| XFree86 | |
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| Developed by | The XFree86 Project, Inc. A software developer is a person or organization concerned with facets of the software development process wider than design and coding a somewhat broader scope of |
| Initial release | ? |
| Stable release | 4.7.0 (August 13, 2007) [+/−] |
| Preview release | CVS (current) [+/−] |
| Written in | C++ |
| OS | multiple |
| Available in | Various |
| Genre | Windowing system |
| License | XFree86 License 1. A software release is the distribution whether public or private of an initial or new and upgraded version of a Computer software product Events 3114 BC - According to the Lounsbury correlation the start of the Maya calendar. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. A software release is the distribution whether public or private of an initial or new and upgraded version of a Computer software product A programming language is an Artificial language that can be used to write programs which control the behavior of a machine particularly a Computer. An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination A language is a dynamic set of visual auditory or tactile Symbols of Communication and the elements used to manipulate them Computer software can be organized into categories based on common function type or field of use A windowing system (or window system) is a component of a Graphical user interface (GUI and more specifically of a Desktop environment, which supports A software license (or software licence in commonwealth usage is a Legal instrument governing the usage or redistribution of copyright protected software 1 |
| Website | www.xfree86.org |
XFree86 is an implementation of the X Window System. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages It was originally written for Unix-like operating systems on IBM PC compatibles and is now available for many other operating systems and platforms. A Unix-like (sometimes shortened to *nix) Operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system while not necessarily conforming An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. It is free and open source software under the XFree86 License version 1. Free software or software libre is Software that can be used studied and modified without restriction and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified Open source is a development methodology which offers practical accessibility to a product's source (goods and knowledge 1. It is developed by the XFree86 Project, Inc. ; the lead developer is David Dawes. David Dawes (born 3 December 1964 is one of the founders of the XFree86 project The current version is 4. 7. 0.
For most of the 1990s and early 2000s, the project was the source of most innovation in X and was the de facto steward of X development. Until early 2004, it was almost universal on Linux and the BSDs. Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks
In February 2004, with version 4. 4. 0, The XFree86 Project adopted a license change that the Free Software Foundation considered GPL incompatible. The Free Software Foundation ( FSF) is a Non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the Free software movement Most Linux distributions found the potential legal issues unacceptable and made plans to move to a fork from before the license change. A Linux distribution (also called GNU/Linux by distributions such as Debian, Fedora, Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Mandriva and At first there were multiple forks, but the X.Org fork soon became the dominant one. The XOrg Server (officially the XOrg Foundation Open Source Public Implementation of X11) is the X server in the official reference implementation of the X Most XFree86 developers who were already annoyed at other issues in the project also moved to X. Org.
Contents |
Architecture
XFree86 consists of client libraries used to write X applications ("clients"), and an X server responsible for the display. In Computer science, a library is a collection of Subroutines used to develop Software. Clients and servers communicate via the X protocol, which allows them to run on different computers.
The XFree86 server communicates with the host operating system's kernel to drive input and output devices, with the exception of graphics cards. An operating system (commonly abbreviated OS and O/S) is the software component of a Computer system that is responsible for the management and coordination In Computer science, the kernel is the central component of most computer Operating systems (OS A video card, also known as a graphics accelerator card, display adapter, or graphics card, is a hardware component whose function is to These are generally managed directly by XFree86, so it includes its own drivers for all graphic cards a user might have. Some cards are supported by vendors themselves via binary-only drivers.
Since version 4. 0, XFree86 has supported (some) accelerated 3D graphics cards via the GLX and DRI extensions. GLX (initialism for "Open' GL' Extension to the X Window System" provides the binding connecting OpenGL and the X Window System In Computing, the Direct Rendering Infrastructure ( DRI) is an interface and a Free software implementation used in the X Window System
Because the server usually needs low level access to graphics hardware, on many configurations it needs to run as the superuser, or a user with UID 0. On many computer Operating systems the superuser, or root, is a special User account used for System administration. However, on some systems and configurations it is possible to run the server as a normal user.
