There are a number of important user-visible changes between
XFree86 2.1.1 and XFree86 3.1. The first is the default install location.
The XFree86 distribution is now installed by default under /usr/X11R6
instead of /usr/X386.
This moves away from the now out-dated "X386" name,
and it also makes it possible for both versions to co-exist.
The next major change is related to the server configuration file.
The old Xconfig file has been replaced in XFree86 3.1 by an
XF86Config file.
This is more than just a name change.
The new XF86Config file uses a format that is quite different
from the old Xconfig file.
The new format is more structured, logical, and extensible than the
old format.
We realise that the transition to this new format won't be without
problems.
To help in
this transition we have provided a program (`reconfig') to convert the old
Xconfig format into the new XF86Config format.
This doesn't provide a
perfect conversion mostly because the new format contains more information
than the old format. Some manual editing will always be required. One of
the new types of information the XF86Config contains is a description of
the monitor(s) you are using. This addition allows the servers to check
that the video modes are within the specifications of the monitor.
For information about the new config file format and how to use it, refer
to the XF86Config(4/5) and reconfig(1) manual
pages, and the README.Config file which can be found in
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/doc.
Another change related to the config file is the locations the servers look for it in. In previous releases the servers would look in places which could be specified by the user. This raised a number of security concerns. To address these, the server now only looks in places which are normally under the control of the system administrator. For further details, refer to the XFree86(1) manual page.
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