XFree86(1)
NAME
XFree86 - X11R6 for UNIX on x86 platforms
DESCRIPTION
XFree86 is a collection of X servers for UNIX-like OSs on
Intel x86 platforms. This work is derived from X386 1.2
which was contributed to X11R5 by Snitily Graphics Con-
sulting Service.
CONFIGURATIONS
XFree86 operates under the following operating systems:
-- SVR3.2: SCO 3.2.2, 3.2.4, ISC 3.x, 4.x
-- SVR4.0: ESIX, Microport, Dell, UHC, Consensys,
MST, ISC, AT&T, NCR, PANIX
-- SVR4.2: Consensys, Univel (UnixWare)
-- Solaris (x86) 2.1, 2.4, 2.5, 2.5.1, 2.6
-- FreeBSD 2.0.5, 2.1, 2.1.5, 2.1.6, 2.1.7, 2.1.7.1,
2.2, 2.2.1, 2.2.2, 2.2.5, 2.2.6, 3.0-current
-- NetBSD 1.0, 1.1, 1.2, 1.2.1, 1.3 (i386 port only)
-- OpenBSD 2.0, 2.1
-- BSD/386 version 1.1 and BSD/OS 2.0
-- Mach (from CMU)
-- Linux
-- Amoeba version 5.1
-- Minix-386vm version 1.6.25.1
-- LynxOS AT versions 2.2.1, 2.3.0 and 2.4.0, LynxOS
microSPARC 2.4.0
NETWORK CONNECTIONS
XFree86 supports connections made using the following
reliable byte-streams:
Local
XFree86 supports local connections via Streams pipe
via various mechanisms, using the following paths (n
represents the display number):
/dev/X/server.n (SVR3 and SVR4)
/dev/X/Nserver.n (SVR4)
/dev/XnS and /dev/XnR (SCO SVR3)
On SVR4.0.4, if the Advanced Compatibility Package is
installed, and in SVR4.2, XFree86 supports local con-
nections from clients for SCO XSight/ODT, and (with
modifications to the binary) clients for ISC SVR3.
Unix Domain
XFree86 uses /tmp/.X11-unix/Xn as the filename for the
socket, where n is the display number.
TCPIP
XFree86 listens on port htons(6000+n), where n is the
display number.
Amoeba RPC
This is the default communication medium used under
native Amoeba. Note that under Amoeba, the server
should be started with a ``hostname:displaynumber''
argument.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
For operating systems that support local connections other
than Unix Domain sockets (SVR3 and SVR4), there is a com-
piled-in list specifying the order in which local connec-
tions should be attempted. This list can be overridden by
the XLOCAL environment variable described below. If the
display name indicates a best-choice connection should be
made (e.g. :0.0), each connection mechanism is tried until
a connection succeeds or no more mechanisms are available.
Note: for these OSs, the Unix Domain socket connection is
treated differently from the other local connection types.
To use it the connection must be made to unix:0.0.
The XLOCAL environment variable should contain a list of
one more more of the following:
NAMED
PTS
SCO
ISC
which represent SVR4 Named Streams pipe, Old-style USL
Streams pipe, SCO XSight Streams pipe, and ISC Streams
pipe, respectively. You can select a single mechanism
(e.g. XLOCAL=NAMED), or an ordered list (e.g. XLO-
CAL="NAMED:PTS:SCO"). This variable overrides the com-
piled-in defaults. For SVR4 it is recommended that NAMED
be the first preference connection. The default setting
is PTS:NAMED:ISC:SCO.
To globally override the compiled-in defaults, you should
define (and export if using sh or ksh) XLOCAL globally.
If you use startx/xinit, the definition should be at the
top of your .xinitrc file. If you use xdm, the defini-
tions should be early on in the <XRoot>/lib/X11/xdm/Xses-
sion script.
OPTIONS
In addition to the normal server options described in the
Xserver(1) manual page, XFree86 accepts the following com-
mand line switches:
vtXX XX specifies the Virtual Terminal device number
which XFree86 will use. Without this option,
XFree86 will pick the first available Virtual Ter-
minal that it can locate. This option applies
only to SVR3, SVR4, Linux, and BSD OSs with the
`syscons' or `pcvt' driver.
-crt /dev/ttyXX
SCO only. This is the same as the vt option, and
is provided for compatibility with the native SCO
X server.
-probeonly
Causes the server to exit after the device probing
stage. The XF86Config file is still used when
this option is given, so information that can be
auto-detected should be commented out.
