Re: [XBoard-devel] xboard and Xvfb

[maildest]

Tim and Mark --

  Thanks for the comments.  I still don't understand much but I found a 
configuration that works.  Basically, it works if I use -bm bitmapdir.  Here 
are 
some highlights from my learning process:

1.  I think in the old version on the SUN, -mono automatically used the bitmap 
font.  That was close to the time when the ``new'' pixbuf fonts were introduced 
and there was not such a strong presumption that everyone would want to use the 
new fonts.  Indeed, I used -mono in the SUN version.  I don't remember why, but 
I bet it was because I had the same problem with the depth variables.

2.  When I tried using -mono with the new configuration, xboard gave the message

  xboard: XPM pieces cannot be used in monochrome mode

in either X or Xvfb.

3.  So, I tried to use bitmapped fonts.  However, I misunderstood the man page 
and thought -bm was a switch for bitmapped fonts (and not just an abbreviated 
form of -bitmapDirectory).  I tried xboard -bm, which gave the unhelpful message

    xboard: unrecognized argument -bm

which I misinterpreted as saying that -bm had been dropped from the program (I 
thought ``argument'' referred to ``-bm'' itself, not a missing argument to 
``-bm'').

4.  I went back in Tim's archives to find a version that supported -bm.  The 
older versions would not compile at all on my machines, and the newer versions 
acted the same as the newest.  Finally, I found that xboard -zero worked on 
version 4.0.7.  However, xboard -bm still didn't work for this.  a quick look 
at 
xboard.c revealed that -bm is still there in both 4.0.7 and 4.2.7.

5.  At this point, I realized that -bm expected a directory argument and then I 
got it to work, even without the -mono.  That is what duckbreath is using now 
on 
the ICC in xvfb.  I use a file zipit2r containing

  #! /bin/bash
  Xvfb :5 &
  export DISPLAY=:5
  while sync
  do sleep 30
  xterm -T "duckbreath" -e /home/dybvig/bin/zipit2
  done

a file zipit2 containing

  #! /bin/csh
  setenv ZIPPYPASSWORD (my zippypassword here)
  # setenv ZIPPYACCEPTONLY ducksoup

  cd /home/dybvig/chess
  timestamp 65.245.208.34 5029 -p 5700 &
  xboard -zp  -fcp "./crafty xboard bookpath=. logpath=. tbpath=./TB" -ics 
-autoflag -icshost localhost -icsport 5700 -icslogon /home/dybvig/bin/ziplogin 
-size small -whitePieceColor gray100 -blackPieceColor gray0 -lightSquareColor 
gray80 -darkSquareColor gray60 -highlightSquareColor gray100 
-premoveHighlightColor gray70 -xexit -bm /usr/local/xboard/bitmaps
  exit

and a file ziplogin containing

  duckbreath
  (duckbreath's password here)
  set shout 0
  set sshout 0
  set autoflag 1
  set highlight 0
  set oldmatch 0
  set examine 0
  set wrap 0
  set seek 0
  set formula standard & !computer & (autocolor = 1) & (timeodds = 0) & 
(myrating > 2000) & (!provisional | !rated)
  set time 15
  set inc 0
  set bell 0
  set tolerance 1000
  set addresspublic 0
  -ch 1
  resume
  set 1 This is Yet Another Crafty Clone (not Yet Another Compiler-Compiler).  
(This means this is a chess-playing computer program.)
  set 2 My name is duckbreath because duckbreath is so sweet and because 
ducksoup breathed life into me.
  set 3 I am a plain vanilla Crafty 19.14 with the very large book enormous.pgn 
and 5-piece endgame tables, running on an AMD 64 FX-53 machine.
  set 4 I play only standard games and I do not play other computers.
  +alias gameend multi resume; say thanks for the game; seek r f; seek u f
  +alias accept multi accept @; kib Hello!  I am a computer running the chess 
program ``crafty'' developed by Robert Hyatt.
  +alias stop +alias gameend multi set open 0; say thanks for the game
  +alias start +alias gameend multi resume; say thanks for the game; seek r f; 
seek u f
  set 5 Thanks to Robert Hyatt for writing crafty and to Tim Mann for writing 
xboard and zippy.
  multi seek r f;seek u f;set open 1

I use zipit2 when I want to watch (that is what the ``colors'' are for) or 
zipit2r & to run in the background (r originally meant remote from times when 
all I had was a modem ppp connection that would not reliably stay up).  These 
differ from the SUN version in several ways, for example, exit and -xexit were 
unnecessary in the sun version.

  I still don't know why the pixbuf fonts do not work with Xvfb.  I tried all 
sorts of depths and it only changed the number in the error message.
  
  Anyway, all is working now and thanks for your help.
  
-- Phil