Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!auspex!guy
From: guy@auspex.auspex.com (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re:  X11 and SunView
Message-ID: <6108@auspex.auspex.com>
Date: 17 Feb 91 22:26:08 GMT
References: <9102160521.AA25808@lightning.McRCIM.McGill.EDU>
Organization: Auspex Systems, Santa Clara
Lines: 22

>There is of course the penalty of having all the SunView stuff lying
>around in memory all the time; if memory or swap space is short, this
>can be significant.

Note that, as of SunOS 4.0, it should, I think, be possible to remove
that stuff from the kernel, if you're a "raw X11 user" running the MIT
server or a derivative thereof.  Try leaving the "pseudo-device winN"
and "pseudo-device dtopN" lines out of your kernel; do *NOT* remove the
"pseudo-device msN" or "pseudo-device kbN" lines out, because Xsun opens
"/dev/kbd" and "/dev/mouse" and reads from them.

Unfortunately, the Open Windows server always reads its keyboard and
mouse events from the SunView kernel window system code, so it has to be
there if you're running Open Windows.  It does so in order to let you
run SunView programs "on top of" (both figuratively and literally)
X11/NeWS.

What it *should* do is to try opening "/dev/win0" or whatever and, if it
fails, fall back on using "/dev/kbd" and "/dev/mouse"; that way, it can
run on systems with SunView kernel support, and allow SunView
applications to run, but also run (albeit without allowing SunView
applications to run) on systems without SunView kernel support.