nanogui: vuilding for vga16
Subject:
Re: [nanogui] vuilding for vga16
From:
Paul Fox ####@####.####
Date:
18 Jul 2002 17:03:16 -0000
Message-Id: <31515.1027011016@foxharp.boston.ma.us>
>
> > GRAYPALETTE = Y
> > since i've got a greyscale screen -- should that make a difference?
>
> I'm not sure. Try it both on and off.
it doesn't seem to make any difference to the behavior -- at least
at a gross level. things are broken either way.
it seems to be the console switch that causes the breakage. i rebuilt
using:
LINK_APP_INTO_SERVER = Y
and this became obvious. without it, you sort of have to switch
consoles to start the app, after starting nano-X. with this, or when
using microwindows, the apps sort of work until you switch away and
then back again, and the screen fills with junk.
>
> Also make sure FRAMEBUFFER, FBVGA, and VTSWITCH are all turned on. Also
> use my CVS snapshot as there is a bug (well, a missing feature really)
> in the VGA16 driver in the latest official release of microwindows that
> stops window drags (and various other things) from working properly. You
> can get it from:`
> http://www.linuxhacker.org/pub/cvs-snapshots/microwin-aph/
i'll try this. thanks.
>
> > i'm running 2.4.17, btw -- i'd assume the framebuffer code was relatively
> > functional.
>
> I wouldn't assume anything with such an unusual hardware arrangement.
> It's quite possible you could be the first to try it. Even if you do get
i suppose you're right. given that my hardware is old enough that i
needed to turn on "SLOW_VGA" in vgacons.c, anything is possible. (i
got random transient bad chars on the screen during screen updates
without it.)
> it working you may be disappointed with the speed as VGA16 is by far the
> slowest of the framebuffer drivers (largely due to hardware brain damage).
>
> I have an old 486 laptop here that has a Promise VGA chipset in it
> connected to a 640*480*256 colour LCD, and it runs much faster under
> Windows 3.1 at 256 colours than Microwindows does using VGA16 mode. I
> wonder if we could adapt the Linux VGA16 framebuffer driver to support
> some of the other standard VGA modes?
but my screen doesn't have 256 colors. it only has 16. or am i missing
your point somehow? (i confess i don't know much about pc display
technology, of any vintage.)
i did notice that while the demos were working, that the colors weren't
being mapped usefully -- many areas that i assume should have some
contrast, didn't. i should try the grey pallette again to see if it
helps. but i guess a 16 level display just may no longer cut it in
the modern world. oh well. it makes a nice terminal. :-)
> --
> ------------ Alex Holden - http://www.linuxhacker.org ------------
> If it doesn't work, you're not hitting it with a big enough hammer
and if a hammer don't fix it, well then what you've got is an
electrical problem.
paul
=---------------------
paul fox, ####@####.#### (arlington, ma, where it's 82.2 degrees)
