<s>
The	O
Linux	B-Language
framebuffer	I-Language
(	O
fbdev	B-Language
)	O
is	O
a	O
linux	B-Operating_System
subsystem	O
used	O
to	O
show	O
graphics	O
on	O
a	O
computer	B-Device
monitor	I-Device
,	O
typically	O
on	O
the	O
system	B-Device
console	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
designed	O
as	O
a	O
hardware-independent	O
API	B-General_Concept
to	O
give	O
user	B-Operating_System
space	I-Operating_System
software	O
access	O
to	O
the	O
framebuffer	B-Algorithm
(	O
the	O
part	O
of	O
a	O
computer	O
's	O
video	O
memory	O
containing	O
a	O
current	O
video	O
frame	O
)	O
using	O
only	O
the	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
kernel	I-Operating_System
's	O
own	O
basic	O
facilities	O
and	O
its	O
device	B-Application
file	I-Application
system	O
interface	O
,	O
avoiding	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
libraries	O
like	O
SVGAlib	B-Application
which	O
effectively	O
implemented	O
video	O
drivers	B-Application
in	O
user	B-Operating_System
space	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
most	O
applications	O
,	O
fbdev	B-Language
has	O
been	O
superseded	O
by	O
the	O
linux	B-Operating_System
Direct	B-Application
Rendering	I-Application
Manager	I-Application
subsystem	O
,	O
but	O
as	O
of	O
2022	O
,	O
several	O
drivers	B-Application
provide	O
both	O
DRM	O
and	O
fbdev	B-Language
APIs	B-General_Concept
for	O
backwards	O
compatibility	O
with	O
software	O
that	O
has	O
not	O
been	O
updated	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
DRM	O
system	O
,	O
and	O
there	O
are	O
still	O
fbdev	B-Language
drivers	B-Application
for	O
older	O
(	O
mostly	O
embedded	O
)	O
hardware	O
that	O
does	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
DRM	O
driver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
three	O
applications	O
of	O
the	O
Linux	B-Language
framebuffer	I-Language
:	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
implementation	O
of	O
text	O
Linux	B-Application
console	I-Application
that	O
does	O
n't	O
use	O
hardware	B-Application
text	I-Application
mode	I-Application
(	O
useful	O
when	O
that	O
mode	O
is	O
unavailable	O
,	O
or	O
to	O
overcome	O
its	O
restrictions	O
on	O
glyph	O
size	O
,	O
number	O
of	O
code	O
points	O
etc	O
.	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
popular	O
aspect	O
of	O
this	O
is	O
the	O
ability	O
to	O
have	O
console	O
show	O
the	O
Tux	B-Application
logo	O
at	O
boot	O
up	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
possible	O
graphic	O
output	O
method	O
for	O
a	O
display	O
server	O
,	O
independent	O
of	O
video	B-Device
adapter	I-Device
hardware	O
and	O
its	O
drivers	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Graphic	O
programs	O
avoiding	O
the	O
overhead	O
of	O
the	O
X	B-Operating_System
Window	I-Operating_System
System	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
of	O
the	O
third	O
application	O
include	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
programs	O
such	O
as	O
MPlayer	B-Application
,	O
links2	B-Application
,	O
Netsurf	B-Application
,	O
w3m	B-Application
,	O
fbff	O
,	O
fbida	O
,	O
and	O
fim	O
and	O
libraries	O
such	O
as	O
GLUT	B-Library
,	O
SDL	B-Operating_System
(	O
version	O
1.2	O
)	O
,	O
GTK	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Qt	B-Language
,	O
which	O
can	O
all	O
use	O
the	O
framebuffer	B-Algorithm
directly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
use	O
case	O
is	O
particularly	O
popular	O
in	O
embedded	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
now	O
defunct	O
DirectFB	B-Application
is	O
another	O
project	O
aimed	O
at	O
providing	O
a	O
framework	O
for	O
hardware	O
acceleration	O
of	O
the	O
Linux	B-Language
framebuffer	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
was	O
also	O
a	O
windowing	O
system	O
called	O
FramebufferUI	O
(	O
fbui	O
)	O
implemented	O
in	O
kernel-space	B-Operating_System
that	O
provided	O
a	O
basic	O
2D	O
windowing	O
experience	O
with	O
very	O
little	O
memory	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Linux	B-Operating_System
has	O
generic	O
framebuffer	B-Algorithm
support	O
since	O
2.1.109	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
originally	O
implemented	O
to	O
allow	O
the	O
kernel	B-Operating_System
to	O
emulate	O
a	O
text	O
console	O
on	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
Macintosh	I-Device
that	O
do	O
not	O
have	O
a	O
text-mode	B-Application
display	I-Application
,	O
and	O
was	O
later	O
expanded	O
to	O
Linux	B-Operating_System
's	O
originally	O
supported	O
IBM	O
PC	O
compatible	O
platform	O
.	O
</s>
