| Re: Q: Debugging: Unable to create pixmaps [message #9603 is a reply to message #9600] |
Thu, 24 July 1997 00:00  |
davidf
Messages: 2866
Registered: September 1996
|
Senior Member |
|
|
Wendy Gale writes:
> Could someone tell me what types of problems (ie, memory limitations, or
> out-of-range screen variables) cause the IDL error message:
> Unable to create pixmaps
Pixmaps are created, essentially, in the video RAM of the display
device. When a requested pixmap exceeds the video RAM capacity,
some operating systems are smart enough to cache the pixmap
in virtual memory. Most workstations, for example, have no
difficulty making as many pixmaps as you like, as large as
you like.
But other platforms do not have as sophisticated a memory
management capability. For example, if you are not careful
about cleaning up old pixmaps, etc, then PCs can often
give you a message like this. (I see it all the time in
IDL programming classes when I teach pixmaps. The students
forget to delete the pixmap when they exit their widget
program. They eventually run out of "pixmap memory".)
X-Terminals are the worst. In many cases, pixmaps can be
made no larger than the size of the display. There is not
much that can be done in this case, except to purchase more
RAM for the X-term, making it about as expensive as the
workstation you should have bought in the first place. :-)
Cheers,
David
------------------------------------------------------------
David Fanning, Ph.D.
Fanning Software Consulting
Customizable IDL Programming Courses
Phone: 970-221-0438 E-Mail: davidf@dfanning.com
Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.dfanning.com
IDL 5 Reports: http://www.dfanning.com/documents/anomaly5.html
|
|
|
|
comp.lang.idl-pvwave archive
Members
Search
Help
Login
Home
