Re: [Linux-fbdev-devel] Patch, please TEST: linux-2.4.9 console font modularization

Re: [Linux-fbdev-devel] Patch, please TEST: linux-2.4.9 console font modularization

[Adam J. Richter]

>What's wrong with the ancient console ioctl()s to change the font at runtine?
>(damned, I can't remember the name of the command)
[...]
>Geert Uytterhoeven -- There's lots of Linux beyond ia32 -- geert@linux-m68k.org

	I don't know enough about fbdev vs. the old PC VGA console 
to know whether those ioctl's are available for fbdev.

	As far as I'm concerned, loading fonts by user level programs
would be even better than by loading modules, although, I think that,
when trying to move a facility from kernel to userland, people are a
lot more willing to try that change if the kernel-based way is still
available, but normally just compiled as modules that people gradually
stop using.

Adam J. Richter     __     ______________   4880 Stevens Creek Blvd, Suite 104
adam@yggdrasil.com     \ /                  San Jose, California 95129-1034
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Re: [Linux-fbdev-devel] Patch, please TEST: linux-2.4.9 console font modularization

[Geert Uytterhoeven]

On Sun, 19 Aug 2001, Adam J. Richter wrote:
> >What's wrong with the ancient console ioctl()s to change the font at runtine?
> >(damned, I can't remember the name of the command)
> 
> 	I don't know enough about fbdev vs. the old PC VGA console 
> to know whether those ioctl's are available for fbdev.

Yes, they should work, through the console->con_font_op() call.

> 	As far as I'm concerned, loading fonts by user level programs
> would be even better than by loading modules, although, I think that,
> when trying to move a facility from kernel to userland, people are a
> lot more willing to try that change if the kernel-based way is still
> available, but normally just compiled as modules that people gradually
> stop using.

Yes, and the user-land support is even older than the kernel support, except
for the one builtin font that fbdev requires (on VGA text the font is in the
VGA BIOS ROM).

Gr{oetje,eeting}s,

						Geert

--
Geert Uytterhoeven -- There's lots of Linux beyond ia32 -- geert@linux-m68k.org

In personal conversations with technical people, I call myself a hacker. But
when I'm talking to journalists I just say "programmer" or something like that.
							    -- Linus Torvalds

Re: [Linux-fbdev-devel] Patch, please TEST: linux-2.4.9 console font modularization

[James Simmons]

See Geerts email about the proper solution. The only reason we have font
images in the kernel is because fbdev devices usually don't have hardware
fonts. Otherwise we wouldn't have them here. Personally I like to seem
them __initdata so they go away after boot time.

Re: [Linux-fbdev-devel] Patch, please TEST: linux-2.4.9 console font modularization

[James Simmons]

> What's wrong with the ancient console ioctl()s to change the font at runtine?
> (damned, I can't remember the name of the command)

Their is a bunch of them but the one mosted used is KD_FONT_OP_*. Look at
linux/kd.h for more details. The nice bonus about this is that it is
driver independent.