VNC server based on kdrive using damage extension?

[Jaymz Julian]

On Tue, Jan 27, 2004 at 12:58:15PM +1100, Mike MacCana wrote:
> On Tue, 27 Jan 2004, Jaymz Julian wrote:
> 
> > On Mon, Jan 26, 2004 at 11:02:51PM +0000, Mike MacCana wrote:
> > > On Mon, 2004-01-26 at 14:17 -0500, Bruce Bauman wrote:
> > > > We would like to build a lightweight X server which will operate
> > > > "headless". The only display device will be a remote VNC device.
> > >
> > > Why use VNC for this? The X protocol is already capable of proving en
> > > entire remote desktop on a distant PC.
> > >
> > > (One answer could be: you have lots of Windows clients, and unlike
> > > Linux / Unix / MacOS, Windows doesn't come with an X display server).
> >
> > Because while X is good^Wvagely acceptable at remotey viewing a set of single
> > windows over a medium bandwidth connection, it's horrifically bad dealing with
> > entire desktops, especially over low-medium bandwidth connections?
> 
> > admittedly some of the x protocol
> > compression packages do make this somewhat possible,
> 
> You've answered yourself here. It seems far too often people
> take X as is without any protocol compression. There's some
> brilliant stuff that's been done in the last few years, some of
> which make X quite fast over thin pipes - particularly MLView DXPC.

lets say I agreed with you that these were as good for this, which I don't,
but lets say I did, it would still be the wrong tool for the job - X is the
correct tool for exporting a bunch of windows, but it's not the right tool for
exporting a desktop to a dumb and/or unknown bitmap device, which is what the 
original poster was asking.  VNC is the right tool for that job.

> > I cannot even begin to explain how much of a horrifically bad solution
> > to the problem this is.  Replacing VNC with X is just as bad as replacing X
> > with VNC.  See "right tool for the job".
> 
> I think yaking something already displayed with one protocol and piping it
> through another because one impression of X compression techniques is
> based on ancient techniques is pretty damn horrible myself.

I run the particular X protocol compressor that you mentioned.  I am familiar
with these techniques.  Let me briefly reflect on the irony of you objecting 
ob principle to pushing it through one arbitary different protcol (vnc), but 
not another (dxcp).

(insert reflecting here)

X is great.  We all love X.  That's why we're on the xserver mailing list.  But
X and VNC are different tools, designed for different jobs, and they shouldn't
be trying to replace each other.

	-- jj

--
Jaymz Julian aka A Life in Hell / Warriors of the Wasteland / Unreal
Coder, Visionary, Fat Ass.
"Hannibal is a serial killer. He only likes to kill and eat people. 
 Very few people have `I want to be killed and eaten' on their cards, 
 so Hannibal is out of a job." - http://cards.sf.net