Ultrix 4.2

[Jim Gettys]

In article <987 at lhdsy1.chevron.com>, yzarn at lhdsy1.chevron.com (Philip Yzarn de Louraille) writes:
> In article <1991Jun19.145218 at wsl.dec.com> klee at wsl.dec.com writes:
> >In article <984 at lhdsy1.chevron.com>, yzarn at lhdsy1.chevron.com (Philip Yzarn de Louraille) writes:
> >|> C'mon! Do you think the DEC server does multi-screen? It really does
> >|> not, it emulates multi-screen!
> >|> You need to run a window manager per screen you are using and you cannot
> >|> move a window from one window to another.
> >
> >The X Window System specifications do not permit windows to be moved
> >across screens.  The DEC servers do not add additional restrictions.
> 
> I stand corrected. But who wrote such simplistic requirements for the X
> Server????? 

All of us did; as to who the guilty are, see the X protocol acknowledgements.

The general problem is VERY hard.  Think about the case of a one bit monochrome
display, and a 32 bit double buffered 3D display with geometry pipe hardware.  
After taking 4 tylenol, come back and ask again if you think you need to.

Requiring this in the core protocol seems like asking for the almost impossible 
(unless you posit that you don't support both screen types, which we couldn't).

This is not to say one can't implement a server that would make several homogenous
frame buffers look by one screen, or add an extension to allow windows to be moved
between screens under appropriate circumstances.  But we haven't gotten around
to doing so (at least yet).
				- Jim