Re: Console handling

Jes Degn Soerensen (jds@kom.auc.dk)
15 Dec 1997 19:35:33 +0100


>>>>> "Andries" == Andries Brouwer <Andries.Brouwer@cwi.nl> writes:

Andries> On 14 Dec 1997, H. Peter Anvin wrote:
>> Linux has never had different number of lines on different VTs.

Andries> Geert.Uytterhoeven@cs.kuleuven.ac.be answered:

>> Are you sure? There used to be a comment about this in
>> drivers/char/console.c. It said the feature was removed because
>> `it's messy to have all consoles of potentially different sizes'.

Andries> hpa is correct, in the sense that no official Linux
Andries> distribution ever had consoles of potentially different
Andries> sizes.

Just to be a bit pedantic, the _official_ Linux/m68k sources have
contained code for this for several years. However, it of course
depends on how you define `official'.

Andries> So, in the submitted version of this patch no scroll-back was
Andries> saved, and the source was simplified by letting all text-mode
Andries> consoles have the same size.

But now we are some who would like to see that feature ;-)

Andries> Concerning the sizes of VTs, we might reconsider if on other
Andries> architectures the change of video modes is easy, so that it
Andries> could be done by the kernel (without detailed per-video-card
Andries> info).

Even worse, on several architetures it is necessary for the kernel to
set the video mode.

Jes