It is also possible to use XFree86 in a framebuffer device, which in turn uses a kernel graphics card driver. The Linux framebuffer ( fbdev) is a graphic hardware-independent Abstraction layer to show graphics on a console without relying on system-specific
On a typical POSIX-system, the directory /etc/X11 includes the configuration files. POSIX (ˈpɒzɪks or "Portable Operating System Interface" is the collective name of a family of related standards specified by the IEEE to define The basic configuration file is /etc/X11/XF86Config (or XF86Config-4) that includes variables about the screen (monitor), keyboard and graphics card. In Computing, a keyboard is an Input device partially modelled after the typewriter keyboard which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys A video card, also known as a graphics accelerator card, display adapter, or graphics card, is a hardware component whose function is to The program xf86config is often used, although xf86cfg also comes with the XFree86 server and is certainly friendlier. Many Linux distributions used to include a configuration tool that was easier to use (such as Debian's debconf) or autodetected most (if not all) settings (Red Hat Linux and Fedora's Anaconda, SuSE's YaST and Mandrake Linux used to choose this path). Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks Debian ( pronounced) is a computer Operating system composed entirely of Free and open source software. debconf is a software utility for performing system-wide configuration tasks on Unix-like operating systems The Fedora Operating system is an RPM -based general purpose Linux distribution, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored Anaconda is the installer for Red Hat Linux and Fedora. It is written in Python and C, with a graphical frontend using PyGTK and a SUSE Linux (ˈsuːsə is a major Operating system. The developer rights are owned by Novell Inc Mandriva Linux (formerly Mandrakelinux or Mandrake Linux) is an Operating system created by Mandriva (formerly Mandrakesoft
History
Early history and naming
The project began in 1992 when David Wexelblat, Glenn Lai, David Dawes and Jim Tsillas joined forces addressing bugs in the X11 X386 source code (written by Thomas Roell), as contributed to X11R5. David Dawes (born 3 December 1964 is one of the founders of the XFree86 project X386 was the first implementation of the X Window System for IBM PC compatible computers This version was initially called X386 1. 2E. As newer versions of the (originally freeware) X386 were being sold under a proprietary software license by SGCS (of which Roell was a partner), confusion existed between the projects. Proprietary software is Computer software on which the producer has set restrictions on use private modification copying, or republishing. After discussion, the project was renamed XFree86, as a pun (compare X-three-eighty-six to X-free-eighty-six). Roell has continued to sell proprietary X servers, most recently under the name Accelerated-X. Accelerated-X is a port of the X Window System to Intel x86 machines
Rise with Linux
As Linux grew in popularity, XFree86 rose with it, as the main X project with drivers for PC video cards. Linux (commonly pronounced ˈlɪnəks
By the late 1990s, official X development was moribund [1]. Most technical advancement was happening in the XFree86 project. In 1999, XFree86 was sponsored onto X. Org (the official industry consortium) by various hardware companies [2] interested in its use with Linux and its status as the most popular version of X.
2003: dissent within the project
By 2003, while Linux's popularity, and hence the installed base of X, surged, X. Org was all but inactive [3] and active development was largely carried out by XFree86. However, there was considerable dissent within XFree86. It was perceived as far too cathedral-like in its development model; developers were unable to get CVS commit access [4] and vendors had to maintain extensive patches [5]. The Cathedral and the Bazaar (abbreviated CatB) is an essay by Eric S In the field of Software development, the Concurrent Versions System ( CVS) also known as the Concurrent Versioning System, provides a Version In March, long-term contributor Keith Packard was ejected from the Core Team with considerable ill-feeling [6] [7] [8]. Keith Packard is a Software developer, best known for his work on the X Window System. The Core Team claimed this was for conspiracy: that Keith had been trying to fork the XFree86 project, working inside the project, while trying to attract core developers to a new X Server project of his own making. Packard denied this had been his aim.
Disbanding of the Core Team
XFree86 used to have a Core Team which was made up of experienced developers, selected for their merits. Due to limited innovation capacity the XFree86 Core Team voted on December 30, 2003 to disband itself, effective the following day. Events 1460 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Wakefield. 1816 - The Treaty of St Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar.
2004: Licensing controversy
Versions of XFree86 up to and including some release candidates for 4. 4. 0 were under the MIT License, a permissive, non-copyleft free software license. The MIT License is a Free software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT used by the MIT X Consortium. Copyleft is a play on the word Copyright and describes the practice of using copyright law to remove restrictions on distributing copies and modified versions XFree86 4. 4 was released in February 2004 with a change to the license: the addition of a credit clause[1], similar to that in the original BSD license[2], but broader in scope. BSD licenses represent a family of Permissive free software licences. Many projects relying on XFree86 found the new license unacceptable[3], and the Free Software Foundation considered it incompatible with the GNU General Public License. The Free Software Foundation ( FSF) is a Non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the Free software movement The XFree86 Project contests this, maintaining that the license is compatible with the GPL[4].
