Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!usc!apple!agate!shelby!helens!baroque!jim From: jim@baroque.Stanford.EDU (James Helman) Newsgroups: comp.sys.sgi Subject: Re: SGI's migration to X Message-ID: Date: 31 Aug 90 21:41:26 GMT References: <208@voodoo.UUCP> <13717@smoke.BRL.MIL> Sender: news@helens.Stanford.EDU Organization: Stanford University Lines: 37 In-reply-to: moss@brl.mil's message of 31 Aug 90 14:39:39 GMT slehar@bucasb.bu.edu writes: (My X image windows are prone to suddenly disappearing if they've been around for a while) My advice is to stick with SGI! This is *not* a problem inherent in X, rather the result of bugs in SGI's early implementations. The trouble is that if you want to do image processing you have to get your image data into that structure, and the only routine they provide sends the pixels over one by one, OVER THE NETWORK! so that even when you display from your own private terminal to your own private screen it goes... "Prepare to receive pixel", "sending pixel", "confirm receipt of pixel", "prepare for next pixel"... and so forth and of course it takes an eternity to send a whole image! There's no need to use single pixel transfers, but the basic problem of trying to cram lots of data down a narrow pipe is inherent in imaging on network window systems. There are various implementations that use shared memory for these transfers when possible. Sun has something along these lines called Direct Graphics Access. Perhaps, SGI will work to improve X's image transfer performance as well as supporting GL calls in X windows. moss@brl.mil (Gary S. Moss (VLD/VMB) ) writes: on the SGI, X just plain doesn't work worth a darn under 3.2.x. Hopefully 3.3 is much better. It is *much better*. I've been running the IRIX 3.3 X server since the end of June, and it hasn't dumped core once. Some irritating drawing bugs remain, but hopefully these will be fixed soon. Jim Helman Department of Applied Physics Durand 012 Stanford University FAX: (415) 725-3377 (jim@KAOS.stanford.edu) Voice: (415) 723-9127