[757] in linux-announce channel archive
SVGATextMode-0.9 (test release before 1.0)
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Lars Wirzenius)
Mon Jul 10 18:23:41 1995
Date: Sun, 9 Jul 1995 15:20:41 +0300
From: Lars Wirzenius <wirzeniu@cc.helsinki.fi>
To: linux-activists@niksula.hut.fi, linux-announce@vger.rutgers.edu
X-Mn-Key: announce
From: kmg@barco.be
Subject: SVGATextMode-0.9 (test release before 1.0)
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.announce
Keywords: SVGA VGA console screen monitor XFREE Xconfig XF86Config
Organization: ?
Approved: linux-announce@news.ornl.gov (Lars Wirzenius)
Followup-to: comp.os.linux.setup
To all the people lucky enough to be able to use Linux (all 42 of them):
Nothing new, just a new release of SVGATextMode... I am uploading this
version for all you to test it out, and if all goes well, I'll fix the bugs,
call it 1.0 and throw it back in the ring :-)
A quick reminder:
Begin3
Title: SVGA textmode manipulation/enhancement
Version: 0.9
Entered-date: 6JUL95
Description: Uses extra features found in all SVGA video cards to enhance
Linux text modes independently of what the BIOS can do. It is
configured with an XF86Config-like file, and allows setting of
pixel clock, H/V timings, font size, cursor size, etc. Enables
using the video card AND the monitor to their full potential in
textmode, as in XWindows. Current support includes S3, ET4000,
Cirrus Logic, Trident, Western Digital, ATI (and MACH32) and
Video7 (Headland techn.) cards. It can also use an external
clock program and supports all S3 clock chips from XFREE 3.1.1.
Features automatic font loading, monitor definition (H/V
frequency limits), on-the-fly screen resizing.
Also includes: palette changer, pixelclock probe, text/graphics
mode grabber (for Linux and DOS), VGA register hacking tool,
and a multi-chipset/clockchip ClockProg for X that supports ALL
chipsets/clockchips from SVGATextMode.
Keywords: SVGA VGA console screen monitor XFREE Xconfig XF86Config
Author: kmg@barco.be (Koen Gadeyne)
Maintained-by: kmg@barco.be (Koen Gadeyne)
Primary-site: sunsite.unc.edu pub/Linux/utils/console
310k SVGATextMode-0.9.tar.gz
Alternate-site: tsx-11.mit.edu pub/linux/sources/sbin
Original-site:
Platform: Linux machine (Intel or Alpha) with one of the supported VGA
cards, kernel 1.1.54 or newer.
Copying-policy: Freely Redistributable
End
Many small things have changed. A short list:
- Added "-t" option to use a different TextConfig file than the default one.
- fixed bug in WDC90cXX code (clock selection bit #2 was wrongly
programmed). Also fixed another obscure bug for WDC's when used together
with X.
- used CirrusSetClock from XFREE package instead of previous (custom) version.
- added "restore all VGA registers" option to set80. More robust, but not
perfect, since SVGA regs are not restored...
- man-files written for: SVGATextMode(8), TextConfig(5).
- SVGATextMode should now compile on Alpha systems without changing a single
byte to the sources nor the Makefile!
- Patched S3 gendac code so ET4000W32p with ICS5341 GenDAC can also use it.
- added "DacSpeed" line + default maximum clocks for all chipsets.
- a dialog-based mode selection script that only shows the modes that are
allowed on the configured VGA card, and lets you pick one to program.
- "DefaultMode" command introduced in config file. Calling SVGATextMode
without command-line arguments programs the DefaultMode.
- Used VT_RESIZEX from kernel version 1.3.3 and up.
And this could turn out to be as very nice tool:
- Included a ClockProg: a generic VGA clock programming tool, that can
be used either in SVGATextMode itself, or in XFREE, to support yet
unsupported clockchips in X (notably ET4000 genDAC). Also to allow for
sub-25 MHz modes in X for ALL cards (DOOM!), and not just those with a
clockchip. This will also smoothe the interaction between X and
SVGATextMode, since they then use the same clock programming code. Also
usefull for Clockchip-cards in X, to allow for correct text mode clock
restoration.
In the mean time: have a nice summer (and for those on the southern
hemisphere: a nice winter :-( )
Koen.
--
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