SGI graphics Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The SGI FAQ group
Last-modified: Wed Oct 20 1:00:04 CDT 1999
Posting-Frequency: Twice monthly
URL: http://www-viz.tamu.edu/~sgi-faq/
SGI graphics Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
This is one of the Silicon Graphics FAQ series, which consists of:
SGI admin FAQ - IRIX system administration
SGI apps FAQ - Applications and miscellaneous programming
SGI audio FAQ - Audio applications and programming
SGI diffs FAQ - Changes to the other FAQs since the last posting
SGI graphics FAQ - Graphics and user environment customization
SGI hardware FAQ - Hardware
SGI impressario FAQ - IRIS Impressario
SGI inventor FAQ - IRIS Inventor
SGI misc FAQ - Introduction & miscellaneous information
SGI movie FAQ - Movies
SGI performer FAQ - IRIS Performer
SGI pointer FAQ - Pointer to the other FAQs
SGI security FAQ - IRIX security
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Topics covered in this FAQ:
---------------------------
-1- DISPLAYS AND DGL
-2- How can I run a program on one machine and display it on another?
-3- Does the DISPLAY environment variable work for GL applications?
-4- Why doesn't the DISPLAY environment variable seem to work?
-5- Why do I get DGL errors when I try to run a GL program?
-6- CUSTOMIZING
-7- What tools does SGI provide to help with the customization
process?
-8- What are the important login and resource files for IRIX 4.0.x?
-9- What is the sequence of events that occur at login time in IRIX
4.0.x?
-10- What is the difference between .xsession and .sgisession in IRIX
4.0.x?
-11- Why do 4Dwm, toolchest, Workspace, etc. not recognize an
environment variable I set in my shell's startup files in IRIX
4.0.x?
-12- How can I change desktops without using the mouse and Desks
Overview?
-13- How can I turn off the IRIX 5.2 Magic user environment?
-14- How can I display my own background image under Indigo Magic?
-15- Where is the default value of PATH set?
-16- Why can't I log in after copying /usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xsession to
.xsession?
-17- How can I find out what fonts are available?
-18- How can I use the Alt key as a Meta key in an xwsh window?
-19- How can I configure my keyboard like a VT100?
-20- Can I put a single large picture in the 'clogin' display?
-21- How can I change clogin's background to an image?
-22- RESOURCES
-23- What are resources?
-24- How can I set resources?
-25- How can I use resources to run the same program twice with
different attributes?
-26- Does the GL recognize resources?
-27- How can I know what resources I can set for an application?
-28- What is a good approach to take in looking for resources?
-29- What is the precedence for resource files?
-30- Why do long resources cause X to crash mysteriously in IRIX 5.2?
-31- 4DWM
-32- Where can I learn more about the Window Manager?
-33- What files affect the window manager and what is their
relationship to each other?
-34- Do I need my own .4Dwmrc file?
-35- Can I run a different window manager?
-36- How can I choose a different window manager as the default?
-37- How can I recover from a failed window manager customization
attempt?
-38- ADMINISTRATION
-39- How can I log into pandora/clogin without bringing up graphics?
-40- How can I restart the console?
-41- How can I start and stop the graphics system?
-42- How can I restart the X server?
-43- How can I run 'xinit' manually, rather than automatically from
'xdm'?
-44- How can I start X on a remote host with no users logged in?
-45- IMAGE FILES
-46- How can I convert images to and from other formats?
-47- How can I convert models to and from other formats?
-48- What is the format of SGI's RGB files?
-49- How can I compress RGB bitmaps?
-50- How can I make a screen dump?
-51- Why does the IRIX 5.3 desktop recognize but not deal with JPEG
files?
-52- PROGRAMMING
-53- Can I use 4Dgifts code in my application?
-54- What does ERR_WMANIPC mean?
-55- How can I translate screen (x,y) coords into world (x,y,z)
coords?
-56- How can I translate world (x,y,z) coords into screen (x,y)
coords?
-57- Why does nothing happen when I call mapcolor(index, R, G, B)?
-58- Why can't 'cc' find some standard Xwindows functions?
-59- What is a GL widget?
-60- I'm using the GlxMDraw widget and it doesn't seem that colors are
being installed correctly. Overlays in the GlxMDraw widget are
displayed in red and gray instead of the colors I specify.
What's wrong?
-61- Is there a way to switch between single and double buffering
within a GL widget on the fly?
-62- Why doesn't my X server use backing store? How can I turn it on?
-63- What is "/dev/tport" used for?
-64- Why is OpenGL's glDrawPixels slower than IrisGL's lrectwrite?
-65- BUGS AND PROBLEMS
-66- Why do I get a "Broken Pipe" error when I close an X client
window?
-67- What do the errors in my 'xdm-errors' file mean?
-68- Why doesn't SGI's xlock lock my screen?
-69- Why can't my XView application find its fonts?
-70- After running a few programs, the colors change as the cursor
moves. The colors are usually all wrong in other windows.
-71- How can I make my X Server use a 12-bit PseudoColor, 12-bit
TrueColor or 24-bit TrueColor visual by default?
-72- When I try to run UIM/X uxserverd, I get an error message saying,
"license file has been modified, cannot start the UIM/X license
server".
-73- I just upgraded from IRIX 5.2 to 5.3. Why does my PI or VGX say
"extension GLX missing on display :0.0"?
-74- Why does my X server (Xsgi) grow inexorably?
-75- Why does my GL application run slower on newer SGI hardware than
it did on older SGI hardware?
-76- MISCELLANEOUS
-77- What books about the X Window System and OSF/Motif do you
recommend?
-78- Does the IRIX 5.2 Magic user environment display on an X
terminal?
-79- What about OpenGL?
-80- Which SGI machines can run OpenGL now? Which will in the future?
-81- What's this about a copyright dispute over virtual desks in
Indigo Magic?
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: -1- DISPLAYS AND DGL
Date: 15 May 1994 00:00:01 EST
This section discusses how to use remote displays.
------------------------------
Subject: -2- How can I run a program on one machine and display it on
another?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
Specify the host on which you want the X client to be displayed, then
run the application. To specify a remote host,
setenv DISPLAY <destination>:0
where <destination> is the name or IP address of the remote host. To
specify the local host (console),
setenv DISPLAY :0
------------------------------
Subject: -3- Does the DISPLAY environment variable work for GL
applications?
Date: 4 Jun 1997 00:00:01 EST
Yes: IRIX 4.0.x and later uses the Distributed Graphics Library (DGL)
to allow GL programs to run remotely. Applications running over
DGL use the DISPLAY environment variable just as do ordinary X
applications.
OpenGL applications also will pay attention to the DISPLAY variable.
OpenGL data, however, does not use DGL; it uses the standard X
communications mechanism.
------------------------------
Subject: -4- Why doesn't the DISPLAY environment variable seem to
work?
Date: 4 Jun 1997 00:00:01 EST
First, make sure your DISPLAY variable is syntactically correct. For
example, to display applications on a machine named "enterprise",
whose IP address is 123.45.678.90, DISPLAY should be set to
"enterprise:0" or "123.45.678.90:0".
Next, try to "ping" the machine to which your DISPLAY variable is
set. If this does not work, you have either specified an invalid
hostname, the host is down, or you are having network problems.
If you are running an older binary that expects to see /etc/resolv.conf
in /usr/etc, you will either have to make a symbolic link from
/usr/etc/resolv.conf to /etc/resolv.conf, or set the DISPLAY variable
with a numeric address.
If you see messages like "permission denied" or "can't connect to
server", you have a permission problem. Do 'xhost +yourmachine' on
the remote machine to give 'yourmachine' access to the remote
machine's display. (Note that 'xhost' is inactive by default on
SGIs.)
If you're using NIS (YP), make sure the client is linked with
"-lsun".
For more information see Chapter 3 of the X Window System User's
Guide.
------------------------------
Subject: -5- Why do I get DGL errors when I try to run a GL program?
Date: 4 Jun 1997 00:00:01 EST
- There may be a problem with the DISPLAY variable or Xwindows
permissions. See the previous question.
- You may be trying to display on a non-SGI machine which doesn't
support GL/DGL. Note that DGL is for running GL programs remotely,
not OpenGL programs. OpenGL programs run remotely via the
GLX X server extension.
- DGL may be disabled in /etc/services and/or /etc/inetd.conf. The
former file should have a line reading
sgi-dgl 5232/tcp
and the latter should have a line reading
sgi-dgl stream tcp nowait root /usr/etc/dgld dgld -IM -tDGLTSOCKET
If either is commented out, remove the comment.
