High DPI Scaling in Linux

[Richard Russell]

Of all the platforms supported by BBC BASIC for SDL 2.0, Linux is the one I'm least familiar with. I've received a query about its behaviour on a Linux system with a high-resolution monitor, which I can't answer.

In Windows and MacOS, BBCSDL is highly dependent on High DPI Scaling, which makes the screen appear, to the application, to have a 96 dots-per-inch resolution even if the native display resolution is much higher. This is enabled by default.

I'm relying on the same thing happening in Linux, and a web search confirms that High DPI Scaling is supported, even if in not such an accomplished way as in MacOS and Windows.

But from his description I don't think any High DPI Scaling is active. How can he enable it?

BigEd

This page gives some detailed instructions - it seems to be quite involved.
https://www.malibal.com/guides/how-to-change-hidpi-scaling-on-linux/

[Richard Russell]

BigEd wrote: »

This page gives some detailed instructions - it seems to be quite involved.

They're having a laugh! The whole point of High DPI Scaling is that it should be the default behaviour, so that programs which are not high-DPI-aware 'just run'. That's what happens in Windows and MacOS.

Linux seems to take the alternative view that the default should be for the application to handle high-DPI displays itself, but that isn't always feasible - and certainly not when there is a conflicting requirement to maintain compatibility with legacy systems, such as with BBC BASIC.