Re: NetBSD graphics stack [WAS: Re: Internet services and US vs EU jurisdiction]

[tlaronde%kergis.com@localhost]

On Tue, Feb 17, 2026 at 01:12:50PM +0100, Enrico Weigelt, metux IT consult wrote:
> On 1/20/26 15:02, tlaronde%kergis.com@localhost wrote:
> 
> > On this, we agree. I tried to tackle the DRM problem (without having
> > any knowledge at first) and after several tries and false starts only
> > concluded:
> 
> By "DRM" you mean direct rendering manager or digital restriction management
> ?
> 

Direct Rendering Manager (this is indeed the problem with the
acronyms: the 3 or 4 letters can now mean everything and the reverse
so except in an already focused thread with unambiguous local meaning,
they should be spelled in full length before resorting to the
acronym).

> > 1) That X11 is dead;
> 
> https://github.com/X11Libre
> 
> NetBSD is one of our official CI targets, btw.
> (we could use some more hands on deck, especially for testing,
> packaging, etc)
> 

I have crossed your messages when working initially on X11 modules in
the Xorg distribution and it is sure for me that NetBSD and others
have to worry about the X11 stuff because I guess Oracle will
eventually pull the plug (the most active still present developers for
userland X11 are, if I'm not mistaken, Oracle's employees).

>[...]
> > I'm now trying to master a kernel so that I will not depend indirectly
> > on the way the massive organisations are pushing the trend.
> 
> Oh, can you tell us some more ?
> 

I'm the developer of kerTeX, a distribution of TeX and al. What people
generally don't know is that METAFONT is a rasterizer. This does mean
that for 2D stuff, one has with TeX and al. almost already everything
to go from graphical primitives, including glyphes, to a rasterized
image.

My plan is to go the fullway with what I have already, extending DVI
to add some things that will make the format more self sufficient and
borrowing the rasterization routines from METAFONT to go from static
pages described in DVI to raster images.

The plan is also to make the DVI format GUI usable for an interface
description.

I want the thing to be a self contained, totally independent solution
even not requiring a GPU (the only thing required for graphical
display is the minimal circuitry unfortunately bound nowadays on
the GPU board: a timer and a device able to pass in synchronization
the rasterized image to the display).

For my basic uses, I made without any acceleration for years, and I
still don't need it since I still program trying to use the minimum of
resources.

And---even if not directly related to the 2D output---the engine in
kerTeX: Prote (compatible with TeX; compatible with the e-TeX
extensions; and providing supplementary primitives required by recent
LaTeX) is already extended to be able, eventually, to masquerade as
*roff, giving with kerTeX a system' and user's documentation solution.

One software to layout them all.

Best,
-- 
        Thierry Laronde <tlaronde +AT+ kergis +dot+ com>
                     http://www.kergis.com/
                    http://kertex.kergis.com/
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