- You may be trying to display on a machine with a much older version
of IRIX. Try another machine with a newer IRIX.
An article in the Jan/Feb 1993 Pipeline describes the above in great
detail.
------------------------------
Subject: -6- CUSTOMIZING
Date: 15 May 1994 00:00:01 EST
This section discusses ways to customize your environment, both with
and without graphics. The next two sections go into depth on
customizing Xwindows resources and the 4Dwm.
------------------------------
Subject: -7- What tools does SGI provide to help with the
customization process?
Date: 05 Jul 1994 00:00:01 EST
Here are some good places to look in IRIX 4.0.x:
- The Customization rollover menu in the Toolchest.
- The manpages for xfontsel, xlsfonts, xwininfo, xdpyinfo, xprop,
appres, listres, and xrdb.
- The "WorkSpace User's Guide".
- The example files in /usr/tutor/Customize.
In IRIX 5.x, take the systemtour and keep your eyes open.
------------------------------
Subject: -8- What are the important login and resource files for IRIX
4.0.x?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
The following three file groupings indicate where files that affect
your login session reside.
1) /usr/lib/X11/* - This is THE starting place. Here you find the
system default bindings for Motif, 4Dwm, and the Toolchest. The xdm
directory lives here as well as the app-defaults directory. xdm
controls the session management. Many application defaults are set in
the app-defaults directory.
2) $HOME/[.Xdefaults, .4Dwmrc, .chestrc, .xsession, .sgisession] Here
you find the files that control your system set-up. You create these
files; they don't exist when you first log in.
3) /usr/bin/X11 - This is where the binaries live. It makes life nice
to include this directory in your path.
------------------------------
Subject: -9- What is the sequence of events that occur at login time
in IRIX 4.0.x?
Date: 10 Dec 1993 00:00:01 EST
This is a bare bones synopsis of the events that occur when you log
in to the console via xdm (the default method of logging in) under
IRIX 4.0.x and, with the desktop *disabled*, IRIX 5.x.
1) Provide a "failsafe" (nographics) login if required/requested.
2) Exec $HOME/.xsession if it exists. If it exists, the remaining
steps should normally be included in the users .xsession file
as well.
3) Load $HOME/.Xresources if it exists.
4) Set XUSERFILESEARCHPATH.
5) Incorporate a "shell" environment into the "session".
(man userenv)
6) Set the root background and cursor.
7) Disable display access control (xhost +). (man xhost)
8) Start 4Dwm.
9) Wait for 4Dwm to come up.
10) Start the console.
11) Execute $HOME/.sgisession if it exists.
12) Start WorkSpace if the user wants it.
13) Put a Toolchest on each screen.
14) Exec the "reaper". (man reaper / endsession)
------------------------------
Subject: -10- What is the difference between .xsession and .sgisession
in IRIX 4.0.x?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
The system Xsession file (/usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xsession or
Xsession-remote) starts up a number of important things when you log
in, eg. 4Dwm, toolchest, loads resources, sets your
XUSERFILESEARCHPATH, sets your root background, etc.
One of the last things it does is look in your home directory for a
.sgisession file. This allows you to start additional programs at
login time. This is the file that you would use to start a mailbox,
additional window, a calendar, etc.
ADVANTAGES OF $HOME/.sgisession :
1) You don't need to read through yet another system file to see
what you need or don't need.
DISADVANTAGES OF $HOME/.sgisession :
1) You cannot override ALL of the defaults set for you. Some
things you can't change from a .sgisession file:
A) You can't start a different window manager.
B) You can't change the way the console starts.
C) You can't change toolchest output redirection to
the console.
2) Users of other vendors' equipment are used to seeing a
.xsession file.
After checking for a "failsafe" (ie. no graphics) login, one of the
first things that /usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xsession does is check for
$HOME/.xsession. If it exists, Xsession execs your .xsession file.
This means that if you are REALLY sure you know what you are doing,
you can log in with a different window manager, xterm as a console,
or xwsh not already iconified, etc. You can also turn off the
toolchest output redirection, and start anything else you might have
done in $HOME/.sgisession. There is a discussion on xsession files in
volume 3 of the O'Reilly series.
------------------------------
Subject: -11- Why do 4Dwm, toolchest, Workspace, etc. not recognize an
environment variable I set in my shell's startup files
in IRIX 4.0.x?
Date: 03 Sep 1995 00:00:01 EST
The script /usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xsession (or, if you have one, your own
~/.xsession) runs when you log in and starts your window manager
(4Dwm), Workspace, etc. To give these programs a copy of the
environment you define in your shell's startup files, Xsession first
runs 'userenv', which runs your shell just to see what environment
variables your shell's startup files set and puts them into
Xsession's environment. Later on Xsession runs 4Dwm, Workspace, etc.
and they inherit Xsession's environment including the environment
variables which 'userenv' got from your shell's startup files.
However, 'userenv' objects to 1) errors in your shell startup files,
2) commands which print output to the terminal and 3) commands like
'stty' and 'tset', which expect to be connected to a terminal. Any
of these may cause 'userenv' to give up completely, so that Xsession,
4Dwm, Workspace, etc. do not get any of your shell's enviroment.
To get 'userenv' to work, you must 1) make sure that your shell
startup files are error-free and 2) protect 'userenv' from commands
which print output or expect to be connected to a terminal by testing
for the ENVONLY environment variable before running them. (See the
userenv(1) manpage.) You might try disabling your shell startup files
(or parts thereof) one by one to narrow down which is causing the
problem. Be sure to check both personal and system-wide shell
startup files! See your shell's manpage for a complete list.
Note that each terminal window (aka 'winterm', 'xwsh' or 'xterm')
runs a fresh copy of your shell, so it has a second chance to set
your environment variables. Your shell is now connected to a terminal
and 'userenv' isn't involved, so none of the above problems apply.
The environment in a terminal window will appear correct, and
programs started from a window (e.g. by typing 'workspace' to start
Workspace) will inherit the environment properly. Furthermore,
'userenv' often appears to work when run inside a terminal window,
even when it does not work when run from Xsession. This is all fine,
but it doesn't help when you log in. One right way to see if
'userenv' is working when it should is to add the line 'env >
$HOME/test-userenv' to Xsession after the line that runs 'userenv',
log in and examine the file it creates.
'bash' users take note: 'bash' has particular problems with 'userenv',
and there is a special version of 'userenv' which works with 'bash' at
ftp://viz.tamu.edu/pub/sgi/software/desktop/userenv.tar.gz.
------------------------------
Subject: -12- How can I change desktops without using the mouse and
Desks Overview?
Date: 8 Mar 1997 00:00:01 CST
Ping Huang <psh...@sgi.com> contributes the following method:
Unlike some other window managers, you can't navigate between
desktops geographically, using some Control, Alt, and/or Shift'ed
version of the arrow keys. However, you can tell 4Dwm to let you jump
to a given desktop with a keystroke. If you want to customize one
account only, copy /usr/lib/X11/system.4Dwmrc (or possibly
/usr/lib/X11/$LANG/system.4Dwmrc, if you set the LANG environment
variable for localization) to the user's home directory as .4Dwmrc.
Look for the "Keys 4DwmKeyBindings" section, and add lines of the
following form:
# IndigoMagic desktops
<Key>F1 root|icon|window f.switch_desk "Desk 1"
<Key>F2 root|icon|window f.switch_desk "Desk 2"
<Key>F3 root|icon|window f.switch_desk "Desk 3"
<Key>F10 root|icon|window f.switch_desk "Global"
The names of the desks are whatever arbitrary names you used to name
your desks in Desk Overview. (The "Global" desk is, however, a special
desk; see Desk Overview help for details. You still reference its
name here as you would any other desk.)
------------------------------
Subject: -13- How can I turn off the IRIX 5.2 Magic user environment?
Date: 18 Aug 1994 00:00:01 EST
Mark Andrews <ma...@alias.com> says:
You can disable the Indigo Magic environment in two ways:
1) If you wish to disable it for all users on the machine:
chkconfig desktop off
2) If you wish to disable it for a specific user, do
touch ~<username>/.disableDesktop
You may also have to remove the ~/.desktop-<hostname> directory as
well as 4Dwm looks in there for a 4Dwmsession file which it uses
for a guide to redisplay windows left open from the last session.
Method 2 works ONLY if you have the original IRIX 5.2 xdm Xsession
file, which contains the following code chunk:
if /etc/chkconfig desktop ;
then
if [ -x $0.dt -a \! -f $HOME/.disableDesktop ]
then
exec $0.dt $*
fi
fi
If you only want to turn off the file manager, create the file
~/.desktop-<hostname>/nodesktop.
