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authorsalmonik <salmonik@tuta.io>2026-07-31 17:55:52 +0200
committersalmonik <salmonik@tuta.io>2026-07-31 17:55:52 +0200
commit74bc1ce1f0d3783578e89030955319c403db6e72 (patch)
tree96ff3988879fad175a51ab035755649fb3c93832 /CONTEXT.md
parentvt: don't strand stale inverse cursor cells on scroll/clear (diff)
downloadrs-dos-74bc1ce1f0d3783578e89030955319c403db6e72.tar.gz
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gop: RAM backbuffer — scrolling never reads the framebuffer
Real-hardware GOP framebuffers are typically uncacheable or write-combining (firmware MTRR/PAT), so the scroll shift's full-screen memcpy *read* ~4-8 MB through uncached memory — a bus round-trip per cache line. That made scroll printing crawl on real hardware while plain printing (a few glyph writes) stayed instant. - gop keeps a RAM shadow copy of the whole framebuffer (same pitch layout), allocated at init. - Every raster write (glyph blits, clear) goes to both the display and the shadow. - shift_up becomes: cached shadow memcpy up one row + clear exposed bottom row in the shadow + one write-only push shadow→display via copy_nonoverlapping (64-byte bursts that coalesce on WC memory) — the display is never read. - Fallback to the old direct shift if the shadow allocation is null. Verified in QEMU: mmap output scrolls ~100 lines with coherent rows and a clean bottom row, clear wipes the screen, cursor tracks the prompt, editor paths untouched. Release + dev builds pass.
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@@ -162,11 +162,15 @@ Single Rust crate (`x86_64-unknown-uefi` target). Module breakdown:
162 162
163## Known issues / perf notes 163## Known issues / perf notes
164 164
165- **Scroll is slow under QEMU without KVM**: each scroll shifts the whole 165- **Scroll cost** — scrolling still shifts the whole framebuffer (a
166 framebuffer up (~3 MB copy at 1280×800) with TCG-emulated stores. 166 ~3-8 MB pixel copy per row), but a RAM backbuffer (`gop::SHADOW`)
167 Deferred optimisation: ring-buffer rows / deferred pan so scrolling 167 makes it fast on real hardware: every raster write goes to the shadow
168 never touches the whole framebuffer. The vt's cell grid already avoids 168 too, and scrolling is a cached shadow memcpy + one write-only push to
169 re-rasterising on scroll (only the exposed bottom row is blitted). 169 the display. The display is never *read* — that was the killer, since
170 real-hardware GOP framebuffers are uncacheable/write-combining and
171 uncached reads cost a bus round-trip per cache line. Still on the
172 someday list: a pan-based ring so scrolling never touches the whole
173 framebuffer at all.
170- **Editor redraw** re-blits changed cells per keystroke (fine at 1280×800); 174- **Editor redraw** re-blits changed cells per keystroke (fine at 1280×800);
171 the "optimize drawing someday" item. 175 the "optimize drawing someday" item.
172- **ramfs only**: edited files live in memory, lost on reboot until disk 176- **ramfs only**: edited files live in memory, lost on reboot until disk