Kernel Configuration Prt XXVII

Kernel Configuration - Part XXVIII

Console drivers are the topic in today’s installment of the kernel configuration

series. It’s all pretty simple, really.

Console drivers are what give you the capability to a) view a console screen in
X and b) adjust your console settings even when not in X. By default, most
distros will build VGA text console support and video mode selection support
directly into the kernel. These defaults work well on most machines.

The console driver section also gives you the capability to add framebuffer
support to your system. This element has made the configuration of a wide array
of video cards much easier over the past few years. Additionally, it’s helped to

pull the maximum performance from those video cards in Linux.

What is a framebuffer device? It’s another Linux abstraction, much like the
/proc filesystem is an abstraction of the kernel. In other words, it stands as
an intermediary between an interface and the low-level hardware. In effect, it’s

a representation of the hardware coded in a manner that makes it much
easier to interface with than the hardware itself. Most modern video cards
support some type of framebuffering and Linux supports this capability through
the generic interface of framebuffer devices.

If you’re using a relatively new video card - something less than, say, 2 years
old - you’ll want to include framebuffering support either as a module or
directly in the kernel. And, as always, when you select this option, you’ll need

to know a bit more about your card. A broad scope of known framebuffering
devices are supported directly once you’ve selected framebuffering in the kernel

configuration.

There are only four more sections left in the kernel configuration series before

we start compiling and building. Tomorrow, we’ll look at sound support.