Subject: (yet another) color X server available
To: None <port-mac68k@NetBSD.ORG>
From: Ken Nakata <kenn@romulus.rutgers.edu>
List: port-mac68k
Date: 02/22/1998 17:42:45
Hi,

I kind of succeeded to modify the Xmac68k_color server to support
multiple pixel depth up to 32 bit (but 32 bpp support is broken...
hence "kind of succeeded").  I would like you to try it out.

Not only does it support multiple pixel depths of 1, 4, 8, 16 (and 32)
bits, it also has some means to specify the grf device(s) to use (or
not).  So, if you are one of the people who has an internal video but
don't use it and instead use a NuBus video, your annoyance may be
over forever.

The bonus is that it runs in color or gray even if you are not running
on a SLOTMAN kernel or with video_lkm installed.  It is particularly
important for you to note that you have to set "Gray" mode before
booting NetBSD if you want to run it in 4 or 8 bpp gray mode.  It is
not unusable even if the video is in "Color" mode instead of "Gray",
but photo images (JPEGs and GIFs) will look gibberish on the screen.

BTW, "if you are running a non-SLOTMAN kernel with video_lkm loaded or
a SLOTMAN kernel" is too lengthy to me, so I coined the term "video
ROM driver support", because both utilize the driver software resident
in the video card's on-board ROM.  If you don't like it, now's the
time to tell me to drop it. ;-)

I've uploaded it at ftp://ftp.macbsd.com/pub/NetBSD/X/ as files
Xmac68k_OSFA.tar.gz and README.Xmac68k_OSFA (OSFA is the code name
which stands for "One Server Fits All" which it nealy does).

If you are running a kernel with video ROM driver support (= SLOTMAN
or non-SLOTMAN+video_lkm), and have a NuBus video card capable of
millions of colors, you are definitely going to have some trouble
because the server by default tries to use the deepest pixel depth
available.  That means it will try 32 bpp mode first which is broken
at the moment.  In that case, you will really need to use the device
specification scheme which is described in the README file in great
detail.

By no means I consider this server a final product (even aside from
the broken 32 bpp support), so please try it out and complain if it's
broken!  At least it seems to run fine on my Q840AV's internal video
in 4/8-bpp StaticGray visual and 16-bpp TrueColor visual.

Oh, BTW, it doesn't support 2-bpp (4 colors) mode because there's no
2-bit graphics code in X Consortium's sample server.  I would have to
write from scratch if I wanted to support it (which obviously I don't).

Cheers,

Ken