Xinerama(3X11)

     NAME
          Xinerama - Xinerama X extension

     SYNOPSIS
          Xinerama is an X server extension that presents multiple
          physical screens managed by an Xserver as a single logical
          screen to X client applications. Refer to the Xsgi(1) and
          chkconfig(1M) man pages for information about enabling
          Xinerama.

     DESCRIPTION
          The Xinerama X extension was introduced in X Version 11,
          Release 6.4 (X11R6.4). The Xinerama extension allows a
          multipipe system (a system with multiple graphics pipes) to
          operate as a single-pipe system with a larger screen area.
          It allows existing X client applications to operate on
          multiple physical screens without modification. The windows
          can span multiple screens and move from one screen to
          another. The extension requires that the graphics
          capabilities for each screen have common visuals, depths,
          and resolution.

          The extension is implemented in the device-independent level
          of the X server. It substitutes the X server dispatch
          routines with its own routines, which multicast the client
          requests to the underlying physical screens by calling the
          original dispatch routines for each screen.

          Client applications can be modified to use the Xinerama API,
          allowing them to get information about the underlying
          physical screens. Values that can be queried include the
          number of physical screens and their dimensions.

          While modifications are not required, they are suggested if
          the application centers windows (such as dialog boxes) which
          could cause the window to be split between screens in some
          cases.

     DIAGNOSTICS
          Xinerama will not be enabled in the following conditions:

          Single_screen_X_Server
               On systems having only one graphics pipe or in the case
               where the X server is directed to handle only one pipe
               (see the Xsgi(1) man page), enabling Xinerama has no
               effect. In these cases, Xinerama will be disabled.

          Heterogeneous_Root_Visuals
               Only homogeneous root visuals are supported by
               Xinerama. If the root visuals don't match, Xinerama
               will be disabled and will provide information in the
               syslog file (refer to syslogd(1M) man page):
          Xsgi0[586]: Xinerama initialization failure: heterogeneous \
              root visuals
          Xsgi0[586]: To enable root visual 0x24 of board 0, force \
              following (board, visual id):
          Xsgi0[586]:    (brd 1, vid 0x24)

               This means that the following arguments should be given
               to Xsgi (refer to the xdm(1) and Xsgi(1) man pages):

          -hw board=0,right=1 -hw board=1,left=0,visid=0x24

               Note: if the -hw option was already used to start the
               server, then the board index i refers to the (i+1)'th
               occurence of the -hw option.

               For example, if you started the X server with the
               following arguments:

           ... -hw board=1,right=1,visid=0x24 -hw board=0,left=0 ...

               the previous output would refer to board 0 (-hw option
               of index 1). The fix would be:

          -hw board=1,right=1,visid=0x24 -hw board=0,left=0,visid=0x24

     NOTES
          Xinerama is not yet an Xorg standard. The interface and
          protocol may still evolve.

          For binary backward compatibility, the following deprecated
          functions are supported by the library at run-time:
          XineramaAllocInfo, XineramaGetState, XineramaGetScreenCount,
          XineramaGetScreenSize. The deprecated XPanoramiX interface
          is also still supported at run-time for backward
          compatibility.

     BUGS
          The Xinerama version in IRIX 6.5.12 or later uses a protocol
          that is incompatible with versions of Xinerama released in
          IRIX 6.5.11 and earlier. If an application links with X
          client libraries (dynamically at run time or statically at
          compile time) that came with IRIX 6.5.11 and earlier and
          then attempts to make Xinerama calls to an X server from
          IRIX 6.5.12 or later, the results will be unpredictable.
          Similarly, linking with X client libraries from IRIX 6.5.12
          or later and connecting to an X server from IRIX 6.5.11 or
          earlier will also yield unpredictable results.

          Only applications that call XineramaQueryVersion will be
          able to reliably detect and report server and client cross-
          version incompatibilities.

          The workaround for this protocol incompatibility is to use a
          client library and server that both support the same
          Xinerama version -- that is, use a client library and X
          server from the same IRIX version).

          Applications that use X extensions may not run correctly
          under Xinerama unless the extension(s) used are supported
          under Xinerama. The following is a list of X extensions that
          have been modified to work with Xinerama:

            DOUBLE-BUFFER
            MIT-SHM
            Multi-Buffering
            SHAPE
            XTEST
            READDISPLAY
            SGICAP

          Applications that use X extensions other than these could
          experience abnormal behavior with Xinerama enabled.

     SEE ALSO
          Xsgi(1), chkconfig(1), xdm(1).

          API proposed by Xorg (may still evolve):
          XineramaQueryExtension(3X11), XineramaQueryVersion(3X11),
          XineramaActive(3X11), XineramaGetData(3X11),
          XineramaGetCenterHint(3X11).