Re: background_image fails to display image when timeout_style=hidden

[John Z. Bohach]

>> Could someone please confirm if this behavior is what they also see:
>>
>> I have a background image set, and is displayed as expected, _AS LONG AS_
>>
>> 'set timeout_style=hidden'
>>
>> is NOT set.  In other words, if I have
>>
>> 'set timeout_style=countdown'
>>
>> or nothing (meaning 'set timeout_style=menu') in my grub.cfg, background 
>> works
>> as expected.  If I change _only_ the value, to "hidden", so it becomes
>>
>> 'set timeout_style=hidden'
>>
>> the background image is not displayed.  No other change is necessary to
>> demonstrate this behavior.
>>
>> This is on i386-pc installation.
>>
>> Is this an intentional design choice (a poor choice IMHO if it was), or is it
>> a bug, or something else?
>>
> 
> Given that "hidden" timeout style counts down *before* displaying menu,
> I tend to think it is intentional. Do you see normal picture after
> pressing ESC?

Yes, it does display when 'ESC' is pressed.  But displaying the 'menu' vs.
displaying the 'background' is not the same thing.

I rather hoped the two would be independent.  Besides, what does "countdown"
have to do with whether or not the background is shown?  This is a rather
inconsistent implementation.  To wit, if there is a background image loaded,
it displays regardless of timeout_style=[countdown|menu].  Why should "hidden"
receive different treatment?

I mean, I know why, roughly.  The screen rendering isn't called until
something is displayed, either menu, or countdown, and background by itself
isn't enough.  But that is a bug.  If I didn't want a background even in the
"hidden" case, I would not have set one.  If I could find out where such
rendering takes place, I would patch it myself.  But its a rather large chunk
of code to dig through, and for now, I don't have the time...

Thanks,
Z.