term% cat index.txt VGA(3) Library Functions Manual VGA(3)
NAME
vga - VGA controller device
SYNOPSIS
bind #v /dev
/dev/vgactl
/dev/vgaiob
/dev/vgaiow
/dev/vgaiol
DESCRIPTION
The VGA device allows configuration of a graphics controller on a PC.
Vgactl allows control over higher-level settings such as display
height, width, depth, controller and hardware-cursor type. Vgaiob,
vgaiow and vgaiol allow control over individual 8-bit, 16-bit and
32-bit x86 I/O-ports respectively, such as those used to implement con‐
figuration and setup registers on a VGA controller card. These func‐
tions are normally carried out by vga(8).
Writes to vgactl are of the form `attribute value'. Valid attributes
are
size value is 'XxYxZ' , where X, Y and Z are numbers that tell the
kernel the width and height of the screen in pixels and the num‐
ber of bits per pixel.
type tells the kernel which type of controller is being used, mainly
to enable the correct code for display-memory bank switching at
resolutions greater than 640x480x1. The names vga, clgd542x,
et4000, mach32, and s3 are supported for value.
Note that this list does not indicate the full set of VGA chips
supported. For example, s3 includes the 86C801/5, 86C928, Vi‐
sion864, and Vision964. It is the job of vga(8) to recognize
which particular chip is being used and to initialize it appro‐
priately.
hwgc tells the kernel to use a particular type of hardware graphics
cursor. Bt485hwgc, et4000hwgc, s3hwgc and tvp3020hwgc, are cur‐
rently recognized values. A value of off reverts to using the
software cursor.
Reading vgactl returns the current settings, one per line.
EXAMPLES
The following reverts to using the software graphics cursor
echo -n 'hwgc off' >/dev/vgactl
Sample code to read an x86 8-bit I/O port
uchar
inportb(long port)
{
uchar data;
if(iobfd == -1)
iobfd = open("#v/vgaiob", ORDWR);
seek(iobfd, port, 0);
if(read(iobfd, &data, sizeof(data)) != sizeof(data))
error("inportb(0x%4.4x): %r0, port);
return data;
}
SOURCE
/sys/src/9/pc/devvga.c
SEE ALSO
vga(8)
BUGS
There should be some restriction on the range of valid ports.
There should be support for the hardware graphics cursor on the
clgd54[23]x VGA controller chips.
The hardware graphics cursor on the et4000 does not work in 2x8-bit
mode.
VGA(3)