Re: x-terminal-emulator & xterm [SOLVED]

[Andy Saxena <andyML@nyc.rr.com>]

On Wed, May 08, 2002 at 07:49:36PM -0700, Vineet Kumar wrote:
> * Andy Saxena (andyML@nyc.rr.com) [020508 18:44]:
> > Even if an executable can tell whether or not it is being called by a
> > symlink, why should the xterm binary be coded to disregard the
> > ~/.Xresources file?
> 
> Well, technically speaking, xterm never reads the .Xresources file at
> all. That file is read by the X server at login time to set entries in
> the X server resource database. You can also use the xrdb utility to
> set, change, and remove these entries.
> 
> When xterm is run, it queries this database for certain values; things
> like font size, background color, etc. Basically, for each variable, it
> goes through this process:
> 
> Was the value given on the command line?
>   Yes => Use this value
>   No  => Is there an entry in the X resource database?
>       Yes => Use this value
>       No  => use the default value
> 
> The X resources generally look like "applicationName*attribute: value"
> When you start an xterm, queries to the resource database are made for
> xterm's "name" where I've written "applicationName" above. This name is
> given by either the command line argument "-name foo" or by looking at
> argv[0]. So when you use a symlink with a different name, argv[0] is
> different, and so therefore is the default name by which resources are
> loaded.
> 
> > How does that help?
> 
> It allows for the possibility of having different attribute sets for
> different-behaving xterms. For example, I have one which I call with
> "-name xterm-mutt" which starts out with a larger window and no scroll
> bars. I also have a different-named xterm which starts out with larger
> fonts, for when other people use my computer and ask ""Jeez! How can you
> read that small text!?"
> 
> Forgive me if I've been loose and quick with this explanation. A more
> detailed explanation of X resources is given in X(7).
> 

Thank you, that solved my problem. Actually, I was trying to get the ion
wm to run, and it would call up x-terminal-emulator, which obviously
wasn't getting the same preferences set for xterm. I copied over xterm's
preferences and changed xterm to x-terminal-emulator, and everything
works now.

Thanks for your patience and time. I learned much.


Cheers,
Andy


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