Kernel Mode-Setting Gets Ready, libdrm Updated

With the grunt of the development efforts on the Linux 2.6.28 kernel winding down, soon the merge window for Linux 2.6.29 will open and that's where Intel is prepared to (finally) commit the kernel mode-setting framework and code that supports their hardware to the mainline Linux kernel. With this milestone finally coming, Intel's Jesse Barnes has updated libdrm with the needed files.

Found in the Git master code for libdrm are several new files and modifications to existing files that provide some of the support needed to provide video mode-setting within the Direct Rendering Manager. Additionally, a few basic mode-setting tests were added to the libdrm code-base. This libdrm update is just one piece of the puzzle in obtaining kernel mode-setting support.

Kernel mode-setting support for Intel hardware is now primed and will be committed with the Linux 2.6.29 kernel while the KMS support for ATI hardware will likely appear in a later release. Likewise, the kernel mode-setting support for NVIDIA hardware through the Nouveau driver won't enter the mainline kernel anytime soon.