Re: Hardware programming of modern vga

From: Scott Moore (spamtrap_at_crayne.org)
Date: 07/27/04 

Date: Tue, 27 Jul 2004 17:38:05 +0000 (UTC)

wolfgang kern wrote:

> "Fillbert" asked:
>
> | Did anybody know a newsgroup where i can find informations about programming
> | modern vga card?
> | I don't mean programming via DirectX or OpenGl. I like to write a simple os,
> | so there is no common-used api.
>
> Hardware dependent code will be fast and effective, but it is very hard
> these days to get detailed information from manufacturers,
> so all I can recommend for a general working solution is the use of
> the VESA/VBE standards, even most functions are only available
> in true realmode and may fail in the (absolute BS) delaying VM86.
>
> google for VBE2.0/3.0 specifications.
>
> good luck,
> __
> wolfgang
>
>
>

I second this. Vesa is going to be the way to go. Vesa used to have lots of limitations,
for instance you had to switch out of 32 bit modes to call it, but they have fixed all
of that. Nowdays with linear framebuffer mapping, most likely you will just use the
Vesa mode to lay out the video into the '386 address space and access it directly, as
32 bit pixels most likely. The days when you needed to know all about pixel packing
modes and multiple video planes are gone.

Of course, that does not really include 3d acceleration modes, so its very true that
you would only be getting 1/2 of the total modes of these cards. Voodo video cards
used to give all of their programming information online, right to the metal. They
got absorbed by Nvidia. A brief glance at their site didn't show such a document,
but a good search there or a call might show something.

Nowdays the video card market is ATI or Nvidia. If you want to program direct to the
metal, getting to know one or both of these makers is the way to go. 

-- 
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