Some projects made releases (notably OpenBSD 3. OpenBSD is a Unix-like computer Operating system descended from Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD a Unix derivative developed at the 5 and 3. 6, and Debian 3. Debian ( pronounced) is a computer Operating system composed entirely of Free and open source software. 1 "Sarge") based on XFree86 version 4. 4 RC2, the last version under the old license. Most operating systems incorporating XFree86 (including later versions of OpenBSD and Debian) migrated to the X.Org Server[5]. The XOrg Server (officially the XOrg Foundation Open Source Public Implementation of X11) is the X server in the official reference implementation of the X
Forks of XFree86
X. Org
The X. The XOrg Server (officially the XOrg Foundation Open Source Public Implementation of X11) is the X server in the official reference implementation of the X Org Server became the official reference implementation of X11. In Computing, a reference implementation (or less frequently sample implementation or model implementation) is a software example of a Specification The first version, X11R6. 7. 0, was a fork from XFree86 version 4. In Software engineering, a project fork happens when developers take a copy of Source code from one software package and start independent development 4 RC2, with X11R6. 6 changes merged in. Version X11R6. 8 added many new extensions, drivers and fixes. It is not encumbered by the XFree86 license changes. It is hosted by and works closely with freedesktop.org.
Most of the open-source Unix-like operating systems have adopted the X. Org Server in place of XFree86, and most of the XFree86 developers moved to X. Org [9].
Release history
| Version | Release date | Most important changes |
|---|---|---|
| X386 1. X386 was the first implementation of the X Window System for IBM PC compatible computers 1 | February 11, 1991 | First version by Thomas Roell, based on X11R4. Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. |
| X386 1. 2 | August 29, 1991 | Included with X11R5. Events 708 - Copper coins are minted in Japan for the first time (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 708) Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. |
| X386 1. 2e 0. 0 | May 7, 1992 | First pre-XFree86 code by eventual team members. Events 558 - In Constantinople, the dome of the Hagia Sophia collapses Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) |
| XFree86 1. 0m | September 2, 1992 | First version named "XFree86". Events 44 BC - Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. Year 1992 ( MCMXCII) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1992 Gregorian calendar) |
| XFree86 2. 0 | October 1993 | |
| XFree86 2. 1 | March 11, 1994 | |
| XFree86 2. Events 1425 BC - Thutmose III, Pharaoh of Egypt, dies (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th Dynasty Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) 1. 1 | May 4, 1994 | Last version based on X11R5. Events 1256 - The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) |
| XFree86 3. 0 | August 26, 1994 | Release for X11R6. Events 1071 - Battle of Manzikert: The Seljuk Turks defeat the Byzantine Army at Manzikert. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) |
| XFree86 3. 1 | September 29, 1994 | |
| XFree86 3. Events 522 BC - Darius I of Persia kills the Magian usurper Gaumâta securing his hold as king of the Persian Empire. Year 1994 ( MCMXCIV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1994 Gregorian calendar) 2 | October 26, 1996 | |
| XFree86 3. Events 740 - An Earthquake strikes Constantinople, causing much damage and death Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) 2. 1 | 1996 | |
| XFree86 3. 3 | 30 May 1997 | XFree86 Acceleration Architecture (XAA) |
| XFree86 3. Events 1416 - The Council of Constance, called by the Emperor Sigismund a supporter of Antipope John XXIII burns Jerome of Prague following Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar In the X Window System, XFree86 Acceleration Architecture ( XAA) is a driver architecture to make a video card's 2D hardware acceleration available to the X server 3. 1 | 8 August 1997 | |
| XFree86 3. Events 1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar 3. 2 | 24 May 1998 | |
| XFree86 3. Events 1218 - The Fifth Crusade leaves Acre for Egypt. 1276 - Magnus Ladulås is crowned Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) 3. 3 | 30 December 1998 | |
| XFree86 3. Events 1460 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Wakefield. 1816 - The Treaty of St Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) 3. 3. 1 | 30 December 1998 | |
| XFree86 3. Events 1460 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Wakefield. 1816 - The Treaty of St Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) 3. 4 | 21 June 1999 | |
| XFree86 3. Events 524 - Godomar, King of the Burgundians defeats the Franks at the Battle of Vézeronce. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) 3. 5 | 17 August 1999 | |
| XFree86 3. Events 986 - A Byzantine army was destroyed in the pass of Trajan's Gate by the Bulgarians under the Comitopuli Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) 3. 6 | December 31, 1999 | Last 3. Events 406 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gallia. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) x version. |
