Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!think!bloom-beacon!ZERMATT.LCS.MIT.EDU!RWS From: RWS@ZERMATT.LCS.MIT.EDU (Robert Scheifler) Newsgroups: comp.windows.x Subject: what is backing store? Message-ID: <19880706125708.8.RWS@KILLINGTON.LCS.MIT.EDU> Date: 6 Jul 88 12:57:00 GMT References: <149@henry.ece.utexas.edu> Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 14 Backing store simply means having the server preserve the contents of a window, even when all or part of the window is obscured by other windows (and potentially even when the window is unmapped). There are various ways of implementing this, but basically it means the server will copy (all or parts of) the window's contents off-screen before the window becomes obscured, and will continue to perform graphics output to the off-screen contents. As regions of the window become unobscured, the server copies the saved contents back onto the screen. The advantage of backing store is that the client doesn't have to repaint regions of the window when they become unobscured. This is a win if the contents of the window are relatively complex and expensive to recompute/redraw. As to when it is appropriate to use it, I'm a mechanist, not a policist, but one answer is "let the user decide", by providing settable widget/program resources or command line options.