SetupConsoleUnderUsplash
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Launchpad entry: https://features.launchpad.net/distros/ubuntu/+spec/setup-console-under-usplash
Packages affected: console-setup usplash gdm kdm
Summary
Modify packages so that the system console can be setup while usplash is running.
Rationale
We currently need to flip back to a text VT before starting the X display manager, in order to ensure the console keymap, font and unicodeness are set correctly for each of the VTs. This gives an ugly flicker in the boot, and prevents us from delaying the VT switch to the display manager until later.
Design
The console-setup script can now iterate an explicit list of VTs, we can exclude the X and usplash VTs from this list, thereby avoiding corrupting them. It appears that the new setupcon and setupfont tools are able to initialise a VT without it being active.
Implementation
The changes required are:
Remove the check for running usplash from console-setup now that we iterate a VT list.
Remove the call to the usplash stop script from gdm, kdm, etc. as it will now automatically terminate when X switches the VT away.
Remove the call to console-setup from the usplash stop script, now that it will have been performed already.
Unresolved issues
Is it possible to avoid the explicit VT list by checking the KDGETMODE ioctl for KD_TEXT in setupcon and setupfont, and then just iterating all active VTs.