-quiet Suppress most informational messages at startup.
-bpp n Set number of bits per pixel. The default is 8.
Legal values are 8, 15, 16, 24, 32. Not all
servers support all values.
-weight nnn
Set RGB weighting at 16 bpp. The default is 565.
This applies only to those servers which support
16 bpp.
-flipPixels
Swap the default values for the black and white
pixels.
-disableVidMode
Disable the the parts of the VidMode extension
used by the xvidtune client that can be used to
change the video modes.
-allowNonLocalXvidtune
Allow the xvidtune client to connect from another
host. By default non-local connections are not
allowed.
-disableModInDev
Disable dynamic modification of input device set-
tings.
-allowNonLocalModInDev
Allow changes to keyboard and mouse settings from
non-local clients. By default, connections from
non-local clients are not allowed to do this.
-allowMouseOpenFail
Allow the server to start up even if the mouse
device can't be opened or initialised.
-gamma value
Set the gamma correction. value must be between
0.1 and 10. The default is 1.0 This value is
applied equally to the R, G and B values. Not all
servers support this.
-rgamma value
Set the red gamma correction. value must be
between 0.1 and 10. The default is 1.0 Not all
servers support this.
-ggamma value
Set the green gamma correction. value must be
between 0.1 and 10. The default is 1.0 Not all
servers support this.
-bgamma value
Set the blue gamma correction. value must be
between 0.1 and 10. The default is 1.0 Not all
servers support this.
-showconfig
Print out the server version, patchlevel, and a
list of screen drivers configured in the server.
-verbose
Multiple occurrences of this flag increase the
amount of information printed on stderr (more than
the default).
-version
Same as -showconfig.
-xf86config file
Read the server configuration from file. This
option is only available when the server is run as
root (i.e, with real-uid 0).
-keeptty
Prevent the server from detaching its initial con-
trolling terminal. This option is only useful
when debugging the server.
KEYBOARD
Multiple key presses recognized directly by XFree86 are:
Ctrl+Alt+Backspace
Immediately kills the server -- no questions
asked. (Can be disabled by specifying "DontZap"
in the ServerFlags section of the XF86Config
file.)
Ctrl+Alt+Keypad-Plus
Change video mode to next one specified in the
configuration file, (increasing video resolution
order).
Ctrl+Alt+Keypad-Minus
Change video mode to previous one specified in the
configuration file, (decreasing video resolution
order).
Ctrl+Alt+F1...F12
For BSD systems using the syscons driver and
Linux, these keystroke combinations are used to
switch to Virtual Console 1 through 12.
SETUP
XFree86 uses a configuration file called XF86Config for
its initial setup. Refer to the XF86Config(4/5) manual
page for more information.
FILES
<XRoot>/bin/XF86_SVGA The color SVGA X server
<XRoot>/bin/XF86_Mono The monochrome X server for
VGA and other mono cards
<XRoot>/bin/XF86_S3 The accelerated S3 X server
<XRoot>/bin/XF86_Mach8 The accelerated Mach8 X
server
<XRoot>/bin/XF86_Mach32 The accelerated Mach32 X
server
<XRoot>/bin/XF86_Mach64 The accelerated Mach64 X
server
<XRoot>/bin/XF86_P9000 The accelerated P9000 X
server
<XRoot>/bin/XF86_AGX The accelerated AGX X server
<XRoot>/bin/XF86_W32 The accelerated ET4000/W32
and ET6000 X server
<XRoot>/bin/XF86_8514 The accelerated 8514/A X
server
/etc/XF86Config Server configuration file
<XRoot>/lib/X11/XF86Config.hostname
Server configuration file
<XRoot>/lib/X11/XF86Config Server configuration file
<XRoot>/bin/* Client binaries
<XRoot>/include/* Header files
<XRoot>/lib/* Libraries
<XRoot>/lib/X11/fonts/* Fonts
<XRoot>/lib/X11/rgb.txt Color names to RGB mapping
<XRoot>/lib/X11/XErrorDB Client error message
database
<XRoot>/lib/X11/app-defaults/*
Client resource specifica-
tions
<XRoot>/man/man?/* Manual pages
/etc/Xn.hosts Initial access control list
for display n
Note: <XRoot> refers to the root of the X11 install tree.
