Re: [Feature Wish] GGI in Linux 2.3

Alan Cox (alan@lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk)
Mon, 12 Jan 1998 15:37:06 +0000 (GMT)


> Graphics Interface, which is much more stable and robust than the previous
> version. My personal opinion is that plans should be made to incorporate
> GGI in Linux 2.3. It's about time that we get fast graphics in Linux

I had a good look at the current GGI and it has several problems to say the
least.

o Its console emulation isnt Linux but a sort of pseudo xterminal
o It appears to have no provision for non byte wide fonts
o It breaks all the existing low level mouse/keyboard interfaces
and replaces them with its own which has policy in kernel space

Having said that if combined with the current fbcon code it does give you
support for reliable SVGA mode switching and kernel side acceleration
where useful (eg DMA driven video blits from main memory) and there is
useful stuff that can be salvaged from it.

The nicest looking bits are actually the userspace support libraries which
show some promise.

Alan