Armen Babikyan wrote:
> 
> > I've managed to shove Ken Nakata's color X code into the current X
> > distribution's server (thanks so much Ken for doing this in the first
> > place and then making your code available!).  This server should be able
> > to handle the NetBSD 1.3 X distribution without the complications of
> > reconfiguring the fonts.  I'm using it right now, and it appears to be
> > working just fine.  Please let me know if anyone has trouble with it.
> > 
> 
> I still run the old Mar95 X software, with a GENERIC kernel and a color
> lkm. what advantages/disadvantages does the new X software have over the
> old one? (the one i use right now) The reason i ask now is because I
> didn't want to "downgrade" to a new X distribution (what makes it
> new?) that didn't support color if the old one did.

Well, digging through the code, one advantage is that this new one beeps
at you (well, if your machine beeps on the console, it'll now beep in an
xterm).  The other advantage is that the new server supports the
"official" NetBSD X distribution (which is XFree based).  Since the older
X distribution is no longer really supported (it was X11R6.3 and the X
Consortium is no more), there may eventually be things in the NetBSD
distribution which are not backwards compatible with the older
distribution.  Also, any bug fixes to the X binaries or libraries, or
whatever will only be made to the NetBSD tree, so there won't be any
decent way to fix these bugs in the older distribution.  It definitely
won't be a "downgrade" to move to the newer X distribution.  Keep in mind,
tho, that the only incompatibility at the moment between the older server
and the newer distribution is that the newer distribution uses gzipped
fonts which the older server doesn't understand.  There might be other
machine-independent improvements in the newer server, but I haven't read
through the release notes to be sure.  Oh, the newer server has what I
think might be a better keymap, but you're not likely to notice this
(except that I think it eliminates the need to use xmodmap to remap the up
and down arrow keys).
 
> > Please note, this server does not in any way add extra functionality over
> > the previous color X server other than that which is in the current
> > monochrome X server (in other words, no, this won't give you color
> > internal video support).
> 
> Then what is the point of this server (or the new X dist)? i run
> 1.3_ALPHA; the old color Xserver + lkm + GENERIC work fine on my IIvx.
>
> I think i'm missing something...

Oh, you're not really missing anything.  As the old saying goes, "if it
ain't broke, don't fix it".  If the older distribution works just fine for
you, by all means, go ahead and continue using it.  I simply wanted to
upgrade my X distribution, and this required fixing the server.  Also,
this way, anyone who wants to run color X in the future won't have to be
told something like "go find the old NetBSD 1.2 X distribution since the
new one doesn't work".

I hope that clears things up.

Later.

-- 
Colin Wood                                 cwood@ichips.intel.com
Component Design Engineer - MD6                 Intel Corporation
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I speak only on my own behalf, not for my employer.