SEE ALSO
X(1) Xserver(1) xdm(1) xinit(1) XF86Config(4/5)
xf86config(1) XF86_SVGA(1) XF86_VGA16(1) XF86_Mono(1)
XF86_Accel(1) xvidtune(1)
AUTHORS
For X11R5, XF86 1.2 was provided by:
Thomas Roell, roell@informatik.tu-muenchen.de
TU-Muenchen: Server and SVR4 stuff
Mark W. Snitily, mark@sgcs.com
SGCS: SVR3 support, X Consortium Sponsor
... and many more people out there on the net who helped
with ideas and bug-fixes.
XFree86 was integrated into X11R6 by the following team:
Stuart Anderson anderson@metrolink.com
Doug Anson danson@lgc.com
Gertjan Akkerman akkerman@dutiba.twi.tudelft.nl
Mike Bernson mike@mbsun.mlb.org
Robin Cutshaw robin@XFree86.org
David Dawes dawes@XFree86.org
Marc Evans marc@XFree86.org
Pascal Haible haible@izfm.uni-stuttgart.de
Matthieu Herrb Matthieu.Herrb@laas.fr
Dirk Hohndel hohndel@XFree86.org
David Holland davidh@use.com
Alan Hourihane alanh@fairlite.demon.co.uk
Jeffrey Hsu hsu@soda.berkeley.edu
Glenn Lai glenn@cs.utexas.edu
Ted Lemon mellon@ncd.com
Rich Murphey rich@XFree86.org
Hans Nasten nasten@everyware.se
Mark Snitily mark@sgcs.com
Randy Terbush randyt@cse.unl.edu
Jon Tombs tombs@XFree86.org
Kees Verstoep versto@cs.vu.nl
Paul Vixie paul@vix.com
Mark Weaver Mark_Weaver@brown.edu
David Wexelblat dwex@XFree86.org
Philip Wheatley Philip.Wheatley@ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM
Thomas Wolfram wolf@prz.tu-berlin.de
Orest Zborowski orestz@eskimo.com
The XFree86 enhancement package was provided by:
David Dawes, dawes@XFree86.org
Release coordination, administration of FTP repos-
itory and mailing lists. Source tree management
and integration, accelerated server integration,
fixing, and coding.
Glenn Lai, glenn@cs.utexas.edu
The SpeedUp code for ET4000 based SVGA cards, and
ET4000/W32 accelerated server.
Jim Tsillas, jtsilla@ccs.neu.edu
Many server speedups from the fX386 series of
enhancements.
David Wexelblat, dwex@XFree86.org
Integration of the fX386 code into the default
server, many driver fixes, and driver documenta-
tion, assembly of the VGA card/monitor database,
development of the generic video mode listing.
Accelerated server integration, fixing, and cod-
ing.
Dirk Hohndel, hohndel@XFree86.org
Linux shared libraries and release coordination.
Accelerated server integration and fixing.
Generic administrivia and documentation.
Amancio Hasty Jr., hasty@netcom.com
Porting to 386BSD version 0.1 and XS3 development.
Rich Murphey, rich@XFree86.org
Ported to 386BSD version 0.1 based on the original
port by Pace Willison. Support for 386BSD,
FreeBSD, and NetBSD.
Robert Baron, Robert.Baron@ernst.mach.cs.cmu.edu
Ported to Mach.
Orest Zborowski, orestz@eskimo.com
Ported to Linux.
Doug Anson, danson@lgc.com
Ported to Solaris x86.
David Holland, davidh@use.com
Ported to Solaris x86.
David McCullough, davidm@stallion.oz.au
Ported to SCO SVR3.
Michael Rohleder, michael.rohleder@stadt-frankfurt.de
Ported to ISC SVR3.
Kees Verstoep, versto@cs.vu.nl
Ported to Amoeba based on Leendert van Doorn's
original Amoeba port of X11R5.
Marc Evans, Marc@XFree86.org
Ported to OSF/1.
Philip Homburg, philip@cs.vu.nl
Ported to Minix-386vm.
Thomas Mueller, tmueller@sysgo.de
Ported to LynxOS.
Jon Tombs, tombs@XFree86.org
S3 server and accelerated server coordination.
Harald Koenig, koenig@tat.physik.uni-tuebingen.de
S3 server development.
Bernhard Bender, br@elsa.mhs.compuserve.com
S3 server development.
Kevin Martin, martin@cs.unc.edu
Overall work on the base accelerated servers (ATI
and 8514/A), and Mach64 server.
Rik Faith, faith@cs.unc.edu
Overall work on the base accelerated servers (ATI
and 8514/A).
