, pleeeeese? :)

You need not discuss at first, propose something ;).

thanks,
--
js
suse labs