5 Known Problems and Workarounds
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1. Introduction
The X Window System is a device-independent, network-
transparent window system developed at MIT. It runs on a
wide range of computing and graphics systems. The X window
server mediates all access to the graphics display and
allows it to be shared by both 2D and 3D applications.
Note: Packaged with your software is a separate sheet that
contains the Software License Agreement. This
software is provided to you solely under the terms
and conditions of the Software License Agreement.
Please take a few moments to review the Agreement.
This document contains the following chapters:
1. Introduction
2. Installation Information
3. Changes and Additions
4. Bug Fixes
5. Known Problems and Workarounds
1.1 Release_Identification_Information
Following is the release identification information for X11:
Software Option Product X11
Version 4.0
Product Code SC4-IDO-6.0
System Software Requirements IRIX 6.0
1.2 Online_Release_Notes
After you install the online documentation for a product
(the relnotes subsystem), you can view the release notes on
your screen.
If you have a graphics system, select ``Release Notes'' from
the Help submenu of the Toolchest. This displays the
grelnotes(1) graphical browser for the online release notes.
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Refer to the grelnotes(1) reference page for information on
options to this command.
If you have a nongraphics system, you can use the relnotes
command. Refer to the relnotes(1) reference page for
accessing the online release notes.
1.3 Product_Support
Silicon Graphics, Inc., provides a comprehensive product
support maintenance program for its products.
If you are in the U.S. or Canada and would like support for
your Silicon Graphics-supported products, contact the
Technical Assistance Center at 1-800-800-4SGI.
If you are outside these areas, contact the Silicon Graphics
subsidiary or authorized distributor in your country.
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2. Installation_Information
This chapter lists supplemental information to the IRIS
Software Installation Guide. The information listed here is
product-specific; use it with the Installation Guide to
install this product.
2.1 X_Development_Subsystems
The X development product includes these subsystems:
x_dev.sw.dev This subsystem contains header
files, Makefiles, and other source
files useful for writing X
applications.
x_dev.sw.dev64 This subsystem contains 64-bit
versions of the development
libraries.
x_dev.sw.binaries These applications are useful in
developing X applications.
x_dev.man.mandev These are manual pages for the X
development tools.
x_dev.man.pex These are manual pages for the PEX
development tools.
x_dev.man.relnotes These are release notes for the X
development tools.
x_dev.sw.intl This subsystem contains an
internationalized version of the
Athena widgets.
x_dev.sw.pex This subsystem contains header
files and a library for developing
3D applications written to the
PEXlib API.
x_books.books.XLib_PG This book describes the Xlib
programming library.
x_books.books.XLib_WinSys This book describes the Xt
programming library.
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2.2 X_Subsystem_Disk_Space_Requirements
This section lists the subsystems (and their sizes) of the X
Window System software.
If you are installing this software for the first time, the
subsystems marked ``default'' are the ones that are
installed if you use the ``go'' menu item. To install a
different set of subsystems, use the ``install,''
``remove,'' ``keep,'' and ``step'' commands in inst to
customize the list of subsystems to be installed, then
select the ``go'' menu item.
Note: The listed subsystem sizes are approximate. Refer to
the IRIS Software Installation Guide for information
on finding exact sizes.
Subsystem Name Subsystem Size
(512-byte blocks)
x_dev.man.mandev 2949
x_dev.man.pex 4
x_dev.man.relnotes 16
x_dev.sw.binaries (default) 257
x_dev.sw.dev (default) 8508
x_dev.sw.dev64 (default) 6680
x_dev.sw.intl 2293
x_dev.sw.pex 1680
x_books.books.XLib_PG (default) 11805
x_books.books.XLib_WinSys (default) 10736
2.3 Installation_Method
All of the subsystems for X can be installed using IRIX.
You do not need to use the miniroot. Refer to the IRIS
Software Installation Guide for complete installation
instructions.
2.4 Prerequisites
If you want to install x_dev.sw.dev or x_dev.sw.binaries,
you must also install x_eoe.sw.eoe.
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If you want to install x_dev.sw.dev64, you must also install
x_eoe.sw.eoe64.
If you want to install x_dev.sw.pex, you must also install
x_dev.sw.dev.
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3. Changes_and_Additions
o The X11 libraries shipped with IRIX 6.0 are based on
the X11 R6 release. IRIX 5.2 libraries were based on
the X11 R5 release.
o IRIX 6.0 includes support for development of 64-bit X
applications, with the x_dev.sw.dev64 subsystem. This
subsystem installs 64-bit versions of the libraries in
/usr/lib64.
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4. Bug_Fixes
Applications written with the XView library do not hang the
X server as they did in some releases of IRIX 4.0.5.
See the release notes for x_eoe for other bug fixes.
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5. Known_Problems_and_Workarounds
o Applications built with -lsocket (the MIPS ABI-
compliant way) cannot connect to the X server using
UNIXr Domain Sockets (unix:0). Instead, they must use
the TCP/IP loopback mechanism (localhost:0).
Applications not explicitly linking in libsocket work
with UNIX Domain Sockets. This will be fixed in a
later release.
o xstdcmap does not work properly, nor do the colormap
utilities in libXmu. The X server creates the standard
colormap properties by default at startup. They work
properly if not accessed through libXmu.
o In the search pane of IRIS InSight, a search in the Xt
library comes up with XLib_WinSys, rather than Xt.
Similarly, searches for the Xlib library come up with
XLib_PG.
o X and OpenGL do not coordinate swapping a double-
buffered window properly. When OpenGL swaps buffers, X
fails to always render to the front buffer.
o When running OpenGL applications that use indirect
rendering, it is normal for more than one instance of
Xsgi, the SGI X server, to show up under ps. They
represent multiple threads of the X server, used to
implement indirect rendering.
o The X server does not yet support the large request
mechanism. Protocol requests are limited to 64K words
(262,144 bytes) in length. This applies to the core X
protocol as well as to extension protocols such as PEX.