Whether you disable the entire desktop or just the file manager, you
may also want to set one or more of these resources
4DWm*SG_autoSave: false
4Dwm*SG_manageSession: false
4Dwm*SG_useBackgrounds: false
which are explained in the 4Dwm(1) manpage. See also the desktop_eoe
release notes.
------------------------------
Subject: -14- How can I display my own background image under Indigo
Magic?
Date: 30 Apr 1995 00:00:01 EST
Two SGI employees described two different ways to do this, one for
folks who don't care about desktop icons and one for folks who do.
Joel Tesler of SGI <jo...@sgi.com> says:
1) Disable Indigo Magic desktop icons in any of the three ways
(~/.desktop-<host>/nodesktop, ~/.disableDesktop, or 'chkconfig
desktop off') described in the previous entry.
2) Set the resource
4Dwm*SG_useBackgrounds: false
3) Run whatever command you like to display the image on the
background.
Jon Madison of SGI <j...@indianapolis.sgi.com> says:
1) cp /usr/lib/X11/system.backgrounds ~/.backgrounds
2) Read your new ~/.backgrounds file (and 'man background') to see
how it works, and edit it. Here's an example entry which uses
'xli' (a free image viewer) to display a GIF image:
background "Legos"
command "-execute /usr/local/bin/xli -onroot -fork /usr/people/jm/graphics/pix/lego.gif"
default "-execute /usr/local/bin/xli -onroot -fork /usr/people/jm/graphics/pix/lego.gif"
exeok "/usr/local/bin/xli"
readok "/usr/people/jm/graphics/pix/lego.gif"
3) Run the 'background' customization panel. (It's in the default
toolchest. Hey, there's your custom background in the list!
Backgrounds set up in this way coexist fine with desktop icons.
------------------------------
Subject: -15- Where is the default value of PATH set?
Date: 10 Dec 1993 00:00:01 EST
Every program which allows a user to log in (telnet, rlogin, pandora,
etc.) can specify PATH. Shells may as well if it isn't already set.
There are many slightly different default values, and relying on them
is a good way to get confused. The only reliable method is to set
PATH in your shell's startup files. These are different for each
shell, and are described in each shell's manpage. Beware of 'ksh',
which has an internal, invisible default path ('/bin:/usr/bin') which
it uses when PATH is not set.
------------------------------
Subject: -16- Why can't I log in after copying
/usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xsession to .xsession?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
After copying this file to your home directory, you need to remove
all references to "xsession". References to xsession cause the system
to try to execute $HOME/.xsession, which will create an infinite
loop.
Remove the lines in ~/.xsession that say:
if [ -r $xsession -a "$0" != $xsession ]; then
if [ -x $xsession ]; then
exec $xsession
else
exec /bin/sh $xsession
fi
fi
------------------------------
Subject: -17- How can I find out what fonts are available?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
The xfontsel and xlsfonts utilities help you find appropriate fonts.
xlsfonts lists the fonts; xfontsel provides an interface for
selecting a desired font. To use xfontsel, choose "Font Names" from
the Customization rollover menu in the Toolchest. Please see the man
pages and the IRIS Utilities Guide for further information.
------------------------------
Subject: -18- How can I use the Alt key as a Meta key in an xwsh
window?
Date: 23 Jun 1994 00:00:01 EST
First, put the following X resources wherever you put X resources:
--- beginning of resources ---
! This turns Alt-key into Meta-key.
XWsh*metaKeyMask: 8
! This allows multiple key modifiers in keybindings (so we can do
! meta-shift, meta-control, etc. and incidentally a) turns vt100
! cursor key mode off and b) changes the cursor key bindings.
XWsh*keyboardType: xlib
! This turns vt100 cursor key mode back on. Running 'tset' at login
! resets the terminal and turns the cursor keys back off, so don't
! run it.
XWsh*initSequence: \233?1h
! The iris-ansi terminfo entry has arrow key sequences for the ibmrt
! keyboard, not the xlib keyboard; for curses applications to work,
! the arrow keys must be bound to the sequences in the terminfo
! entry. Rebinding the arrow keys to match the terminfo entry is more
! convenient than changing the terminfo entry.
XWsh*ckmeKeyMap: \
Left(any): send("\033[D"); \
Right(any): send("\033[C"); \
Up(any): send("\033[A"); \
Down(any): send("\033[B");
--- end of resources ---
'tset' resets your terminal, so running it will undo the initSequence
resource setting. There is a 'tset' command in the default csh/tcsh
~/.login file; replace the line
eval `tset -s -Q`
with
if (! $?TERM) then
eval `tset -s -Q`
endif
so 'tset' will run only if the TERM environment variable isn't
already set. (You can't say 'if (! $?TERM) eval `tset -sQ`', because
csh/tcsh evaluates the backquotes *before* the if.)
Finally, if you use GNU Emacs, put the following in your .emacs:
(set-input-mode nil nil t)
This tells Emacs to allow Meta key usage even though the iris-ansi
(xwsh) terminal description doesn't specify a Meta key.
------------------------------
Subject: -19- How can I configure my keyboard like a VT100?
Date: 4 Jun 1997 00:00:01 EST
'xwsh -vt100' may be close enough; try it and see. (The PF keys are
mapped to F9-F12.) If not, use 'xterm -name VT200' and put the
following wherever you put the rest of your X resources:
=== snip ===
XTerm*VT200.Translations: #override \
<Key>BackSpace: string(0x7f) \n\
<Key>Num_Lock: string(0x1b) string("OP") \n\
<Key>KP_Divide: string(0x1b) string("OQ") \n\
<Key>KP_Multiply: string(0x1b) string("OR") \n\
<Key>KP_Subtract: string(0x1b) string("OS") \n\
<Key>KP_Add: string(0x1b) string("Om") \n\
<Key>Pause: string(0x1b) string("[34~") \n\
<Key>Print: string(0x1b) string("[32~") \n\
<Key>Scroll_Lock: string(0x1b) string("[33~") \n\
<Key>KP_0: string(0x1b) string("Op") \n\
<Key>KP_1: string(0x1b) string("Oq") \n\
<Key>KP_2: string(0x1b) string("Or") \n\
<Key>KP_3: string(0x1b) string("Os") \n\
<Key>KP_4: string(0x1b) string("Ot") \n\
<Key>KP_5: string(0x1b) string("Ou") \n\
<Key>KP_6: string(0x1b) string("Ov") \n\
<Key>KP_7: string(0x1b) string("Ow") \n\
<Key>KP_8: string(0x1b) string("Ox") \n\
<Key>KP_9: string(0x1b) string("Oy") \n\
<Key>KP_Decimal: string(0x1b) string("On") \n\
<Key>Insert: string(0x1b) string("[1~") \n\
<Key>Home: string(0x1b) string("[2~") \n\
<Key>Prior: string(0x1b) string("[3~") \n\
<Key>Delete: string(0x1b) string("[4~") \n\
<Key>End: string(0x1b) string("[5~") \n\
<Key>Next: string(0x1b) string("[6~") \n\
<Key>F1: string(0x1b) string("[17~") \n\
<Key>F2: string(0x1b) string("[18~") \n\
<Key>F3: string(0x1b) string("[19~") \n\
<Key>F4: string(0x1b) string("[20~") \n\
<Key>F5: string(0x1b) string("[21~") \n\
<Key>F6: string(0x1b) string("[23~") \n\
<Key>F7: string(0x1b) string("[24~") \n\
<Key>F8: string(0x1b) string("[25~") \n\
<Key>F9: string(0x1b) string("[26~") \n\
<Key>F10: string(0x1b) string("[28~") \n\
<Key>F11: string(0x1b) string("[29~") \n\
<Key>F12: string(0x1b) string("[31~") \n\
=== snip ===
This remaps the keys as follows:
---------------------------------------------
SGI Key | Emulated VT100 key
---------------------------------------------
Num Lock | PF1
/ | PF2
* | PF3
- | PF4
7 | 7
8 | 8
9 | 9
+ | -
4 | 4
5 | 5
6 | 6
1 | 1
2 | 2
3 | 3
Enter | Enter
0 | 0
. | .
Insert | Find
Home | Insert Here
Page Up | Remove
Delete | Select
End | Prev Screen
Page Down | Next Screen
F1 | F6
F2 | F7
F3 | F8
F4 | F9
F5 | F10
F6 | F11
F7 | F12
F8 | F13
F9 | F14
F10 | Help
F11 | Do
F12 | F17
Print Screen | F18
Scroll Lock | F19
Pause | F20
These translations encompass both VT100 and VT200 (LK201-style)
keyboards. Thanks to Hemant Shah <sh...@fnal.fnal.gov> and Isaac
A. Stoddard <u1...@gsde.hso.link.com> for their contributions here.
Any volunteers to work out similar bindings for xwsh?
------------------------------
Subject: -20- Can I put a single large picture in the 'clogin'
display?
Date: 05 Nov 1995 00:00:01 EST
Not in IRIX 5.0-5.2 or 6.0-6.0.1. You could in IRIX 4.0.x and earlier,
and you can in IRIX 5.3 and 6.1 and later. Read the clogin(1) manpage.
------------------------------
Subject: -21- How can I change clogin's background to an image?
Date: 05 Nov 1995 00:00:01 EST
Convert the image to xbm ("X BitMap") format. (See under "IMAGE FILES"
below for conversion programs.) Uncomment the 'xsetroot' line in
/usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xlogin and change the filename after '-bitmap' to
your .xbm file. If your image is smaller than your screen, it will be
tiled to fill the screen.
------------------------------
Subject: -22- RESOURCES
Date: 15 May 1994 00:00:01 EST
This section discusses Xwindows resources.
------------------------------
Subject: -23- What are resources?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
Resources are "attributes" that control the look and feel of an
application. Resources include color, fonts, size, location, and
more. Resources can have a complex format for binding strengths.
For a complete description of resources, including a description of
"loose" and "tight" bindings, consult a book listed in the
bibliography question above.
------------------------------
Subject: -24- How can I set resources?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
There are many ways to set resources. Resources may be listed in
files or contained in a data base. Consult a book on X as well as the
xrdb(1) manpage for detailed descriptions. Generally speaking, if
xrdb is not used, resource files are specified through environment
variables. "What is a good approach to take in looking for
resources?" addresses the precedence of these files and variables.
For some examples in IRIX 4.0.x, see the file
/usr/tutor/Customize/example.Xdefaults.
------------------------------
Subject: -25- How can I use resources to run the same program twice
with different attributes?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
To accomplish this task, you need to take advantage of the "instance
vs class" concept. This concept is explained further in most books on
Xt.
Many applications have a resource that lets you to give it a unique
name. For example, from the xwsh man page :
-name instance-name
Provide a unique name for an xwsh window. This name becomes
the instance name of the specific xwsh, with the class name
always being "XWsh".
Using the -name option allows you to give "names" to different
instances of xwsh and assign different resources to each one. So if
you want two different xwsh's with different resource sets, give them
two different names, say howdymom and howdydoody, for example. Add
the following to your ~/.Xdefaults file (if you use .Xdefaults) :
howdymom*foreground: SeaGreen
howdydoody*foreground: SGIBeet
Now all you have to do is start them up :
xwsh -name howdymom&
xwsh -name howdydoody&
------------------------------
Subject: -26- Does the GL recognize resources?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
Yes. In IRIX 4.0 and later, the GL responds to several X resources,
allowing run-time control over some aspects of GL programs.
The man page assumes you are somewhat familiar with X resources, if
you are not, you should read some X documentation such as Volume 3 of
the O'Reily X books.
The GL uses resources names with the prefixes
appname.gl. (instance prefix)
Appname.GL. (class prefix)
where appname and Appname are derived from the argument to the GL
program's first call to winopen(3G) upper case.
For complete information see the man page for GLRESOURCES.
------------------------------
Subject: -27- How can I know what resources I can set for an
application?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
The most common place to find resource variables for a particular
application is in the man page for that application.
For example, take a look at the man page for `xwsh'. Look for the
section heading called `RESOURCES'. This section lists each resource
for `xwsh', and in some cases, the valid values for that resource.
Also, many major applications are built on top of the Xt toolkit.
There are standard resources that these applications recognize. For a
more complete description, see one of the books on Xt listed in the
bibliography.
------------------------------
Subject: -28- What is a good approach to take in looking for
resources?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
The following is a recommended list of steps to take when searching
for a resource, binding, behavior, etc.
1) Look in the 4.0 Transition Guide.
2) Look in /usr/tutor/Customize.
3) Look in /usr/demos.
4) Look in ~4Dgifts. (Available with the development option.)
5) If the client you are interested in is a GL client, see the
man page for GLRESOURCES.
6) Look in /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/ClientName.
7) Look in /usr/lib/X11/system.* .
8) Look through the man page for the client you are interested in.
9) Look in O'Reilly & Associates Vol. III. It has many gems
pertaining to standard X clients.
10) Look in the documentation that came with your application.
11) Look in the OSF Motif manuals.
12) Post to comp.windows.x if you can not find
an answer using steps 1 through 11.
------------------------------
Subject: -29- What is the precedence for resource files?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
The following list indicates the weight of set resources.
Items at the top have the greatest weight.
1) Hard coded values for resources.
2) Command line arguments.
3) Resources pointed to by $XENVIRONMENT.
4) Resource values loaded into the Resource Data Base via xrdb.
5) Resources pointed to by other environment variables :
IF $XUSERFILESEARCHPATH is set
then it contains a list of directories to search.
ELSE IF $XAPPLRESDIR is set
it contains a single directory, and a short list of related
directories (e.g. adjusted for language) is where resource files
must be found.
ELSE
Look in a short list of places related to $HOME (e.g. language
adjusted). This includes files in $HOME that have the name of
the class of the application.
6) Resource values set in $HOME/.Xdefaults, provided that the
RESOURCE_MANAGER property hasn't been set via the xrdb command.
(see the third paragraph in the xrdb man page)
7) Values set in /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/*.
8) Values set through through the application's fall back mechanism.
------------------------------
Subject: -30- Why do long resources cause X to crash mysteriously in
IRIX 5.2?
Date: 13 Nov 1994 00:00:01 EST
Get patch 36.
------------------------------
Subject: -31- 4DWM
Date: 15 May 1994 00:00:01 EST
This section discusses the 4D Window Manager.
------------------------------
Subject: -32- Where can I learn more about the Window Manager?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
The man pages for 4Dwm and mwm contain a wealth of information on the
window manager. There are also online files. You may want to read
/usr/tutor/Customize/example.4Dwmrc (IRIX 4.0.x only) as well as
/usr/people/4Dgifts/.4Dwmrc (if you have the IDO option). The
OSF/Motif manuals listed in the bibliography are also good places to
find information. (4Dwm is based on mwm).
------------------------------
Subject: -33- What files affect the window manager and what is their
relationship to each other?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
1) ~/.4Dwmrc, if you have one
2) /usr/lib/X11/system.4Dwmrc
3) /usr/bin/X11/4Dwm
4) /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/4Dwm
5) ~/.Xdefaults (or wherever you set resources)
When 4Dwm is started, it looks for ~/.4Dwmrc. If it does not exist,
it looks at /usr/lib/X11/system.4Dwmrc. The definitions for button
bindings, menus, etc are contained in these files. For a better
description of bindings, look in /usr/tutor/Customize/example.4Dwmrc
and /usr/people/ 4Dgifts/.4Dwmrc. Also see the man pages for 4Dwm.
The resource set for the bindings will actually "choose" which
binding definition is set.
------------------------------
Subject: -34- Do I need my own .4Dwmrc file?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
Not necessarily. As mentioned in the previous question, actual
bindings are determined by resource names. If there is a binding
definition in /usr/lib/X11/system.4Dwmrc that you like, you may
choose it by setting the appropriate resource.
------------------------------
Subject: -35- Can I run a different window manager?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
IRIX has 4Dwm, mwm, twm, and uwm. However, GL programs are guaranteed
to work only under 4Dwm.
------------------------------
Subject: -36- How can I choose a different window manager as the
default?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
You must use a .xsession file and explicitly invoke the window
manager and any other applications you want to use, such as
'toolchest' and 'xwsh'.
After making this change, you may only be able to log out by using
the "Log Out" selection in the toolchest, or by executing
/usr/bin/X11/endsession.
Here are the contents of a sample .xsession file:
xhost + &
toolchest -name ToolChest > /dev/console 2&>1 &
winterm -bg red &
winterm -bg blue &
mwm > /dev/console 2&>1 &
/usr/bin/X11/reaper
Note that 'reaper' is not put into the background. When 'reaper'
exits you will be logged out.
Alternatively, you can do the following steps:
1. cp /usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xsession ~/.xsession
2. Remove the lines in ~/.xsession that say:
if [ -r $xsession -a "$0" != $xsession ]; then
if [ -x $xsession ]; then
exec $xsession
else
exec /bin/sh $xsession
fi
fi
3. Change the line that says
/usr/bin/X11/4Dwm >/dev/console 2>&1 &
to
/usr/bin/X11/mwm > /dev/console 2>&1 &
------------------------------
Subject: -37- How can I recover from a failed window manager
customization attempt?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
If your attempt at customization leaves you in a state where buttons
and menus are no longer recognized, you can recover by pressing the
<Alt><CTRL><Shift><!>keys simultaneously. A menu appears that will
let you choose Motif, Iris, or user defaults. Choose either Motif or
Iris defaults and then push OK. This restarts the window manager to a
usable state.
------------------------------
Subject: -38- ADMINISTRATION
Date: 15 May 1994 00:00:01 EST
This section describes how to start and stop parts of the graphics
system in various funky ways.
------------------------------
Subject: -39- How can I log into pandora/clogin without bringing up
graphics?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
Add the magic word 'failsafe' after your username. E.g. to log in as
root without graphics, you'd type 'root failsafe', whack Enter, and
type your password.
------------------------------
Subject: -40- How can I restart the console?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
Use /usr/sbin/startconsole. 'startconsole' and 'winterm' (which
'startconsole' calls) are scripts, so you can see how they do it.
------------------------------
Subject: -41- How can I start and stop the graphics system?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
Use /usr/gfx/startgfx and /usr/gfx/stopgfx. Be aware that stopgfx
will kill any active windows and log you out.
------------------------------
Subject: -42- How can I restart the X server?
Date: 10 Sep 1995 00:00:01 EST
To restart the X server (Xsgi) once, do any one of the following
(in increasing order of brutality):
- killall -TERM Xsgi
- hold down the left-Control, left-Shift, F12 and keypad slash keys
(this is fondly known as the "Vulcan Death Grip")
- /usr/gfx/stopgfx; /usr/gfx/startgfx
- reboot
To restart the X server every time someone logs out of the console,
edit /var/X11/xdm/xdm-config, change the setting of
"DisplayManager._0.terminateServer" from "False" to "True" and do
'killall -HUP xdm'.
------------------------------
Subject: -43- How can I run 'xinit' manually, rather than
automatically from 'xdm'?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
By doing the following, which will affect all users:
1) log in as root
2) Type:
/usr/gfx/stopgfx
chkconfig xdm off.
3) all users need to copy /usr/bin/X11/X to their home directory
(renaming the file to .xserverrc), removing the if test for
windowsystem, OR be familiar enough with xinit to have an
alternate command line.
4) transfer all startup programs from .xsession/.sgisession to
.xinitrc.
5) the last program to start from .xinitrc must not exit. When this
one exits, the session terminates.
------------------------------
Subject: -44- How can I start X on a remote host with no users logged
in?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
This example starts up an xclock on the remote system. The easy way
to test this for now is to rlogin to the system and type the
commands. Once something works you can write some shell scripts and
use rsh to run them:
hydra is being used to login to oscar and start graphics on oscar.
oscar is displaying the pandora login when this is done:
hydra 2% rlogin oscar -l root
oscar 1# /usr/gfx/stopgfx (screen blanks)
oscar 2# chkconfig windowsystem on
oscar 3# setenv DISPLAY :0.0 (display on local screen)
oscar 4# /usr/bin/X11/X & (start Xsgi)
oscar 5# xclock & (clock is displayed)
To clean up:
oscar 6# /usr/gfx/stopgfx (screen blanks)
oscar 7# /usr/gfx/startgfx (re-start pandora)
------------------------------
Subject: -45- IMAGE FILES
Date: 15 May 1994 00:00:01 EST
This section discusses image files and formats.
------------------------------
Subject: -46- How can I convert images to and from other formats?
Date: 10 Mar 1996 00:00:01 EST
IRIX comes with several tools which convert images to or from SGI's
RGB format. The executables are part of the eoe2.sw.imagetools
subsystem, and include:
fromalias - convert an Alias image to an IRIS image
frombin - create an RGB IRIS image file from a binary dump of image data
fromcmap - convert a color map into an image with one scanline
fromcube - convert a Cubicomp/Vertigo image file to IRIS format
fromdi - convert an old .di dithered image into an IRIS image
fromface - convert a UNIX faceserver image into an IRIS image
fromgif - convert a GIF image into an IRIS image
frommac - convert a MacPaint image into an IRIS image
frompic - convert a MOVIE BYU .PIC image to an IRIS image
fromppm - convert an image in Jef Poskanzer's format into an IRIS image
fromrla - convert a Wavefront image to an IRIS image
fromsun - convert a sun image into an IRIS image
fromtarga - convert a targa image into an IRIS image
fromxbm - convert an X Bitmap image into an IRIS image
fromxud - convert an xwd file into an IRIS image
fromxwd - convert an xwd file into an IRIS image
fromyuv - convert an Abekas yuv image into an IRIS image
toalias - convert an IRIS image to an Alias image
toascii - convert an IRIS image to text characters
tobin - convert an IRIS image to binary dump of pixel data
tobw - convert an IRIS image to black and white
togif - convert an IRIS image to a Compuserve GIF image
tomac - convert an IRIS image to MacPaint format
tonews - convert an IRIS image into NeWS format
topict - convert an IRIS image to Macintosh PICT format
toppm - convert an IRIS image file into Jef Poskanzer's ppm image format
tops - convert an IRIS image to PostScript
toscitex - Convert IRIS images into Scitex CT2T images
tosun - convert an IRIS image to a sun raster file
totarga - convert an IRIS image to a type 2 targa image
toyuv - convert an IRIS image to yuv format
The source for each of these tools is in the 4Dgifts
dev.dev_sw.giftsfull subsystem and installed in the directory
/usr/people/4Dgifts/iristools/imgtools. Each also has a manpage.
Similar tools for more formats ('fromeps', 'frompict', 'frompixar',
'fromps', 'fromtiff', 'fromutah', 'totiff', 'toutah', 'toxbm' and
'toxpm' at last count), as well as some which come with IRIX and a few
miscellaneous cool image editing tools, are in
ftp://ftp.sgi.com/graphics/bin/. 'fromjpeg' and 'tojpeg' can be found
in ftp://ftp.clr.toronto.edu/pub/sgi/sgijpeg/.
ftp://swedishchef.lerc.nasa.gov/ has 'fromvicar' in
/image/conversion/from/, 'tocolps' and 'topcl' in
/image/conversion/to/ and many other image-related tools in nearby
directories.
The Independent JPEG Group's free JPEG software (in
ftp://ftp.uu.net/graphics/jpeg/) and ghostscript (in
ftp://ftp.cs.wisc.edu/ghost/) don't speak RGB, but do convert many
common formats to and from JPEG and PostScript respectively. Note
that older versions ghostscript understand GIF images but newer
ones do not due to copyright restrictions.
Finally, 'imgworks' (in the imgtools.sw.tools subsystem) understands
RGB, TIFF and FIT formats, and there are several freeware programs
which work on SGIs and understand SGI's RGB format as well as many
other formats:
imtools ftp://ftp.sdsc.edu/pub/sdsc/graphics/imtools/sgi_4d/
xv ftp://ftp.cis.upenn.edu/pub/xv/
ImageMagick ftp://ftp.x.org/contrib/applications/ImageMagick/
netpbm ftp://wuarchive.wustl.edu/graphics/graphics/packages/NetPBM/
The Graphics File Formats FAQ (in
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/graphics/fileformats-faq/)
lists many other graphics file viewing and conversion programs.
------------------------------
Subject: -47- How can I convert models to and from other formats?
Date: Wed Sep 22 14:32:29 CDT 1999
Converters to and from SGI's Inventor format are at
ftp://ftp.sgi.com/sgi/inventor/ and
ftp://viz.tamu.edu/pub/sgi/software/graphics/.
------------------------------
Subject: -48- What is the format of SGI's RGB files?
Date: Wed Sep 22 16:52:40 CDT 1999
Read http://reality.sgi.com/grafica/sgiimage.html
------------------------------
Subject: -49- How can I compress RGB bitmaps?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
Use /usr/sbin/rle, which is part of eoe2.sw.imagetools.
------------------------------
Subject: -50- How can I make a screen dump?
Date: 13 Nov 1994 00:00:01 EST
Use the utilities 'imgsnap' (IRIX 4.0.x only), 'scrsave', 'snapshot'
or 'xwd'. All have manpages. 'imgsnap' is in the imgtools.sw.tools
subsystem, 'scrsave' and 'snapshot' are in the eoe2.sw.gltools
subsystem, 'xwd' is in x_eoe.sw.Xapps and their manpages are in the
respective *.man.* subsystems.
From within a GL program, you should call readdisplay(). For an
example look at ~4Dgifts/iristools/imgtools/scrsave.c.
------------------------------
Subject: -51- Why does the IRIX 5.3 desktop recognize but not deal
with JPEG files?
Date: 18 Jun 1995 00:00:01 EST
It's a bug in the IRIX 5.3 filetype rules. It is fixed in WebForce
and will be fixed in future IRIXes. If you don't have WebForce, get
the file ftp://viz.tamu.edu/pub/sgi/software/desktop/jpeg.ftr, put it
in /usr/lib/filetype/local, cd to /usr/lib/filetype and type 'make'.
------------------------------
Subject: -52- PROGRAMMING
Date: 15 May 1994 00:00:01 EST
This section discusses graphics programming. See the apps, audio and
movie FAQs for general, audio and movie programming issues and the
impressario, inventor and performer FAQs for discussions of those
packages.
------------------------------
Subject: -53- Can I use 4Dgifts code in my application?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
Yes. The 4Dgifts are a "gift" and developers are welcome to use the
code. However, SGI does not support the code in 4Dgifts. Note that
certain restrictions apply. Please read the copyright statement in
~4Dgifts/README.Copyright.
------------------------------
Subject: -54- What does ERR_WMANIPC mean?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
The "WMAN" in that message means "window manager." However, this no
longer means "window manager" such as 4Dwm, but rather the entire X
Window system. The error means that the GL program triggered a fatal
X error.
A GL program can get an X error, because all GL programs are actually
X clients. When a GL program does a winopen(), libgl actually calls
XCreateWindow, etc.)
When a GL program gets an X error, libgl prints out these X errors
using this error message:
GL: X request = maj.min, error code = ercode
where
maj = major request code that caused the error
min = minor request code
ercode = X error code
This turns out to be easy to interpret, so long as the request was a
core X protocol request (e.g., a CreateWindow request). In that
case:
1. You can look up the major code in /usr/include/X11/Xproto.h.
2. The minor code is not used.
3. The X error code can be found in /usr/include/X11/X.h.
As you can see in Xproto.h, the core X protocol requests have request
codes <= 127.
However, if maj > 127, then the request is an X extension request.
Unfortunately, it can be difficult to interpret this unless you built
your program with a debugging libgl.a (compiled with -g). The reason
is that for an X extension, the major request code and the starting
error code are copied from the X server during client startup, and
these codes are saved in variables inside libgl. With a debugging
libgl, these variables can be printed out from within a debugger,
such as dbx.
If the major code indicates an X Input extension request, then the
minor numbers then tell the X input request type, and these are found
in /usr/include/X11/extensions/XIproto.h.
Finally, the X Input Extension uses 132 as its "starting error code."
The possible errors are found in /usr/include/X11/extensions/XI.h,
where they're defined like this:
#define XI_BadDevice 0
#define XI_BadEvent 1
#define XI_BadMode 2
#define XI_DeviceBusy 3
#define XI_BadClass 4
If you add 132 to these numbers, you get the error that's reported by
the libgl error message.
------------------------------
Subject: -55- How can I translate screen (x,y) coords into world
(x,y,z) coords?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
Check the manual page for mapw(3G) or mapw2(3G). mapw() returns a
line into (x,y,z) space.
------------------------------
Subject: -56- How can I translate world (x,y,z) coords into screen
(x,y) coords?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
There are two methods. The first method is detailed in
~4Dgifts/examples/grafix/world2scrn.c, which is part of the
dev.dev_sw.giftsfull package. It multiplies the (x,y,z) vector into
the current modeling and projection matrixes, and uses the result to
interpolate based on the window size and position.
The second method uses the current cursor position as a trick and is
much simpler. Use cmov() to set the cursor position to the point of
interest in world space, then call getcpos() to return the cursor
position in screen coordinates. Note that if your entire viewport is
off-screen, the results are undefined and you'll have to use the
first method.
float x,y,z;
short x1, y1;
cmov (x,y,z);
getcpos (&x1, &y1);
------------------------------
Subject: -57- Why does nothing happen when I call mapcolor(index, R,
G, B)?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
You either need to call glcompat(GLC_SLOWMAPCOLORS, TRUE) at the
beginning of your program, or call gflush() after calling mapcolor.
See the NOTES section in "man mapcolors" and also "man glcompat" for
further info. (This may also be in the GL release notes)
------------------------------
Subject: -58- Why can't 'cc' find some standard Xwindows functions?
Date: 14 May 1994 00:00:01 EST
You may be linking X libraries, which have complex interdependencies,
in the wrong order. Mark Kilgard <m...@hoot.asd.sgi.com> provided this
handy chart:
libXm--libXirisw
\
libXt--libXmu--libgl--libXi--libXext--libX11
/
libXaw
Libraries should be listed in the same order on the cc or ld command
line, left to right, as they appear above. If you don't use routines
from a library, of course, you don't need it.
------------------------------
Subject: -59- What is a GL widget?
Date: 10 Jun 1993 00:00:01 EST
GL widget refers to the GlxDraw (generic) and GlxMDraw (Motif)
widgets that allow you to embed GL windows in Xt-based programs. To
embed a GL windows in X-based programs is frequently called
"Mixed-model" or "GLX" programming.
There are several examples of mixed-model programming in the
directory /usr/people/4Dgifts/examples/GLX.
------------------------------
Subject: -60- I'm using the GlxMDraw widget and it doesn't seem that
colors are being installed correctly. Overlays in the
GlxMDraw widget are displayed in red and gray instead of
the colors I specify. What's wrong?
Date: 10 Jun 1993 00:00:01 EST
The window manager must be directed to install all appropriate
colormaps. Use the XSetWMColormapWindows() call to do this -- list
one window for each colormap to be installed plus the top level
window. If using overlays, include the overlay window as well as the
normal GL window.
If your window is TrueColor, you should still install the appropriate
colormap, as Indigo TrueColor is simulated using a colormap.
------------------------------
Subject: -61- Is there a way to switch between single and double
buffering within a GL widget on the fly?
Date: 10 Jun 1993 00:00:01 EST
There is no way to switch between single and double buffered mode
within the same window. (In X, this would mean changing the depth,
which is not allowed.)
To simulate this, you can create two GL widgets: a double buffered GL
widget and a single buffered GL widget. When it is time to change
the buffering mode, restack the windows so that the appropriate one
is on top. If the two windows are created with a common parent, they
move together when the parent is moved.
For non-mixed mode applications, the GL performs this switching when
you call gconfig().
------------------------------
Subject: -62- Why doesn't my X server use backing store? How can I
turn it on?
Date: 12 Feb 1994 00:00:01 EST
Mark Kilgard of SGI <m...@hoot.asd.sgi.com> writes,
SGI ships its X server with backing store disabled. If you edit
/usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xservers and remove the -bs option, then restart the
X server, backing store will be available.
The reason for not turning on backing store by default is two-fold.
1) In IRIX 4.0.X the code for managing overlay planes didn't properly
take overlays into account so backing store doesn't work if you
have overlay windows on the screen. This is fixed in IRIX 5.x.
2) In most cases, backing store hurts your performance. It cases ALL
X rendering operations to make an extra (small) traversal through
backing store code even if backing store isn't in use. Also when
backing store is in use, it tends to grow the X server since a
large amount of memory can easily be used to maintain backing
store.
One alternative to backing store is to render your image to a pixmap
and then blit from the pixmap to the screen in response to expose
events. This will stress the X server a great deal less than using
backing store. Additionally, make sure you are compressing expose
events when you redraw.
------------------------------
Subject: -63- What is "/dev/tport" used for?
Date: 26 May 1993 00:00:01 CST
Mark Stadler (m...@sgi.com) says:
/dev/tport is a streams-based tty device driver which can be in one
of 2 modes:
- when X is not running, /dev/tport gets its input from the graphics
keyboard and images in the frame buffer (textport mode). This mode
is only intended to be used in single-user mode or during
transitional periods when the X server is not running.
- when X is running, /dev/tport doesn't get any input and generates
no output. Any programs or shells using /dev/tport hang on reads
and toss writes.
Kind of a strange device. But it makes more sense with a clear
understanding of how /dev/console works.
/dev/console is kind of like a terminal switch box. Rather than
switching physical rs232 cables, we direct console output onto the
output stream of other streams-based devices who request such
behavior with TIOCCONS ioctl.
By default, /dev/console directs its output to /dev/tport. In the
absence of a windowing system this causes console output (including
kernel prints) to show up on the textport in front of you.
Once the window system is started, the /dev/tport is no longer
visible. Thus the console is no longer visible. At this point, a
terminal emulation window (using streams based ttys) can issue the
TIOCCONS ioctl to cause console output (including kernel printfs) to
show up in the emulation in the window in front of you.
Note that when you bring the window system down, /dev/tport is still
there with the same session it started with and the console output
redirected back to it again.
------------------------------
Subject: -64- Why is OpenGL's glDrawPixels slower than IrisGL's
lrectwrite?
Date: 28 Jul 1995 00:00:01 EST
Allen Akin of SGI <ak...@tuolumne.asd.sgi.com> says: It's not, for the
most common cases. After all, similar microcode and the same hardware
are used for both commands. However, there are three issues to keep
in mind.
First, some midrange and low-end SGI graphics adaptors (particularly
XS, XZ, Elan, and Extreme) transfer ABGR-ordered images much faster
than they transfer RGBA-ordered images. The normal image format in
IrisGL was ABGR, while in OpenGL it's RGBA. So to achieve the same
performance in OpenGL that you did in IrisGL on those machines, you
need to use ABGR-format images in OpenGL. The ABGR extension
available in Irix 5.3 and later releases allows you to do this. See
``man glintro'' for background information on using OpenGL extensions,
and ``man gldrawpixels'' for details on ABGR. Note that
RealityEngine, IMPACT, and all future machines will process RGBA data
at least as fast as ABGR, so RGBA is the way to go for new code.
Second, some OpenGL pixel data types are faster than others. For most
machines, unsigned byte RGBA (or ABGR) is the fastest full-color type.
Unsigned byte and unsigned short are usually the fastest gray-scale
types. Signed integer types are slower.
Third, OpenGL pixel operations have a much richer set of features than
IrisGL, and if any of those features are enabled, then image transfer
can be significantly slower. Always disable the features that you
don't need. The following code fragment disables features that are
likely to make glDrawPixels slow:
/*
* Disable stuff that's likely to slow down glDrawPixels.
* (Omit as much of this as possible, when you know in advance
* that the OpenGL state will already be set correctly.)
*/
glDisable(GL_ALPHA_TEST);
glDisable(GL_BLEND);
glDisable(GL_DEPTH_TEST);
glDisable(GL_DITHER);
glDisable(GL_FOG);
glDisable(GL_LIGHTING);
glDisable(GL_LOGIC_OP);
glDisable(GL_STENCIL_TEST);
glDisable(GL_TEXTURE_1D);
glDisable(GL_TEXTURE_2D);
glPixelTransferi(GL_MAP_COLOR, GL_FALSE);
glPixelTransferi(GL_RED_SCALE, 1);
glPixelTransferi(GL_RED_BIAS, 0);
glPixelTransferi(GL_GREEN_SCALE, 1);
glPixelTransferi(GL_GREEN_BIAS, 0);
glPixelTransferi(GL_BLUE_SCALE, 1);
glPixelTransferi(GL_BLUE_BIAS, 0);
glPixelTransferi(GL_ALPHA_SCALE, 1);
glPixelTransferi(GL_ALPHA_BIAS, 0);
/*
* Disable extensions that could slow down glDrawPixels.
* (Actually, you should check for the presence of the proper
* extension before making these calls. I've omitted that
* code for simplicity.)
*/
#ifdef GL_EXT_convolution
glDisable(GL_CONVOLUTION_1D_EXT);
glDisable(GL_CONVOLUTION_2D_EXT);
glDisable(GL_SEPARABLE_2D_EXT);
#endif
#ifdef GL_EXT_histogram
glDisable(GL_HISTOGRAM_EXT);
glDisable(GL_MINMAX_EXT);
#endif
#ifdef GL_EXT_texture3D
glDisable(GL_TEXTURE_3D_EXT);
#endif
------------------------------
Subject: -65- BUGS AND PROBLEMS
Date: 15 May 1994 00:00:01 EST
This section discusses real and apparent bugs and problems we haven't
covered already.
------------------------------
Subject: -66- Why do I get a "Broken Pipe" error when I close an X
client window?
Date: 10 Jun 1993 00:00:01 EST
Typically the error message looks like: XIO: fatal IO error 32
(Broken pipe) on X server ":0.0" after 214 requests (214 known
processed) with 0 events remaining. The connection was probably
broken by a server shutdown or KillClient.
The Window Manager is reporting that the pipe for your X client has
been broken. This is normal when an X client exits. There is
nothing wrong with your system. This message will also occur when the
system is shut down. This is not an error condition and no core
files are produced.
------------------------------
Subject: -67- What do the errors in my 'xdm-errors' file mean?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
It depends on the error message, obviously. Some are:
unable to load display mode, rnid = 196614, errno = 22
Failed to unbind rn from clip, rnid = 3,errno = 22
bogus window id in rrm request type(2)
These are messages related to the communication between the rrm layer
in the kernel and the X server. The messages usually occur when a GL
window is being destroyed in a sequence that the X server did not
expect. They are quite benign.
------------------------------
Subject: -68- Why doesn't SGI's xlock lock my screen?
Date: 10 Jun 1993 00:00:01 EST
If you or the super-user don't have a password, xlock will not lock.
Under IRIX 4.0.x, xlock is set up by default to act as if invoked
with the "-nolock" option, which tells it not to lock the screen. If
you want force xlock to lock, do either of the following:
a) Use the "+nolock" option when invoking xlock. This means
"not nolock" (the opposite of "-nolock"). For example:
% xlock +nolock
b) Add the following line to your ~/.Xdefaults file:
XLock.nolock: False
In IRIX 5.x, the default behavior of xlock has been reversed, so
xlock does indeed lock by default. If you wish to keep the IRIX 4.x
behavior, invoke xlock with the -nolock option.
------------------------------
Subject: -69- Why can't my XView application find its fonts?
Date: 11 Feb 1996 00:00:01 EST
You haven't installed the x_eoe.sw.Xoptfonts subsystem.
------------------------------
Subject: -70- After running a few programs, the colors change as the
cursor moves. The colors are usually all wrong in other
windows.
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
This is known as colormap flashing. It is caused by the server
maintaining 2 separate colormaps, one for GL windows and one for X
windows. As the cursor moves around, the window manager will install
the correct colormap for each window. This will cause colors to be
wrong in other windows. For more information on colormaps and
installation please see the Xlib Programming manual, chapter 7 (Vol I
of the O'Reilly series).
You can sometimes avoid colormap flashing by configuring your X
Server to use a 12-bit or 24-bit visual by default.
------------------------------
Subject: -71- How can I make my X Server use a 12-bit PseudoColor, 12-
bit TrueColor or 24-bit TrueColor visual by default?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
By default, the SGI X Server is configured to use an 8-bit
PseudoColor visual. X-based applications can request other visuals
directly if they are available. Alternatively, you can change the
default visual by performing the following steps:
a) Run "/usr/bin/X11/xdpyinfo" and check that your server is
capable of using a 12-bit or 24-bit visual. If it is,
you will see lines similar to the following:
visual id, max buffers, depth: 0x28, 0, 12
visual id, max buffers, depth: 0x29, 0, 12
visual id, max buffers, depth: 0x2a, 0, 24
The last number on each line represents the number of bits
available for that visual.
b) Log in as root
c) Edit the file /usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xservers. By default it
will contain the string:
:0 secure /usr/bin/X11/X -bs -c -pseudomap 4sight
for a 24-bit TrueColor visual change it to:
:0 secure /usr/bin/X11/X -bs -c -class TrueColor -depth 24
for a 12-bit PseudoColor visual change it to:
:0 secure /usr/bin/X11/X -bs -c -class PseudoColor -depth 12
d) Restart your X server as above.
Note: X Server visuals are an advanced topic; before making the
above changes you should be aware that some 3rd-party and freeware
applications might not gracefully adapt to an X Server which supplies
anything but an 8-bit PseudoColor visual by default.
------------------------------
Subject: -72- When I try to run UIM/X uxserverd, I get an error
message saying, "license file has been modified, cannot
start the UIM/X license server".
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
You probably have been given a bad key. The most frequent causes of
incorrect keys have been incorrect capitalization and incorrect IP
addresses.
The program that generates the UIM/X key requires that the "host ID"
(or IP address) be in hexadecimal format. If you feed it the
standard form of IP address (i.e., 123.45.678.90) it will generate
the wrong key and will not complain.
