RE: [Linux-fbdev-devel] Query on framebuffer implementations

[Dawud, M. <muh...@in...>]

Hi Salvatore,

Currently I'm using an i810 machine which does not support VESA 2.0, thus my
need to use VGA16 framebuffer support in the kernel which is a bummer
because the resolution is only so much. I've downloaded the vga256fb,
however after a successful compilation I can't seem to execute the file....

	When executing vga256ctrl, it cannot find the available modes and
displays the following error :

		Available modes:
		ioctl: Invalid argument
		---
		ioctl(VGA256_GET_FLAGS): Invalid argument
		ioctl(VGA256_GET_LE_FRAMERATE): Invalid argument
		Linear emulation frame rate: 0
		smart update: off
		update by line: off
		ignore nonstd: off

I'd like to design a framebuffer based graphic GUI during the boot up phase
that covers all the messages after the kernel messages. The graphic should
cover all the INIT executables. In the second stage I'd like to take the
previously designed GUI and replace it with a GUI that can select which
services that you'd prefer before the INIT begins. I was looking into the
methods to implement this, however there seems to be a lack of resources on
this... I believe my best bet is a framebuffer implementation...

The only way to implement this I think would be to include my existing
framebuffer dump (just a few horizontal lines streaking across the screen)
and patch it into the kernel. I don't however know where to include it in
the kernel and I don't really know where to modify ... I'm still new to
kernel hacking...... Still reading up.....

The closest that I can come up to is the Linux Progressive Patch, which
patches over the kernel boot up with a Win98' like logo for the Linux
machine that you are using. Unfortunately the patch is only for VESA 2.0
compliant machines... My meager 166 Pentium PC with an S3 card can be
considered exempt from the requirements above....

Any pointers or help would be very much appreciated..... Thanks again
guys.....

Regards,
Dawud


-----Original Message-----
From: antirez [mailto:an...@in...]
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2001 7:43 PM
To: Dawud, Muhd
Cc: lin...@li...
Subject: Re: [Linux-fbdev-devel] Query on framebuffer implementations


On Mon, May 14, 2001 at 12:36:24AM +0800, Dawud, Muhd wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> I'd like to ask a quick question on framebuffer implementations if you
guys
> don't mind...... 
> 
> In recent releases of the red-hat linux (I'm using 7.0) the bootloader is
a
> graphical interface, I'm wondering how I could program something like
this.
> My current machine is a 166MHZ Pentium with only VESA 1.2 support so the
> best framebuffer support that I have is VGA16. Furthermore I can only come
> up with ugly looking graphics in 16 colors which can only start after I've
> logged into the system. The lilo GUI is excellent compared to my lousy
GUI,

You can use the patch at http://www.kyuzz.org/antirez/vga256fb.html
to get 360x480 in 256 colors without VESA 2.0 support.
It seems there are different patches to add this support in the
linux framebuffer, but I don't know where to get they.

> does anyone know how lilo does this... I presume that it is also a
> framebuffer dump but how does it get 256K resolution. I would really like
to
> write some kind of personalized GUI to replace the red-hat lilo prompt but
I
> am at a loss on how to proceed... Can anyone out there kindly offer me
some
> pointers ???

I don't know how this works. Maybe all the graphic support is implemented
in the boot loader itself. I can't see how a boot loader can directly
use the linux framebuffer abstraction: the boot loader itself contains
portion of the linux kernel? Is it a "linux booting linux" hack?

> So in essence my problem is two-fold, I don't know how to load my
customized
> GUI to replace lilo's gui and I don't know how to code a nicer GUI using
> framebuffers. Again I don't know if I'm attacking the problem in a wrong
> way. Any help would be very much appreciated.

You should provide more information about this boot loader.

regards,
Salvatore

-- 
Salvatore Sanfilippo <an...@in...>
http://www.kyuzz.org/antirez
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