[vox-tech] Is xf86cfg the preferred configuration tool for XF86 4.x?

[Peter Jay Salzman]

ah, i forgot to mention: XF86Config almost always needs to have the
mouse reconfigured by hand, as you mentioned in your post.  but other
than that, between the PCI db, DDC capabilities and using the VESA
standard as a guideline for videotimings, i've honestly found it, from
experience, to be nearly flawless.

the one time it wasn't flawless was with a system that had a video card
AND an on-board video chipset.  i didn't know it at the time, but XF86Config
was trying to configure xinerama.  it's possible that xinerama would've
worked if we had a second monitor.   how's that for service?  :-)

i don't think that xf86cfg does any probing.  plus, the key bindings
stink almost as badly as XF86Setup did.  in essence, it's an XF86Setup
clone for X4.  so from experience, the question:

   what's the best way to configure X on debian

has the answer:

   using XFree86 -configure

it's that simple.    :-)

pete


begin Jeff Newmiller <jdnewmil@dcn.davis.ca.us> 
> On Mon, 1 Jul 2002, Peter Jay Salzman wrote:
> 
> > XFree86 -configure is nearly flawless
> 
> Now there is a bold claim. :)
> 
> > and asks no questions (so you can't inadvertantly tell it any lies).
> 
> Perhaps all programmers should all be using Ada, so the language police
> could keep us from telling lies, too.
> 
> I really don't know whether xf86cfg is any better or worse than "XFree86
> -configure" for a broad range of hardware, but the manpage says the former
> calls the latter.  I am still exploring XFree86 4.2 capabilities on a
> relatively new laptop, but it is looking like the touchpad is a puzzle for
> XFree86 -configure (hand editing time) and most of the video capabilities
> are also out of reach (though it kind of works).
>
> As for the "best tool"... Debian's "man 7 XF86Config" indicates:
> 
>        Information about the XFree86 X server is available in the
>        XFree86(1) manual page.  The format of the version 4 server
>        configuration file is given in XF86Config-4(5), and the upstream,
>        text-based configuration  tool  for  the  version  4
>        server  is  documented  in xf86config(1), Note, however, that usage
>        of the debconf configuration process is preferred.
>        To reconfigure the X server using debconf, simply run:
> 
>        dpkg-reconfigure xserver-xfree86
> 
> I am not entirely sure I trust this, as it does not appear to rely on
> XFree86 -configure, which would have access to the very most recent driver
> information without depending on updationg of programs not included in
> the XFree86 source.
> 
> > pete
> > 
> > begin Henry House <hajhouse@houseag.com> 
> > > It's been a while since I configured X from scratch on a Debian system. Is
> > > xf86cfg the best tool to use? Or 'dpkg-reconfigure xserver-common'? I ask
> > > for a friend who is a newcomer to Debian. She need to use XF86 4.x because
> > > the video chipset is very new.

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