On Wed, 2003-06-25 at 11:20, Michael Kalus wrote: > Excuse me, but by my understanding X itself is not a UI. It is just a Server > that doesn't really do much but draw a window. If you start X without a > windowserver it is pretty fast and looks extremely ugly.
X is not just the server. X is a client-server model for windowing. MIT defined it that way, we do not have the right to restrict the definition to the server only (besides, the model does not make sense without the clients). The WM is a client and as such is as much a part of X as is the piece that polls the keyboard for input. > > In the end, my take is we do not need to replace X, just > > optimize what is there. > > I don't think the problem is X itself, I think the problem is in what people > try to do with it. More optimization on behalf of GNOME and KDE will most > likely work better than trying to re-invent the X Server. Again, Gnome and KDE are a collection of X clients and the API for creating those clients. Nothing in Gnome or KDE attempt to replace or re-invent the X server. And since clients are part and parcel of the X system, the problem is in part of certain X implementations specifically Gnome and KDE. > By my understanding (and I am not a programmer) X is actually pretty small > for what it is doing. Again, do not talk of X as if it is the server only. X is a client-server system. The X server is not all that small, and it is only part of X, not all of X. Size is not the issue, not in and of itself. The only real problem in the X server is that it is rather chatty; lots of bandwidth because it is constantly polling for events then transmitting events and actions between the client and server. The part that needs more work in the basic server is optimizing the stream of this on-going traffic. An adjunct to the server are the video drivers, and the X86 world is awash in umpteen gazillion video chips and derived boards. The drivers for this milieu of chips and boards can use some work to make sure that there are accelerated X servers for them (too many boards require the use of the non-accelerated SVGA server in the XFree86 world). The real work needs to be done on the client side. Again, Gnome and KDE are collections of X clients. Their only connection with the server is that they talk to it, and depend on it. The fact that non-Gnome and non-KDE interfaces exist for XFree86 that are much better performing is an indication that the major problem is NOT the server, but rather some of the clients that need optimization. - rick warner -- redhat-list mailing list unsubscribe mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] https://www.redhat.com/mailman/listinfo/redhat-list