| XFree86 4. 0 | March 8, 2000 | Complete new architecture. Events 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion. 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. X11R6. 4 included. |
| XFree86 4. 0. 1 | June 30, 2000 | XRender |
| XFree86 4. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. The X Rendering Extension ( Render or XRender) is an X Window System extension to implement Porter-Duff image compositing in the X server 0. 2 | December 18, 2000 | |
| XFree86 4. Events 218 BC - Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia - Hannibal 's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. 0. 3 | March 16, 2001 | |
| XFree86 4. Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. 0. 4 | 2001 | |
| XFree86 4. 1. 0 | June 2, 2001 | |
| XFree86 4. Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. 2. 0 | January 18, 2002 | |
| XFree86 4. Events 350 - Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. 2. 1 | September 3, 2002 | |
| XFree86 4. Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. 3. 0 | February 26, 2003 | |
| XFree86 4. Events 747 BC - Epoch (origin of Ptolemy 's Nabonassar Era 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. 4. 0 | February 29, 2004 | First version under XFree86 License 1. Leap years Although the modern calendar counts a year as 365 days a complete revolution around the sun takes approximately 365 days and 6 hours "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " 1. |
| XFree86 4. 5. 0 | March 16, 2005 | |
| XFree86 4. Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. 6. 0 | May 10, 2006 | |
| XFree86 4. Events 1291 - Scottish Nobles recognize the authority of Edward I of England. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. 7. 0 | August 12, 2007 |
See also
References
- ^ XFree86® Licenses. Events 1099 - First Crusade: Battle of Ascalon - Crusaders under the command of Godfrey of Bouillon defeat Fatimid Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. DirectFB stands for Direct Frame Buffer It is a software library for the GNU / Linux operating system that provides "hardware graphics acceleration The XFree86 logfile is a text file, written by the XFree86 program and designed to be useful for people who are trying to diagnose problems they are having with getting A modeline is a configuration line in the XFree86 Configuration file (XF86Config that provides information to the X server about a connected Computer The Configuration file XF86Config of the XFree86 project is used by the X server to set necessary configuration parameters XFree86® Project, Inc. (2005-01-01). Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Retrieved on 2008-05-02. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common Events 1194 - King Richard I of England gives Portsmouth its first Royal Charter.
- ^ Dawes, David (2004-01-29). "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. Announcement: Modification to the base XFree86 license. XFree86 Project. Retrieved on 2007-07-12. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre.
- ^ XFree86 4.4: List of Rejecting Distributors Grows. Slashdot (2004-02-18). Slashdot, often abbreviated as /, is a technology-related news Website owned by SourceForge Inc "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Events 3102 BC - Epoch (origin of the Kali Yuga. 1229 - The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II Holy Retrieved on 2007-07-12. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre.
- ^ XFree86 Licenses. XFree86 Project (2005-01-01). Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Retrieved on 2007-07-12. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre.
- ^ Wheeler, David A. (2007-07-06). Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1044 - The Battle of Ménfő takes place 1189 - Richard the Lionheart is crowned King of England The Cautionary Tale of XFree86. Retrieved on 2007-07-12. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1191 - Saladin 's garrison surrenders ending the two-year Siege of Acre.
- X Marks the Spot: Looking back at X11 Developments of Past Year (Oscar Boykin, OSNews 25 February 2004) — the licensing controversy and forks
- The History of XFree86: Over a Decade of Development (Michael J. Events 138 - The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Hammel, Linux Magazine, December 2001)
- Some perspective from the cheap seats ... (David Wexelblat, 20 March 2003) — on why Keith Packard was sacked from the core team
- A Call For Open Governance Of X Development (Keith Packard, 21 March 2003)
- XFree86 dust-up questions X11 model (Andrew Orlowski, The Register, 21 March 2003)
- The Cautionary Tale of XFree86 (from Make Your Open Source Software GPL-Compatible. Events 1600 - The Linköping Bloodbath takes place on Maundy Thursday in Linköping, Sweden. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 630 - Byzantine emperor Heraclius restores the True Cross to Jerusalem. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Or Else. by David A. Wheeler, 16 February 2005)
External links
David A Wheeler (born 1965 is a Computer scientist. In 2001 Wheeler posted a self-published work on his webpage where he applied metrics for costing Events 1249 - Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khan of the Mongols Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic