BMT Micro is pleased to announce a major update to the XFree86 distribution. This has been one of our most requested items over the past few months.

Product:  XFree86 and EMX CD
Product Category: CD Compilation

Price: $15
Secure Order URL:  https://secure.bmtmicro.com/order1082.html

FOR BRAZILIANS USERS ONLY
If you are brazilian OS/2 user click the links below to read what Danial J. Caetano and Renee Senger said about XFree86 for OS/2 Warp

D.CAETANO      R.SENGER

This release not only includes the latest (3.3.5) base installation and EMX files, but also all of the applications and ported apps (including gimp) BMT Micro could locate.   There are apps in virtually every category, and the filesize alone of the disc is approximately 450 megabytes.  For your convenience, we've added an html interface to make navigating and copying files from the CD to your hard disk much easier.

Please note that there is not an automatic installation routine or instructions from BMT regarding  installation or use of XFree86.  There is ample documentation on the disc from various sources to help you along.  Be careful to read the provided documentation closely.

What and Where is XFree86?

XFree86 is a port of X11R6.3 that supports several versions of Intel-based Unix. It is derived from X386 1.2, which was the X server distributed with X11R5. This release consists of many new features and performance improvements as well as many bug fixes. The release is available as source patches against the X Consortium X11R6 code, as well as binary distributions for many architectures.

XFree86/OS2 is the name of the implementation of XFree86 on OS/2 based systems.

Generally, you find source and binary code at ftp.xfree86.org

The XFree86/OS2 home page will usually show more references to FTP or WWW sites to retrieve sources or binaries.

Other versions:

XFree86/OS2 will run on all dialects of Warp 3, including Warp "red spine box", Warp "blue spine box", Warp Connect, Warp Server, and Warp 4.

For Warp 3 installing fixpack level 17 or later is strongly recommended. There have been a few reports that the installation of FP26 causes XFree86 no longer to work, but I am not sure about a real reason. Current fixpacks for Warp 3, like FP36, seem to work well also.

Warp 4 may be used with or without the recent public fixpack.

Installing the packages

XFree86/OS2 assumes a directory hierarchy starting from drive:\XFree86. This can be changed, but is strictly discouraged.

Choose a HPFS partition with sufficient free space.

For each package to install, go to the root directory of this drive, and type:
drive:> cd \
drive:> unzip \path_of_packages\Xxxxx.zip

You might encounter that some packages report duplicate files, e.g. the X server packages install corresponding README files, which are also in the Xdoc package. This is okay, the files are the same. Let unzip replace the files.

No special sequence to unpack the files is required.

Adding Variables to CONFIG.SYS

XFree86/OS2 requires a number of settings in the CONFIG.SYS file to work correctly. Please add the following settings, and in particular take care to set forward versus backward slashes correctly:

TERM
Set the preferred terminal type for the xterm or editor to be used. Some programs need this setting. I have my type set to
SET TERM=ansi
\XFree86\lib\X11\etc\termcap.x11 contains a suitable termcap which can be used in place of termcap files that come with EMX, EMACS, or other ported software.

TERMCAP
This variable must be set to the location where the termcap file used for the above TERM variable is searched. My setting, for instance, is:
SET TERMCAP=D:/EMX/ETC/TERMCAP.X11
Note that forward ``/'' is used as a directory separator.

ETC
Set to an ETC directory. Normally, this is already set to the ETC directory of the TCP/IP code, such as
SET ETC=C:\TCPIP\ETC

TMP
Set to an TMP directory. Normally, this is already set to the TMP directory of the TCP/IP code, such as
SET TMP=C:\TCPIP\TMP

HOSTNAME
Set to the internet hostname. Normally, this is already set by the TCP/IP installation program, such as
SET HOSTNAME=myhost
With IAK, you would normally run a loopback configuration Network configuration (section 10., page 11) and would then set this to
SET HOSTNAME=localhost

USER
LOGNAME
Set both to a username. Currently, they are there just to make some programs happy; in the future, this variable might be set by a login shell of a multiuser configuration. My variable, for instance, is set to
SET USER=holger
SET LOGNAME=holger

HOME
Set this to an existing directory that is supposed to be a home directory of a user. Some utilities place temporary and init files here. This is also future investment for a multiuser configuration, but must still be there. For instance, this variable might be set to
SET HOME=H:\user\holger

X11ROOT
This is one of the most important settings, it determines the root of the XFree86 directory tree. Normally, you will set this to the drive letter of the partition where the \XFree86 tree resides, such as in
SET X11ROOT=Y:
You may try to move the tree to another subdirectory, e.g. to K:\OS2\X11\XFree86... and would then have to change this to
SET X11ROOT=K:/OS2/X11
, but this is discouraged, since some utilities might not accept this. Note the forward ``/'' as a directory separator here.

DISPLAY
This variable may be set to the display to be used for displaying clients. Normally you will set this variable to the same value as the HOSTNAME variable and simply add a :0.0 after it, such as
SET DISPLAY=myhost:0.0
Read the X11 man page on the exact meaning of these postfixes and other options.

XSERVER
Set this to the executable name of the X server to be used. This must be a complete path. My setting is as follows:
SET XSERVER=D:/XFree86/bin/XF86_Mach64.exe

PATH
Add the binary directory for the X11 utilities to your search PATH. This is normally the directory (adjust the letter)
Y:\XFree86\bin
It is possible to move the binaries to another directory in the search path; for maintenance reasons and clarity of the structure, this is not recommended, though.

