Here is what I just posted to the xorg list if anyone would like to give me any input on its feasibility. ----------------------------
Okay, I'm going to take a step back here and try a different line of thinking on this. Xserver and Xclients currently don't have a decent way to talk to each other and implementation of this is not an easy task. We can run certain patches or band-aids as a work around or try and configure Xclients to not be so greedy, but that is some work as well and not pretty. The problem still stands that an Xclient and Xserver have full ability to request all available RAM and see who wins. But in the end if the Xserver runs out of memory to use, everything crashes and your session is over. So it seems it is most important to be sure the Xserver always has the memory it needs to run. This brings me to my thought. Is it possible to modify the Linux kernel (or whatever process would be best to control this) to check on startup if an Xserver is present, and if yes set aside RAM for only the Xserver which would guarantee the Xserver will always have the resources it needs to function. Then take the remaining amount of RAM and allocate it as "free" memory for other processes to use. Could this guarantee stability of the desktop without needing any form of communication between the Xserver and Xclient? Then if a developer develops an Xclient that is greedy, so what, it performs poorly or crashes as it normally would, but the desktop still runs. This would then keep the Linux desktop stable and put pressure on the developer to optimize their application to make it more stable or perform better. Forgive my ignorance on the topic if this is way off base. Jim -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by the Cotter Technology Department, and is believed to be clean. -- edubuntu-users mailing list [email protected] Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/edubuntu-users