Tiago Gons, tiago@comosjn.hobby.nl
Mach8 and 8514/A server development
Hans Nasten, nasten@everyware.se
Mach8, 8514/A, and S3 server development and
BSD/386 support
Mike Bernson, mike@mbsun.mlb.org
Mach32 server development.
Mark Weaver, Mark_Weaver@brown.edu
Mach32 server development.
Craig Groeschel, craig@metrolink.com
Mach32 server development.
Henry Worth, Henry.Worth@amail.amdahl.com
AGX server.
Erik Nygren, nygren@mit.edu
P9000 server.
Harry Langenbacher harry@brain.jpl.nasa.gov
P9000 server.
Chris Mason, mason@mail.csh.rit.edu
P9000 server.
Henrik Harmsen harmsen@eritel.se
P9000 server.
Simon Cooper, scooper@vizlab.rutgers.edu
Cirrus accelerated code (based on work by Bill
Reynolds).
Harm Hanemaayer, hhanemaa@cs.ruu.nl
Cirrus accelerated code, and ARK driver.
Thomas Zerucha, zerucha@shell.portal.com
Support for Cirrus CL-GD7543.
Leon Bottou, bottou@laforia.ibp.fr
ARK driver.
Mike Tierney, floyd@eng.umd.edu
WD accelerated code.
Bill Conn, conn@bnr.ca
WD accelerated code.
Brad Bosch, brad@lachman.com
WD 90C24A support.
Alan Hourihane, alanh@fairlite.demon.co.uk
Trident SVGA driver, SiS SVGA driver and DEC 21030
server.
Marc La France, Marc.La-France@ualberta.ca
ATI vgawonder SVGA driver
Steve Goldman, sgoldman@encore.com
Oak 067/077 SVGA driver.
Jorge Delgado, ernar@dit.upm.es
Oak SVGA driver, and 087 accelerated code.
Bill Conn, conn@bnr.ca
WD accelerated code.
Paolo Severini, lendl@dist.dist.unige.it
AL2101 SVGA driver
Ching-Tai Chiu, cchiu@netcom.com
Avance Logic ALI SVGA driver
Manfred Brands, mb@oceonics.nl
Cirrus 64xx SVGA driver
Randy Hendry, randy@sgi.com
Cirrus 6440 support in the cl64xx SVGA driver
Frank Dikker, dikker@cs.utwente.nl
MX SVGA driver
Regis Cridlig, cridlig@dmi.ens.fr
Chips & Technologies driver
Jon Block, block@frc.com
Chips & Technologies driver
Mike Hollick, hollick@graphics.cis.upenn.edu
Chips & Technologies driver
Nozomi Ytow
Chips & Technologies driver
Egbert Eich, Egbert.Eich@Physik.TH-Darmstadt.DE
Chips & Technologies driver
David Bateman, dbateman@ee.uts.edu.au
Chips & Technologies driver
Xavier Ducoin, xavier@rd.lectra.fr
Chips & Technologies driver
Peter Trattler, peter@sbox.tu-graz.ac.at
RealTek SVGA driver
Craig Struble, cstruble@acm.vt.edu
Video7 SVGA driver
Gertjan Akkerman, akkerman@dutiba.twi.tudelft.nl
16 colour VGA server, and XF86Config parser.
Davor Matic, dmatic@Athena.MIT.EDU
Hercules driver.
Pascal Haible, haible@izfm.uni-stuttgart.de
Banked monochrome VGA support, Hercules support,
and mono frame buffer support for dumb monochrome
devices
Martin Schaller,
Geert Uytterhoeven,Geert.Uytterhoeven@cs.kuleuven.ac.be
Linux/m68k Frame Buffer Device driver
Andreas Schwab, schwab@issan.informatik.uni-dortmund.de
Linux/m68k Frame Buffer Device driver
Guenther Kelleter, guenther@Pool.Informatik.RWTH-Aachen.de
Linux/m68k Frame Buffer Device driver
Frederic Lepied, epied@XFree86.Org
XInput extension integration. Wacom, joystick and
extended mouse drivers.
Patrick Lecoanet, ecoanet@cena.dgac.fr
Elographics touchscreen driver.
Steven Lang, iger@tyger.org
SummaSketch tablet driver.
... and many more people out there on the net who helped
with beta-testing this enhancement.
XFree86 source is available from the FTP server
ftp.XFree86.org, among others. Send email to
XFree86@XFree86.org for details.