Is version 3.1.1 already released?

No, not yet. Please check out the CVS version if you need something updated from the most recent version.

Do you have a release plan for version 3.2?

Not yet. Probably version 3.2 will be released in 2005.

What are the system requirements for running XaoS?

'XaoS uses floating point math for its calculations. This may be slow on some computers. The program was developed on a Pentium I running at 120 MHz, but it can work quite well on a 486 DX/2. Nice letters have been received from users using XaoS on 386/40 or similar. A co-processor is really required. A faster computer is better so an Alpha/600MHZ is recommended. RS/6000's have also been found to be fast enough.'

With these words suggested Jan to choose a hardware for XaoS a few years ago. Nowadays 'any' computer must be OK. :-)

To compile XaoS you will need an ANSI compliant compiler with good optimizations. The UN*X version uses a configure script. Other platforms use different compilation methods. GNU CC is highly recommended since that is what it was developed under. Graphics drivers usually have some additional requirements. (For example X libraries for X11, djgpp and Allegro for DOS port etc.) Also, fast malloc/free routines are recommended because they are called quite often (10 times per frame)!

What operating systems are currently supported by XaoS?

There are many: if you have a Unix-like system, probably it will work without problems. For a full list please read the documentation.

Currently we have two different binary packages: one for Microsoft Windows and one for Microsoft DOS. You have to compile a Unix version by yourself if you want to use XaoS. But it is not so important, because most distributors (mainly for Linux systems) make automatically packages for their own systems. Please have a look at our support database to check if the vendor of your operating system supports XaoS directly with binary packages or not.

In short, here is a comprehensive list of the supported platforms:

• Unix/Linux. X11 - 8 bpp pseudocolor; 8, 15, 16, 24, 31 TrueColor; StaticGray and StaticColor only. Curses (text mode, using AA-lib). Linux/SVGAlib.

• Microsoft Windows. Reported to work on all system, however internationalization may not work automatically. DirectX mode is also supported (both in windowed and fullscreen modes), but not required.

• MS-DOS. DJGPP Allegro - supports VESA 2.0/1.0, VGA (320x200 and X modes), S3, Cirrus, ET4000 and 1 Mb trident cards. Resolutions: 256x256 - 1200x1600 (see doc/README.dos).

• Plan 9. 8 bpp displays only (see doc/README.plan9).

• OS/2. 320x200 mode 13 and text mode (see doc/README.OS2).

• BeOS.

• Macintosh. Including earlier Macs and Max OS X, too. Displays with 8 bpp support only. Compiled for both PowerPC and 68K based machines (see doc/README.mac).

• Amiga.

Are there any bugs/limitations in the most recent version of XaoS?

1. MS-DOS port does not start and says 'get csdpmi*.zip'. Solution: You need a DPMI server. Please download it (search the Google to find one).

2. MS-DOS port crashes on some videocards (mainly 512K Tridents) because the Allegro driver is incomplete. Solution: Please use a video BIOS extension (for example unvbe).

3. X11/MITSHM has problems on FreeBSD. Please try -nomitshm in case you encounter any problems.

4. Solid guessing method occasionally introduces bugs into the calculations. Please press 'r' to correct this.

Why such a minimal web interface? The earlier version was much better!

Well... probably yes. But texts can be read much easier than before! And there are more recent information on this page, aren't there? ;-)

How to compile XaoS under Mac OS X?

This answer was contributed by Andreas Madritsch:

'Recently I successfully compiled XaoS on Mac OS X with internationalization and PNG support.

Therefore I first had to install zlib, libpng, libiconv and gettext.

The packages zlib and libpng can be downloaded from here. The packages libiconv and gettext can be downloaded from here.

To install zlib, libiconv and gettext I only had to configure, make and install the packages. To install libpng I had to copy makefile.macosx from the subdirectory scripts to the root directory of the project before making and installing the package.'

Copyright (C) 1996-2004 Jan Hubicka, Thomas Marsh, Zoltan Kovacs and others (xaos-discuss at lists.sf.net) http://xaos.sf.net. XaoS is a part of the GNU Project and hosted by SourceForge.

Last modified: 2004-12-03 06:06