nonblinking VGA block cursor

Hi,

Attached is a patch to enforce a non-blinking, FreeBSD-syscons like block cursor in console mode.

This is useful for laptop types, or people like me who really really detest a blinking cursor.

NOTE: It disables the softcursor escape codes
(/usr/src/linux/Documentation/VGA-softcursor.txt), since I don't ever want anything to change my cursor shape/style :)

It applies cleanly against 2.4.5, to use, select:

'VGA block cursor (non-blinking) support' in the 'Console drivers' section of menuconfig.

Have fun,

Leon.

lj breedt
coder

diff -uNr linux-2.4.5/arch/i386/config.in linux-2.4.5.nonblink/arch/i386/config.in
@@ -356,6 +356,9 @@
    mainmenu_option next_comment
    comment 'Console drivers'
    bool 'VGA text console' CONFIG_VGA_CONSOLE
+   if [ "$CONFIG_VGA_CONSOLE" = "y" ]; then
+      bool 'VGA block cursor (non-blinking) support' CONFIG_NON_BLINK_CURSOR
+   fi
    bool 'Video mode selection support' CONFIG_VIDEO_SELECT
    if [ "$CONFIG_EXPERIMENTAL" = "y" ]; then
       tristate 'MDA text console (dual-headed) (EXPERIMENTAL)' CONFIG_MDA_CONSOLE

diff -uNr linux-2.4.5/drivers/char/console.c linux-2.4.5.nonblink/drivers/char/console.c
@@ -124,6 +124,11 @@
 #define DEFAULT_BELL_PITCH	750
 #define DEFAULT_BELL_DURATION	(HZ/8)
 
+/* 
+ * cursor_type value for non-blinking white block cursor
+ */
+#define CUR_NONBLINK 16748305
+
 extern void vcs_make_devfs (unsigned int index, int unregister);
 
 #ifndef MIN

@@ -1403,7 +1408,12 @@
 	kbd_table[currcons].ledflagstate = kbd_table[currcons].default_ledflagstate;
 	set_leds();
 
+#ifdef CONFIG_NON_BLINK_CURSOR
+	cursor_type = CUR_NONBLINK;
+#else
 	cursor_type = CUR_DEFAULT;
+#endif
+
 	complement_mask = s_complement_mask;
 
 	default_attr(currcons);

@@ -1595,6 +1605,7 @@
 			set_mode(currcons,0);
 			return;
 		case 'c':
+#ifndef CONFIG_NON_BLINK_CURSOR
 			if (ques) {
 				if (par[0])
 					cursor_type = par[0] | (par[1]<<8) | (par[2]<<16);

@@ -1602,6 +1613,7 @@
 					cursor_type = CUR_DEFAULT;
 				return;
 			}
+#endif
 			break;
 		case 'm':
 			if (ques) {

@@ -2445,6 +2457,9 @@
 	save_screen(currcons);
 	gotoxy(currcons,x,y);
 	csi_J(currcons, 0);
+#ifdef CONFIG_NON_BLINK_CURSOR
+	cursor_type = CUR_NONBLINK;
+#endif
 	update_screen(fg_console);
 	printk("Console: %s %s %dx%d",
 		can_do_color ? "colour" : "mono",

I've seen this 666 times too often.

Non-blinking cursors are just wrong. You need to patch your brain. You really fucked up, because now apps can't restore your cursor to proper behavior as defined by IBM.

The blinking cursor is implemented in your video hardware. IBM knew what was right for you. Millions of people know that the blinking cursor is good. It is so right that a proper GUI will implement the blinking cursor even without hardware support.

Of course FreeBSD has a block cursor. It was easy to program, and it seems nice to the pot-smoking hippies out in Berkeley. FreeBSD doesn't define standards. FreeBSD breaks standards. (zombie creation, "ps -ef", partition tables, pty allocation...) Gee, kind of like Microsoft, except Microsoft got the cursor right!

Ever wonder why IBM supports Linux instead of FreeBSD? Hmmm?

Just one question Albert: why doesn't my mouse cursor blink? ;-)

--
Daniel

1. confusion with the text cursor, which should blink
2. need for continuous pixel-to-pixel accuracy with the mouse
3. you can wiggle your mouse as needed to find the mouse cursor

Apps do funny things when you try to wiggle the text cursor with the arrow keys, and movement tends to be harshly constrained. So the blinking is important.

4. It would be bloody annoying.

Some people find the blinking text cursor equally annoying, you appear to be trying to dictate what their options should be.

Ask the original poster if he's willing to take the risk of going with an xor cursor. We are talking text mode, right? No way to get rid of that blinking text cursor, ever. Tell me, do you like having the colon blink on your alarm clock too? Personally, I opened the thing up and put a piece of tape over it.

As I recall, one of the popular projects when the IBM PC first came out was trying to get the cursor to stop blinking. No luck, IBM had hardwired in a special trace to make sure you couldn't. You could or two blink patterns together, but never get it to stop. Since we are now in a position to dictate, why don't we continue that grand tradition.

IBM had lots of ideas about how computers should work. Remember the keyboard keys that when CLACK CLACK CLACK. Thank god they turned out to be too expensive to clone - nobody misses them now.

When people ask for such options it's not because they want to make *your* cursor stop blinking, it's because they want *theirs* to stop.

--
Daniel

Aha! A software weenie! A real hardware hacker would have snipped and soldered it to VCC to get a constant (or add a switch for solid/blink =).

In any case, this strikes me as a matter of policy. I don't care one way or the other, but if people want a solid cursor, it's not something that we can really deny them that (unless it's a binary-only driver for the cursor, of course).

Anyway, this is a silly discusson in general, i figured i would throw in my $0.02 (strong US cents!)

*CLACK CLACK CLACK*
(posted with a Model M)
--
/jbm, but you can call me Josh. Really, you can.
"When lasers are outlawed, only outlaws will have lasers"
-- from http://www.altair.org/CO2laser.htm

It's a slow news day ;-)
--
Daniel

I actually like that kind of keyboards, they're extremely reliable and are great to use.

Anyway, my point is that keyboards are a matter of taste, just like blinking or non-blinking cursors are.

Erik

J.A.K. (Erik) Mouw, Information and Communication Theory Group, Department
of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Information Technology and Systems,
Delft University of Technology, PO BOX 5031,  2600 GA Delft, The Netherlands
Phone: +31-15-2783635  Fax: +31-15-2781843  Email: [email protected]
WWW: http://www-ict.its.tudelft.nl/~erik/

I bet it has more to do with growth curves than cursor style :)

-Mike

don't kid yourself. cursor style is the #1 reason for OS adoption in the US.

John Lenton ([email protected]) -- Random fortune:
24 horas num dia, 24 cervejas numa caixa. Coincidência?

I don't want them to, because I prefer non-blinking. It feels more solid, kind of like driving a tank instead of a little dune buggy ;)

Uh, said hardware lets you disable the blinking. Maybe in a slightly non-standard way, who cares?

It's all about choice, man. I want the choice to have certain behaviour if I wish.

lj breedt
coder

Hi!

You want softcursor to be used after console reset. Ok. I want non-standard pallete after console reset. Should I also add an option?

What could make sense would be "Escape sequence to do after console reset". You could type there softcursor sequence to make it solid, and I could type there sequence to change my pallete. Seems less ugly than special config option for each such feature.
Pavel

I'm [email protected]. "In my country we have almost anarchy and I don't care."
Panos Katsaloulis describing me w.r.t. patents at [email protected]