Using Displays
SPARCbook Display Interface Overview
11-2
SPARCbook Portable Workstation User Guide
SPARCbook Display Interface Overview
Picture information is stored in 2Mbytes of dedicated VRAM (video
RAM) which provides the SPARCbook’s physical frame buffer. The
resolution of the physical display can be set in software, allowing you
to use external displays of up to 800 x 600 in 32-bit color or up to 1600
x 1200 in 8-bit color (256 simultaneous colors).
On the SPARCbook, applications running under the Solaris operating
system do not interact directly with the physical frame buffer but use the
standard Xserver interface to set the display interface’s operating
parameters. One feature that makes the SPARCbook unique is that the
Xserver resolution can be set independently of the display resolution, as
illustrated in Figure 11-1, providing applications with an emulated
frame buffer.
For example, you could set the Xserver to drive a 1024 x 768 pixel
display and configure the SPARCbook to drive a 800 x 600 display. The
application would only be aware of the 1024 x 768 pixel emulated
frame buffer. You could then use the SPARCbook’s pan and zoom
features to move around the image in the emulated frame buffer.
The Xserver’s operating parameters can be set from the Solaris
command prompt or by using the Display panel provided by NCE.
Figure 11-1 Xserver and Display Resolution
Physical Frame Buffer
Emulated Frame Buffer
(Xserver)
Displayed Image
S3UG4_Book Page 2 Friday, August 8, 1997 11:37 am
