Thanks for this contribution. I am not, however, sure, how much was
ticket #520 meant to be implemented via calls to real-mode BIOS.

VESA BIOS is not declarative and it is not based on any VM code. It is (unfortunately) based on running native (real mode) x86 BIOS routines. Running or emulating the code safely in a sandbox environment is the only way* how to make use of the VESA BIOS within an operating system (see [1], [2]).

[1] https://www.kernel.org/doc/Documentation/fb/uvesafb.txt
[2] http://cgit.freedesktop.org/xorg/driver/xf86-video-vesa/

*) There is the Protected Mode VESA interface that was originally designed to make this more straightforward, but it is just a pain in the ass in many respects.

Can there be actually a native driver?

You can have native drivers for any specific SVGA graphics card, given you have the specs for at least the modesetting. But if you want a generic support for any SVGA graphics card with a VESA BIOS extension, the VESA BIOS code is the only common interface you have.


M.D.

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