X Window system on Handheld devices

[David Jackson]

You are making assumptions, that no company will ever produce a hardware
device that has a monochrome screen. Yet, a monochrome screen would be
suitable for ereader devices such as a kindle.

As for code, memory today is cheap. I've looked closely at X memory useage
and it seems from what i can see anyway that X server code consumes less
than 10 MB, with all of the compability infrastructure. Maintaining code for
compatability and backwards compatability has value greater than saving some
kilobytes or a megabyte in the age of hundreds or thousands of megabytes.

If a handheld device manufacturer has very limited memory to work with,
maybe they could do their own custom compile X, if necessary, without some
sections of code. But I am doubtful that will often be the case that this is
necessary. But, for a desktop system today, it simply does not make sense
whatsoever, the backwards compatability with older X applications is far
more valuable.

Ive been using X since the days of 90 MB of RAM. X memory usage has never
been a big issue, the idea that X, including code for backwards
compatability,  uses a lot of RAM is an old lie that refuses to die.
Blowing up baclwards compatability to save a megabyte or 2 of RAM makes no
sense whatsoever.



On Sun, Jul 17, 2011 at 2:33 AM, Alan Coopersmith <
alan.coopersmith at oracle.com> wrote:

> On 07/16/11 06:43 PM, David Jackson wrote:
> > Has the X.org organisation ever thought of promoting X.org for use by
> companies
> > on thier handheld devices such as phones?
>
> You mean like back in the days when Jim Gettys was one of the leaders of
> handhelds.org and  doing research at the Compaq/HP labs on the iPaq?
> Yes, I think there might have been a bit of thinking, especially when they
> hosted the X.org Developers Conference there - as hard as it is for some
> people to believe we ever do any thinking here.
>
> Or perhaps you mean the last couple of years, when Nokia's (now Intel's)
> Meego developers have been one of the major contributors to X.Org.
>
> > Years ago, in their infinite wisdom, X.org developers removed monochrome
> > support and low colour support,
>
> Nope, sadly, both are still there, though I think the mobile developers
> like
> those on the Meego project wish we'd dump more code like that which just
> bloats their embedded systems, since no one wants to browse the web or play
> Angry Birds on 1, 4, or 8 bit screens.
>
> --
>        -Alan Coopersmith-        alan.coopersmith at oracle.com
>         Oracle Solaris Platform Engineering: X Window System
>
>
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