Re: Xfree86 and Knoppix
On Tue, Aug 13, 2002 at 02:18:09PM -0400, Patrick Wiseman wrote:
> Except that /etc/inittab defines the runlevels so:
OK, having deleted the XDM packages, I don't know why you
are continuing this thread, but here goes:
> # Runlevel 0 is halt.
> # Runlevel 1 is single-user.
> # Runlevels 2-5 are multi-user.
> # Runlevel 6 is reboot.
>
> l0:0:wait:/etc/init.d/rc 0
> l1:1:wait:/etc/init.d/rc 1
> l2:2:wait:/etc/init.d/rc 2
> l3:3:wait:/etc/init.d/rc 3
> l4:4:wait:/etc/init.d/rc 4
> l5:5:wait:/etc/init.d/rc 5
> l6:6:wait:/etc/init.d/rc 6
>
> and runlevels 2-5, the multi-user levels, all had, in their respective
> rc?.d directories, the S..xdm script and thus spawned xdm on entry of
> _each_ of those runlevels.
On each RUNLEVEL, yes, not EACH virtual terminal. Virtual terminal
numbers are not directly related to runlevel.
> Combine that with these console/tty definitions:
>
> # Format:
> # <id>:<runlevels>:<action>:<process>
> #
> # Note that on most Debian systems tty7 is used by the X Window System,
> # so if you want to add more getty's go ahead but skip tty7 if you run X.
> #
> 1:2345:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty1
> 2:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty2
> 3:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty3
> 4:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty4
> 5:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty5
> 6:23:respawn:/sbin/getty 38400 tty6
Yes. Note that XDM is NOT started on ttys 2-6 . . . getty is.
> Note that _consoles_ 2-6 all allow (require? I'm not sure what the
> significance is of specifying these runlevels is) runlevels 2, 3
The getty program (short for get a terminal), runs on VT's (tty's)
1 through 6 for run levels 2 and three.
At run levels 4 and 5, getty is run only on tty1.
> - well,
> _they_ both spawn xdm as defined above.
"They" . . . who is they?
> Moreover, the default runlevel is
>
> # The default runlevel.
> id:2:initdefault:
>
> So, when Colin said in another post that runlevel and consoles are
> unrelated, I don't think that's quite right.
He meant that tty numbers are not related to the run level.
IOW, tty3 is not disabled/enabled etc. by whether or not you are
running at run level three, though the configuration that is
LABELED as "3" may or may not spawn a getty connected to tty3.
> It seems to me that they are
> made to be related by these definitions in the inittab.
The run level is, basically, the lable for a configuration.
Each run level can have a different configuration.
> So, when I said earlier that the RH default is better in this respect,
> that's all I meant. RH spawns xdm only in runlevel 5.
That is correct.
> You can make
> runlevel 5 your default and so boot into an xdm prompt, but you can then
> escape it by Ctl-Alt-F2 to F4 or F6.
You can do this on Debian, as well.
> You can't do that on a standard
> Debian box (as now defined in /etc/inittab) without some reconfiguration.
Yes, actually, you can. I do it all the time.
After booting into runlevel two, I can then use Ctrl-Alt-F[1-6] to
change to a character console, one that is running getty.
I can also change to vt8, which nothing is currently using!
> So, it's not that xdm is doing something weird, it's that these
> definitions in inittab cause xdm to be spawned in every console.
Nope. These defintions do NOT cause xdm to be spawned in every virtual
terminal. In fact, by your own posting, getty is spawned in virtual
terminals one through six at the default run level (2).
Go ahead, go back and look at it yourself: your own posting shows
GETTY being spawned, not xdm (hence: /sbin/getty).
> I'm making these claims largely from memory because I'm d*mned if I'm
> going to reinstall xdm to confirm it and be stuck with it everywhere I go
> again!
OK.
> I was frankly surprised to find that the S..xdm script was in all
> the regular rc?.d directories.
Why? Making graphical login the default is good configuration, because
almost everybody spends almost all of their time in GUI mode . . .
John S.
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