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diff --git a/community/gsoc/xorg_ideas.mdwn b/community/gsoc/xorg_ideas.mdwn deleted file mode 100644 index 26177345..00000000 --- a/community/gsoc/xorg_ideas.mdwn +++ /dev/null @@ -1,67 +0,0 @@ -[[!meta copyright="Copyright © 2009 Free Software Foundation, Inc."]] - -[[!meta license="""[[!toggle id="license" text="GFDL 1.2+"]][[!toggleable -id="license" text="Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this -document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or -any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant -Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the license -is included in the section entitled -[[GNU Free Documentation License|/fdl]]."]]"""]] - -## VT Switching for GNU Hurd - -While XFree86 was first ported to the Hurd more than a decade ago, and there -are updates now and then to make newer versions of Xorg run as well, -the support is quite rudimentary: in particular, there -is no support for switching back to the text console while X is running. - -Implementing this requires creating an interface between the X server and the -Hurd console, and implementing the necessary code on both sides. - -The goal of this project is to get console switching fully working on the Hurd. -Some Hurd-specific and X-specific knowlegde will need to be obtained, but the -task should be quite doable without previous experience with either. It -requires implementing some pieces of code that are not quite trivial, but -shouldn't be terribly hard either. - -Exercise: Try fixing <http://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?21000>, or perhaps some -other minor issue with X on the Hurd. - - -## Initial work on porting DRM to GNU Hurd - -The Direct Rendering Manager (DRM) is a kernel driver component taking care of -graphics hardware access. Originally, it only took care of the 3D acceleration -unit, and was used mostly by the DRI (Direct Rendering Infrastructure) in Mesa. - -A few years ago, the developers came to the conclusion that a more robust -and functional graphics stack requires the kernel driver to take care of other -graphics access as well: mode setting in particular. (Essentially what the old -KGI project proposed, see <http://www.kgi-project.org>.) Also, with the new GEM -interface, the DRM now takes care of graphics memory management as well. - -With the new responsibilities, the DRM is no longer an optional addon for fast -3D support, but a central component of the graphics stack. It needs to be -implemented by any operating system that wants good Xorg driver support in the -future. (Moreover, it is now also useful outside the context of Xorg.) - -The Hurd implementation of DRM will be somewhat special, as -- following the -microkernel idea -- we want to run the drivers as priviledged user space server -processes, rather than actual kernel modules. - -This task is about doing the first steps for porting the DRM to the Hurd. This -can be done by taking one of the existing DRM modesetting drivers (Intel, Nouveau (Nvidia), or -Radeon), trying to get parts of it running as a Hurd server, and -porting/implementing necessary pieces of the general DRM framework as needed -along the way. - -It is probably not realistic to get the driver fully working over the summer. -The goal however is to get at least some parts going. - -This task will require obtaining a considerable amount of knowledge about the -Hurd and Mach (especially things like virtual memory management) -- it goes -deep into system internals. Previous experience with operating system and/or -graphics driver development would definitely be helpful. - -Exercise: Try to get some part of the driver compiling on the Hurd, using stubs -for any system-specific functionality. |