> From: Joerg Czeranski <jc@joerch.org>
>
> Ross Harvey wrote:
> > [quotes deleted]
> > 
> > I've said it before but once again: we really do need a volunteer
> > willing to work on X for NetBSD/alpha. It has always been on my list,
> > but has never made it to top priority, so I've never even started work
> > on it and I'm not sure if that will ever change. (I always think I can
> > start in a month or two, but it's always at .+2.)
> > 
> > 	ross.harvey@computer.org
>
> A few years ago I wrote a kernel driver and an X11 hardware module for
> the Millennium I for Dec/Tru64 Unix 4.  It maps a frame buffer via DEC's
> /dev/ws0 instead of XFree-like direct hardware access.
>
> It's still a prototype in some respects, but I've been using it as :0
> all the time (the console is a serial VT).
>
> Is there any chance of porting it to NetBSD?

I'm not completely sure I understand this question. It's just a SMOP,
right? :-) :-)

> What kernel infrastructure is used or provided by the TGA driver/server?

The TGA server is based on an X Consortium server. (I.e., not an XFree86
server.) The kernel interface it uses is through the wscons(4) code.

It works just like yours did, it doesn't require options INSECURE, it opens
/dev/ttyE? to do a device mmap(2) instead of an XF86-style "attachment", and
it uses ioctl's to the console for mouse access.

The netbsd-specific code is easy to read, and it's easy to extract the
wscons(4) calls by just looking in:

	xsrc/xc/programs/Xserver/hw/netbsd/alpha/

The server is XalphaNetBSD and it builds into xc/programs/Xserver/.

> I already have a spare Millennium for my NetBSD box (AlphaPC164),
> but I haven't yet found any relevant documentation or guides for
> the driver.

Well, none of the open source projects really write big interface manuals;
those are necessary in commercial software because it's usually required
that they be programmed without access to source code. Sure, we would _like_
to have them anyway, but it's hard to justify the time spent creating and
maintaining them. Having said that, if you could figure it out and are
willing to elaborate on our minimal wscons man pages, it would be
appreciated.

For the most part, though: UTSL!! :-) :-)

	ross.harvey@computer.org