Re: bin/53049: wsmoused not working: ioctl(WSDISPLAYIO_PUTWSCHAR) fail

[Michael van Elst <mlelstv%serpens.de@localhost>]

The following reply was made to PR bin/53049; it has been noted by GNATS.

From: Michael van Elst <mlelstv%serpens.de@localhost>
To: bernward.pub%arcor.de@localhost
Cc: gnats-bugs%NetBSD.org@localhost
Subject: Re: bin/53049: wsmoused not working: ioctl(WSDISPLAYIO_PUTWSCHAR)
 fail
Date: Sun, 25 Feb 2018 10:44:48 +0100

 On Sun, Feb 25, 2018 at 09:19:04AM +0000, bernward.pub%arcor.de@localhost wrote:
 > Hello Michael,
 > 
 > thank you, that helped me a lot, now I have a useable mouse in X.
 
 > But I found the module "ws", which is able to handle the mouse
 > directly from the input /dev/wsmouse, without an intermediate layer
 > from wsmoused.
 
 wsmoused is mostly unrelated to X. It provides mouse-like functionality
 for the text console and is definitely no intermediate layer for X.
 
 
 > 	/etc/rc.d/wsmoused start
 > 
 > the window, in which I run tail -f /var/log/messages, is filled with 
 > hundreds of lines:
 > 
 > 	Feb 24 16:03:35 Brix wsmoused: ioctl(WSDISPLAYIO_PUTWSCHAR) failed
 > 	Feb 24 16:03:35 Brix wsmoused: Invalid argument
 > 	...
 
 I checked the wsconsole code. wsmoused uses functions (like
 WSDISPLAYIO_PUTWSCHAR and more important WSDISPLAYIO_GETWSCHAR)
 that only work on a real text console, e.g. a VGA display in
 text mode. It is defintely broken for graphical consoles that
 use a framebuffer, which is currently everything you get with
 netbsd-8 and a DRM supported graphics card.
 
 
 
 > Although the scope of this PR is now reduced to the text console, I think 
 > that the classification should remain unchainged, because the intended 
 > function of wsmoused is not working at all, quite opposite, it disturbs 
 > other parts of the system.
 
 wsmoused is supposed to co-exist with the X server by releasing mouse
 control when you switch to the X display and regaining mouse control
 when you switch back to a text console. There is a configuration file
 /etc/wsmoused.conf that can be used to tell it which display is used
 by X. It is supposed to handle only one X display and I don't know if
 that actually works.