Thanks for that answer Ted, makes even more sense now. Robyn
On Mon, 7 Jan 2002 08:42, Ted Spradley wrote: > 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. _______________________________________________ Newbie mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** To unsubscribe , or change message options, see: http://XFree86.Org/mailman/listinfo/newbie
