Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!snorkelwacker!bloom-beacon!CRC.SKL.DND.CA!comeau
From: comeau@CRC.SKL.DND.CA (Phil Comeau)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: 386/ix X11 info wanted: Summary
Message-ID: <8912071756.AA12931@CRC.SKL.DND.CA>
Date: 7 Dec 89 17:56:07 GMT
Sender: root@athena.mit.edu (Wizard A. Root)
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 34

A while ago, I posted a request for people's experience with
386/ix X11. I stated that we had planned to use a Matrox graphics
board and 4Mb of RAM, and develop an application that used 2Mb of
this RAM. I asked for fatherly/motherly advice on the sanity of
our intentions.  I said I would summarize replies if ther was
enough interest; at least one person was interested (thanks, mom);
here's the summary.

First of all, just about everybody said 4Mb was too tight if
not impossible. One replier stated flatly that 386/ix and X11
would not run in 4Mb. The general consensus was that 6 or 8Mb was
doable but straining and only at 12Mb would things get really
comfortable. It's possible to have a 2Mb application run on
a machine with 6Mb, but an 8Mb system is required for development.

Some other random facts reported about 386/ix X11:
- a floating point coprocessor is advantageous because Interactive's
  server is largely compiled from the MIT sample server and
  uses floating-point math for line drawing.
- the server has a bug: it fails to release memory and
  so must be restarted about once/day.
- host based TCP/IP is required because Xlib makes calls to
  a TCP/IP library.

Thanks to all who replied.

Phil Comeau
comeau@crc.skl.dnd.ca
Software Kinetics Ltd.
65 Iber Rd.
Stittsville, Ont.
Canada K2S 1E7
(613) 831-0888
(613) 831-1836 (Fax)