Re: x window / starting the desktop
I think the original post exhibits some confusion about what X really
is, which nobody seems to have addressed - so I will have a go...
At the most basic level, X is a network graphics protocol, an X application
is a client using this protocol, and an X-server is an application which
implements the protocol by translating it into actions on a graphical
display, as well returning events from input devices...
X is not a GUI, but provides a facility on which one can be built.
One very special type of client - the window manager, is responsible for
implementing the 'look and feel' of a GUI.
Jim Gettys, if I remember correctly, spoke a lot about providing
'mechanism' but not 'policy' when he originally developed X.
The important thing is that with MacOS and Windows, you get what
you are given and that is it. The X distribution was a toolkit
to let the user design exactly what they wanted, but there was
'some assembly required' so to an end user who was used to being
spoon fed, it looked very basic.
X originally shipped with a small, simple GUI based on a sample
window manager called twm. It was small and simple, and evolved
into window managers like fvwm, which implements a virtual desktop
which can be larger then the display. They are still much faster and
leaner than the likes of Gnome and KDE.
Strictly, the GNOME and KDE GUI's are more than just their respective
window managers. They also imply a set of libraries and conventions
followed by applications, and a set of support utilities.
There was a time when X-Servers used to be separate X-terminals,
connected to a central time sharing system by a LAN. The current
trend toward integrated graphics on personal computers, with the
X protocol running over a loopback device, often with shared memory
acceleration, makes it easy to forget the underlying architecture.
Personally I still use an X-terminal on my desk, because it doesn't
make any noise and it means I have equivalent access to all of
the computers on my LAN (I use XDMCP to select which host handles
log-in and window manager as part of the login process).
Regards,
DigbyT
On Wed, Jan 25, 2006 at 11:29:52PM +1300, Chris Bannister wrote:
> On Mon, Jan 23, 2006 at 01:58:39PM -0600, Kent West wrote:
> > Joe wrote:
> >
> > >Hi Kent I do not mean to bother you but I am confused. If I have X running
> > >it shows a GNOME desktop. Is this correct? X is the underlying "server" and
> > >GNOME is what I see? I was under the impression that X is a Desktop such as
> > >KDE or GNOME.
>
> [..]
>
> > It's possible to run X by itself without having any clients running; in
> > such as case, all you'll see is a grayish hatched background with a
> > mouse pointer.
>
> [..]
>
> e.g.
> chrisb@kan:~/qct$ X
>
> Handy, for debugging. :-), i.e. if that fails the problem is definitely
> with the xserver, NOT with KDE/GNOME/WHATEVER.
>
> --
> Chris.
> ======
> Reproduction if desired may be handled locally. -- rfc3
--
Digby R. S. Tarvin digbyt(at)digbyt.com
http://www.digbyt.com
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