Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!apple!usc!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!gatech!ncsuvx!news From: kdarling@hobbes.ncsu.edu (Kevin Darling) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: Let's pretend Keywords: Intel, 586, windows Message-ID: <1990Dec23.093537.18481@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> Date: 23 Dec 90 09:35:37 GMT References: <3042@crdos1.crd.ge.COM> <450@lysator.liu.se> <1990Dec18.213506.645@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu> <1990PMSat.22.14997@dircon.uucp> Sender: news@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu (USENET News System) Organization: NCSU Computing Center Lines: 30 About windowing in hardware, uad1077@dircon.uucp (Ian Kemmish) writes: >Hmmm, I've yet to see a windows-in-hardware chip that handles the input >semantics of windows or canvasses - you'd still need to handle the canvas >hierarchy in software, so having it in hardware as well just doubles >the amount of book-keeping you do. Apologies... I'm not sure what you meant here. Yes, I'd have to keep the bounds and depth info anyway, but I don't think that tiny amount would be a burden. Especially as compared to the burden (code and cpu cycles) of having either user apps or system code do multiple redraws when one window gets unmapped or moved. >Additionally, there is the problem of what you do when you map the >n+1'th window.... Yes, that's always a bother. But we're talking about possible future hardware, not just today's (quick way out of corner ;-). >Since I spend far more time drawing pictures than dragging windows, >and after all, clipping is ridiculously cheap compared to painting pixels, >I find if hard to shake the conviction that a windowing chip would >cost me more than it gained me. I'm sure it depends on your needs and setup. In my case, I'm programming for a realtime multitasking computer whose cpu must execute both normal programs and windowing code. And any overlapping windows must be handled without asking apps to do redraws, so clipping is out of the question. I'm sure you're right that it wouldn't be a gain for you, but I'm just as convinced it'd be a win in my situation :-). Different strokes... cheers - kevin