Xlib ... Where can I find a decent reference text on programming with it? Even something with just a description of all the functions categorized would be useful. All I can seem to find is info on all of the toolkits. Also, is there an equivalent of a VxD in Linux? If so, where can I find out more info on them? Thanks. - Chris

I''m not a Linux freak, but I think the closest it has to VxDs is kernel modules.

Why do want to program in Xlib? It''s rather icky, and not great for game programmers. If you want raw access to the screen and what-not. SDL is probably better for your needs, and it''s portable. http://www.devolution.com/~slouken/projects/SDL/index.html As for Vxd''s you probably want to make a kernel module. There is "Linux Kernel Internals" by Michael Beck.


Dane Jackson - zuvembi@mindless.com
The meek shall inherit what they're bloody well given.
And be thankful for it.

This isn''t for games ... just for other apps and such. As for "Why Xlib?", I want to stay as low as possible since I am going to be writing in pure assembly.

Thanks for the info on the kernel modules, I''ll look into them. It is much easier to search for things when you know what it is you are looking for.

- Chris
http://www.fastsoftware.com

I would almost say that staying as low as possible is a mistake in pure assembly. Xlib requires a ridiculous number of function calls to get even the most basic functionality going. That''s something I wouldn''t want to work with (or maintain) in assembly.

Btw, why do want a VxD? As far as I understand VxDs are mostly to get inside the Windows protection limits, Linux already has APIs for most low-level stuff.

I wouldn''t recommend Xlib at all, go grab yourself a copy of the free Qt libaray which is completely portable between Windows and X-Windows, although I think you have to pay for the Windows libraries, not sure. QT is completely object orientated and much what windows programmers are used to.

http://www.troll.no

Hmm ... I had thought about the widget libraries at one point. But, I can''t seem to find any good on-line documentation about anything related to programming in X. Yes, I know most all of it is there in the man pages. I just don''t really feel like trying to sort through all of that. I would like an HTML reference that I can go print out at the local college. None of the machines there have Linux so I can''t print out man pages.

I went over to the Qt site and saw that they DO have good documentation. But, I prefer not paying that outrageous price. Especially since I can already write good Windows programs ... I am not in need of a library to help. Besides, adding another layer in Winblows is not the brightest idea. Also, do most people have the Qt libraries on their systems? If so, is the free version reliable/useful enough to be used solely for the X11 environment?

I have heard about Athena and that it is also free and comes with XFree86. If this is the case I am interested in it. But, as with the others, I am lacking in documentation.

I had mentioned the VxD just out of curiousity. I had no idea whether or not port access was allowed in a "normal" application, and would need to write a driver if I ever needed it. I don''t have any plans for it, just a mental itch that I wanted scratched.

I guess what I am looking for is the lowest possible interface to X that is guaranteed to be there, or damn near at least. I hate using something that has a million other libraries required and I would hate to force that onto another user. Hell, I''d be willing to program in the X protocol if I could find decent documentation (yes, that is a slight embellishment).

- Chris

I have been looking around at the various widget sets and such. From what I have seen, GTK+ looks fairly appealing. Does anybody have anything good/bad to say about it? Is it widely used?

I am pretty sure most systems have it since everyone (at least close to everyone) has GIMP! But, how widespread is its use? From what I understand each of the widget sets has its own distinct "look", and keeping the look of an application at least somewhat typical is probably a good idea.

- Chris

If by port, you mean serial port, there is an API for it; check the Serial Programming HOWTO. No need for kernel modules.

Qt has shipped with every version of X that I''ve ever gotten. So has GTK and Athena. GTK also has themes.
I''m pretty sure development for both GTK and Athena is free.

By port I meant any I/O port. For example, if I wanted to mess with Hard Disk Controllers could I use the in/out instructions? In Windows, I either have to write a VxD, or somehow obtain Ring0 access . I was just curious if those quirks (Ring Levels and such) were present in Linux in some form and if something special needed to be written to bypass them.

- Chris