NFB advantages

The NFB interface with the X Link Kit approach has a number of advantages:

• One server binary can control multiple displays from multiple vendors.

• The drop-in driver mechanism allows a hardware vendor to deliver a simple driver that is installed on the system without affecting the software for other graphics adapters that are already installed on that system.

• The server software is maintained as part of the operating system rather than as part of each driver. This includes updates for new capabilities, modifications for operating system changes, and bug fixes. In most cases, the NFB driver will work without modification on a new version of the X server.

• It simplifies the graphics driver development process. The X Link Kit tools create a basic graphics driver binary. Customizing a few specific routines to match the capabilities of the hardware produces a working driver. Customizing a few other routines optimizes the driver to take full advantage of performance enhancements that have been designed into the hardware.