LIBPATH
Add the DLL directory for the X11 utilities to the LIBPATH. This is normally the directory (adjust the letter)
Y:\XFree86\lib
It is possible to move the DLLs to another directory in the library path; for maintenance reasons and clarity of the structure, this is not recommended, though. Note that Y:\XFree86\lib has several other subdirectories; these may not be moved elsewhere, rather they must stay there, because most utilities form a path to these directories by using %X11ROOT%\XFree86\lib as a base.

The recent version of XFree86/OS2 has a REXX script named checkinstall.cmd which you can (and should) use to check whether you have entered most things correctly. This is not bullet-proof, but prevents the most obvious setup problems. Also, the X server itself will do some checking and will refuse to start if something is wrong.

Remarks on the Network Configuration

It is beyond the scope of this document to even give an introduction about the correct installation of the TCP/IP networking system. You must do this yourself or seek assistance elsewhere. It is only possible to say here that a PC working well in a TCP/IP based LAN network will also work with XFree86/OS2 (when all other prerequisites are matched as well).

With IAK, there is a special configuration necessary, unless you want to use XFree86/OS2 only during a hot link to your Internet provider, the so called ``localhost'' or ``loopback'' configuration. This is a local network interface which ``loops'' back to the same host. The following settings are necessary for this:

Create a file \tcpip\etc\hosts with the following content: (Warp Connect, Warp 4: \mptn\etc\hosts)
127.0.0.1 localhost

Add the following line to your \tcpip\bin\tcpstart.cmd: (Warp Connect, Warp 4: \mptn\bin\start.cmd)
ifconfig lo 127.0.0.1 up

Set the HOSTNAME environment variable to localhost as described in the last section.

Add the following line to CONFIG.SYS:
SET USE_HOSTS_FIRST=1

After rebooting, verify that the following command works:
[C:\] ping localhost

You don't need this ``loopback'' interface if your PC is connected to a LAN (either directly or through SLIP/PPP).

In case of a SLIP/PPP line, you have to establish this connection BEFORE you start XFree86.

The checkinstall.cmd script coming with XFree86/OS2 gives some advice on the configuration as well.

If you have problems to get this or other basic networking things running, seek assistance elsewhere.

Configuring X for Your Hardware

After you have added the required settings and setup a working network, run the xf86config program to create a standard configuration file in Y:\XFree86\lib\X11\XF86Config from a windowed or full screen OS/2 text session:
[C:\] xf86config
The xf86config program will ask a number of questions. You will need the information obtained from the SuperProbe program here. The program should be self explanatory; if you have problems to understand something though, seek assistance in the newsgroups.

It is possible, but strongly discouraged for the non-expert, to edit the XF86Config file with a text editor. In a few situations as described in the FAQ, however, this might even be mandatory. This file is not a hacker's area, such as the Win95 registry, but it has in common with it that you can easily cause damage.

For details about the XF86Config file format, refer to the XF86Config(4/5) manual page.

If you know the configuration process from Linux or other XFree86 platform, you will encounter a few differences:

The configuration file is named XF86Config in Unix environments.

There is no configuration for the mouse type or device. The mouse device name is fixed to OSMOUSE, and this cannot be changed. If you have a three-button-mouse, install the correct OS/2 driver for it, such as
DEVICE=D:\OS2\BOOT\PCLOGIC.SYS SERIAL=COM1
DEVICE=D:\OS2\BOOT\MOUSE.SYS TYPE=PCLOGIC$
for a MouseSystems compatible mouse, for instance.

The X server does not read the native OS/2 keyboard map, so you need a xmodmap file for a non-us keyboard. Fortunately, it is the same you use for Linux. Alternatively, for standard keyboards, you can also use the XKB extension which is offered during the xf86config dialogue, provided your language is available.

There is no support for the Wacom and Elographics input devices yet. In most cases, an existing XF86Config file for the same XFree86 version from Linux or another platform may be used without changes. There is one prominent exception: some S3 805 based VLB cards put their video memory in odd locations. The X server can search for this memory by experimentally mapping and unmapping possible memory regions. In XFree86/OS2, the OS may run out of memory tiles during this process. If this happens, you must find out the location of the memory yourself and add it as an option
MemBase 0x12345678
to the XF86Config file.

Once you've set up a XF86Config file, you can fine tune the video modes with the xvidtune utility.

Running X

16mb of memory is a recommended minimum for running the network software, X and the presentation manager in parallel. The server, window manager and an xterm take about 4-6 Mb of memory themselves. X will start up on a system with 8MB or less, but the performance will severely suffer from heavy disk swapping. Your mileage may vary, though, so some people might consider this still tolerable.

The easiest way for new users to start X windows is to type:
[C:\] startx
.

To get out of X windows, type: ``exit'' in the console xterm. You can customize your X by creating .xinitrc, .xserverrc, and .twmrc files in the directory that the HOME environment variable points to. These files are described in the xinit and startx man pages.

By default, the systemwide xinitrc file (in Y:/XFree86/lib/X11/xinit/xinitrc.cmd) installs the rather simplistic twm window manager. You can find better window managers on the ported software page.

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