To ensure that you are is giving the correct information when
requesting a UIM/X key, please do the following:
Hostname: Type in 'hostname' at the prompt, and be sure to say
exactly what it says (including capitalization, if any).
Host ID: Type in 'hostid' at the prompt, and be sure to say exactly
what it says. You will be reading back a series of numbers of the
form 0xc030c844. The leading 0x indicates that the following number
is hexadecimal.
The key generating script is highly sensitive to capital letters.
Make sure you confirm the case of the letters, both when getting the
hostname/hostid and when having your key read back to you.
If this still doesn't fix the problem, you may have mixed files
between UIM/X 1.0 and 2.0. Completely remove UIM/X, re-install it,
and reproduce a Uimx2_0.license file with the correct information.
------------------------------
Subject: -73- I just upgraded from IRIX 5.2 to 5.3. Why does my PI or
VGX say "extension GLX missing on display :0.0"?
Date: 14 May 1995 00:00:01 EST
Mark Kilgard of SGI <m...@woodsy.asd.sgi.com> explains:
/usr/lib/X11/dyDDX/glx.so, without which OpenGL doesn't work, is
missing due to peculiar installation circumstances. (See the
INSTALLING section of the SGI admin FAQ for general comments on that
sort of thing.) Either remove the 5.2 gl_dev.sw.glprof subsystem
*before* upgrading, or reinstall the 5.3 x_eoe.sw.Server subsystem
*after* upgrading, and reboot. If you do the latter, be sure to "set
neweroverride on" in 'inst'.
------------------------------
Subject: -74- Why does my X server (Xsgi) grow inexorably?
Date: 04 May 1996 00:00:01 EST
It's a combination of bugs in the kernel and X server (Xsgi) which
result in leaked memory being allocated to Xsgi. Its total size (but
not its resident size) increases until swap space is completely
filled. It is fixed by the combination of patches 1187 (for non-Impact
graphics) or 1098 (for Impact graphics) and 1255 for IRIX 5.3.
You might also add the following to /usr/bin/X11/X before the lines
where it starts Xsgi
MALLOC_CONFIG=2:mm_minunmapsrch=0:mm_xf[0].mm_flindx=7:mm_xf[0].mm_szshft=5:mm_xf[1].mm_flindx=2055:mm_xf[1].mm_szshft=8:mm_xf[2].mm_flindx=2065:mm_xf[2].mm_szshft=20:mm_flsearh=30:mm_missthrash=4:mm_nszmult=32
export MALLOC_CONFIG
(two lines, one beginning with "MALLOC_CONFIG=" and one with
"export") or restart Xsgi periodically by hand or at each logout as
described above.
------------------------------
Subject: -75- Why does my GL application run slower on newer SGI
hardware than it did on older SGI hardware?
Date: 8 Mar 1997 00:00:01 CST
One probable explanation is that your program is using IrisGL
(sometimes referred to as just "GL") rather than OpenGL. Starting
with Impact graphics, SGI graphics hardware is optimized for native
OpenGL. IrisGL calls are executed through an emulation layer known
as IGLOO, or "IrisGL On OpenGL." This layer of emulation reduces
performance.
The best solution is to port your program to OpenGL.
------------------------------
Subject: -76- MISCELLANEOUS
Date: 15 May 1994 00:00:01 EST
Everything else.
------------------------------
Subject: -77- What books about the X Window System and OSF/Motif do
you recommend?
Date: 07 May 1993 00:00:01 EST
Introductory Texts on the X Window System
- O'Reilly and Associates Inc., "The Definitive Guides to the X
Window System", by Valerie Quercia and Tim O'Reilly. Vol. 3, "X
Window System User's Guide", Sebastopol, CA., 1988, 1989.
Discusses being an end user of the X window system. Covers topics
like window manages, font specifications, standard X clients and
resources.
Texts on X Window System Programming
- O'Reilly and Associates, Inc. "The Definitive Guides to the X
Window System", by Adrian Nye. Vol. 1, "Xlib Programming Manual",
Sebastopol, CA, 1990.
Contains the introductory elements for programming with the Xlib,
the lowest level of the X window system. Discusses concepts such
as X color capacities, windows, events, drawing primitives.
- Young, Douglas A., "X Window Systems Programming and Applications
with Xt" (OSF/Motif Edition). Prentice Hall. Englewood Cliffs, NJ.
1990.
A thorough book starting with the basics of programming with a
toolkit though advanced topics. Contains source code for several
small complete applications. (Source code for this book is also
available on line in the /usr/src directory of the Motif
Development option.)
- O'Reilly and Associates Inc., "The Definitive Guides to the X
Window System", by Adrian Nye and Tim O'Reilly. Vol. 4, "X Toolkit
Intrinsics Programming Manual", Sebastopol, CA., 1990.
Another reference for programming with the OSF/Motif toolkit.
Covers topics including basic programming, widgets, resources, and
more advanced topics.
Reference Texts for the X Window System :
- O'Reilly and Associates Inc., "The Definitive Guides to the X
Window System", by Adrian Nye. Vol. 2, "Xlib Reference Manual",
Sebastopol, CA., 1988.
Complete reference for Xlib library routines.
- Scheifler, Robert and James Gettys, X Window System, Second
Edition, Digital Press, 1990. ISBN 1-55558-050-5.
Referred to as "the Bible" of Xlib and X Protocol reference.
Reference Texts for the OSF/Motif Toolkit :
- Open Software Foundation, "OSF/Motif Programmer's Guide". Release
1.1, Prentice Hall. Englewood Cliffs, NJ. 1990.
Exhaustive reference of every widget in the OSF/Motif library.
- Asente, Paul J. and Ralph R. Swick. "X Window System Toolkit".
X Version 11, Release 4. Digital Press. 1990.
Very in-depth reference to the structure and operation of an X
window system toolkit.
------------------------------
Subject: -78- Does the IRIX 5.2 Magic user environment display on an X
terminal?
Date: 30 Apr 1994 00:00:01 EST
Joel Tesler <jo...@jellotrees.esd.sgi.com> says: Although it is not
officially supported, it should work in IRIX 5.2 MR (but not in the
beta release). There are some glitches. You probably don't have to
set the environment variable _NO_DESKTOP_IMAGES, but try it if you
have problems. There should be no reason to set _SGI_NO_REMOTE_GL.
------------------------------
Subject: -79- What about OpenGL?
Date: 11 Aug 1995 00:00:01 EST
It has its own newsgroup, comp.graphics.api.opengl, which has an FAQ,
which is listed in the misc FAQ.
------------------------------
Subject: -80- Which SGI machines can run OpenGL now? Which will in the
future?
Date: 04 Oct 1995 00:00:01 EST
The version of OpenGL which comes with IRIX 5.3 supports Entry, XS,
XS24, XZ, XL, Elan, Extreme, VTX, Reality Engine, Reality Engine 2, G
(on 4D20, 25, 30 and 35s only) TG (as G), VGX, and VGXT graphics.
There are no plans for ports to any more older systems. See also
'relnotes gl_dev 6' under IRIX 5.3.
------------------------------
Subject: -81- What's this about a copyright dispute over virtual desks
in Indigo Magic?
Date: 27 Nov 1995 00:00:01 EST
Xerox has a software patent which they claimed covered the virtual
desks which are part of Indigo Magic. IRIX 5.3 and 6.x include
licensing code which turned off virtual desks on 15 May 1995. See
chapter 1 of the desktop_eoe release notes for details.
The dispute has been resolved (we don't know how) and SGI has provided
a new licensing code which will allow one to use virtual desks until
2038. The code and installation instructions are, among other places,
at ftp://viz.tamu.edu/pub/sgi/software/desktop/overview-license and in
the May/Jun 1995 Pipeline. Here's the punchline: Edit
/var/netls/nodelock and replace the line containing the word "Desks"
(this is the only non-blank line on a clean IRIX 5.3 system) with the
following two lines:
#:# "Silicon Graphics" Desks A "2038/01/01"
546fb4684914.02.c0.1a.3d.52.00.00.00 y49ga6qrewn69tqaq4r6m44g22
(Although the two lines are preceded by spaces here, they should be
flush left in /var/netls/nodelock.)
OR, if you like, you can get patch 455 from the TAC, which includes an
'ov' which doesn't check the license manager at all. Note, however,
that patch 455 makes 'showfiles -F' fail. We don't yet know why.
------------------------------
End of sgi/faq/graphics Digest
******************************
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Finger us for info on the SGI FAQs, or look in ftp://viz.tamu.edu/pub/sgi/.