Carl Wilhelm Soderstrom wrote: > > > So what is a driver and what is a > > server in the context of XF86? Is a "server" a file containing a number > > of different drivers? > > in X 3, different servers were used for different video chipsets. > (the server being what actually draws the pixels on the screen). > in X 4, there is only one server, and it has loadable modules for > each chipset (many thanks for that technology donation from Xi Graphics!). > this makes Xinerama possible, and maintenance easier, and configuration > easier.
I'd like to expound on this a little, not that it's necessary. The above is an excellent answer to the specific question. But since this is the "newbie" list... What makes X11 different from -- superior to -- other GUIs is that it is a true client/server architecture. There is a server which provides Graphical User Interface services (display, keyboard, mouse pointer services) to client programs. Xterm, Netscrape Navigator, Enlightenment, and many others are examples of client programs. They send requests to and get responses from a server, using a well-defined, standard, published communications protocol. The clients (even the window manager) do not have to run on the same box as the server, they just have to be able to communicate with it, e.g. over the internet. The server does have to run on the same box as the keyboard, mouse, and display, and it has to have drivers to operate the keyboard, mouse, and display equipment. XFree86 versions prior to 4.0 linked the specific device drivers to the rest of the server statically, so there had to be a separate server for each type of device. Starting with version 4.0, the device drivers are loaded dynamically by the server, so there's only one server and a whole bunch of separate device driver modules. There are lots of other modules that are loaded dynamically, too. I'm sure most of you already knew all that, but it *is* the "newbie" list. -- Remember, more computing power was thrown away last week than existed in the world in 1982. -- http://www.tom.womack.net/computing/prices.html _______________________________________________ Newbie mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** To unsubscribe , or change message options, see: http://XFree86.Org/mailman/listinfo/newbie
