README
1
2 xdesktopwaves 1.4
3
4 Simulation of water waves on the X Windows desktop
5
6 Copyright (C) 2004,2019 Oliver Hamann
7
8
9 For license please refer to the file COPYING
10
11
12xdesktopwaves is a cellular automata setting the background of your X Windows
13desktop under water. Windows and mouse are like ships on the sea. Each movement
14of these ends up in moving water waves. You can even have rain and/or storm
15stirring up the water.
16
17If you want to read more about xdesktopwaves before installing it, type:
18
19 man -l xdesktopwaves.1
20
21or go to the homepage:
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23 http://xdesktopwaves.sourceforge.net/
24
25
26INSTALLATION
27============
28
29In seldom cases you may have to edit the Makefile. An example would be to
30compile with another compiler than gcc, or to change the include, library
31and install directories. Or maybe you want to add a compiler flag like
32-mcpu=athlon-xp or -mcpu=pentium4.
33
34For compiling xdesktopwaves simply type:
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36 make
37
38If you get errors from the assembler, try the following command. It disables
39SSE2 assembly:
40
41 make XDW_MAX_OPTIMIZATION=1
42
43If you get errors from the assembler again, you will probably even have to
44disable MMX:
45
46 make XDW_MAX_OPTIMIZATION=0
47
48Hint: There is no need to disable optimization for lack of support by the CPU.
49That is checked by the program at run-time.
50
51After compilation was successful, be root and install xdesktopwaves with:
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53 make install
54
55Now read the manual:
56
57 man xdesktopwaves
58
59You don't like to read the manual? Okay, try some of these commands:
60
61 xdesktopwaves
62 xdesktopwaves -colortheme 9 -verbose
63 xdesktopwaves -quality 3 -colortheme 1 -root -stippled
64 xdesktopwaves -quality 6 -colortheme 5 -window -opaque -rain 7
65 xdesktopwaves -quality 4 -colortheme 3 -storm 8
66
67If you want to create menu entries in your desktop environment, window manager
68or wherever: For starting, create an entry containing a command like the
69examples above. For stopping, create an entry containing this command:
70
71 xdesktopwaves -end
72
73
74CHANGES
75=======
76
77Version 1.4
78 * Added backdrop failure checking, and because this is not always reliable,
79 also added an (emergency) exit button.
80 * Adapted to new KDE versions.
81 * Added support for Hygon Dhyana processor.
82 * Fixed some minor portability flaws.
83
84Version 1.3
85 * Added dealing with non-rectangular shape of client windows.
86 * Added a criterion for the idle mode: obscurity of output window.
87 * Added xdwapi.
88
89Version 1.2
90 * Added an option for improving the trails of mouse and windows:
91 -eventsperframe <count>. Because this even has influence on CPU load, it
92 got member of the set of options adjusted through the -quality option.
93 * Added options for configuring lighting: -skyintensity <1-10>,
94 -lightintensity <1-10>, -lightaltitude <deg>, -lightazimuth <deg>.
95 In order to solve that, the formulas for calculating the reflections have
96 been redesigned. It is theoretically a little bit more realistic now, but
97 it makes no appreciable difference in the look.
98 * The option -highlightcolor has been renamed to -lightcolor.
99 * Added an option for another method of transparency (still highly
100 experimental): -wmopacity <0-100>.
101
102Version 1.1
103 * The intensity of rain and storm is configurable now. New options:
104 -rain <0-10> and -storm <0-10> (the old yes-or-no variants are deprecated).
105 * The viscosity of the fluid is no longer a constant (without any speed
106 loss). New option: -viscosity <1-5>
107 * The rain feature no longer prevents from the idle mode: just obscure by
108 other windows, but don't give -nww.
109 * Bugfix: On 64-bit x86, xdesktopwaves now even compiles with gcc 3.4.
110 * Bugfix: Fixed arithmetic exception on systems with a small RAND_MAX.
111 * Bugfix: If -stippled, clear window at initialization.
112 * Optimization/Bugfix: The color palette is reduced to have only different
113 colors. This can spare about 10% of the rectangles sent to the server,
114 if the display depth is 16-bit.
115 * Optimization: Treatment of minimum range of out-of-date canvas rows. This
116 spares up to 50% client CPU cycles when there are just very few waves
117 (shortly before entering idle mode).
118
119
120BUGS & FANTASIES
121================
122
123 - If running with -wmbackdrop, mouse clicks mostly are not forwarded to the
124 desktop (possibly just at every second scan-line in shaped mode). I'm afraid
125 that the only solution would be to extend the standard of "Extended Window
126 Manager Hints", so that an application can tell the window manager not to
127 interpret any input on the window.
128
129 - There is some flicker when client windows are moved. Depending on the X
130 Server, it can be conspicuous with shaped windows. This could be reduced by
131 disabling the "clear-on-exposure" behavior and by immediate repainting on
132 exposure events (if double-buffered).
133
134 - Screen saver mode is still missing.
135
136 - In high quality mode, and if client and server are on the same machine, it
137 could make sense to paint with XShmPutImage instead of XFillRectangles.
138
139 - Add special support for enlightenment 0.17.
140
141 - The API should have functions for modifying all the other settings.
142
143 - A graphical user interface for modifying the settings is more and more
144 desirable.
145
146 - Maybe it is possible to add options for the behavior at the edges of the
147 windows: positive reflection of waves; weaker reflection of waves; deletion
148 of waves; let the waves come back from the opposite edges of the output
149 window.
150
151 - The cellular automata could possibly be improved by making the cells
152 hexagonal.
153
154 - There could be an option for setting a background pixmap (stipple mode only).
155
156 - Another idea is to have an option for setting a bitmap which defines a
157 land/water mask. Would be nice in combination with an appropriate background
158 pixmap.
159
160 - Finally xdesktopwaves may be developed towards a real-time ray tracer:
161 Reflect an environment pixmap (trees, clouds...). Illuminate a sea bottom
162 pixmap by refraction of sunbeams. Refract rays from eye to sea bottom. Do the
163 same with animated animal pixmaps in one or more layers. Unfortunately these
164 things probably would not look good with the interlaced shaping of the output
165 window. But maybe there could be a shore area, in which the desktop icons are
166 still visible.
167