Re: .xsession kills X server with sqeeze/fluxbox
On 9/6/10, brownh <brownh@historicalmaterialism.info> wrote:
> Javier Vasquez <j.e.vasquez.v@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> ...
>
> ...
> installed xorg and tested it by doing $ startx, and got the expected
> graphical mode (blank screen with graphical prompt (?) in UL corner).
>
> I then installed fluxbox, and much to my surprise, it was started
> automatically by the X server call. That is, for years I've started
> the window manager by putting a statement in .xsession such as:
>
> exec fluxbox || exec xterm -fg red
>
> So I no longer know how fluxbox gets called and how to stop it to
> carry out your test.
That's because of:
/etc/X11/Xsession.d/50x11-common_determine-startup
/etc/alternatives/x-window-manager
/usr/bin/x-window-manager
When you have no other window manager than fluxbox, then your
alternative by default is fluxbox, then that's called for you. When
you control things by using ~/.xinitrc (for me ~/.xsession is just a
link to ~/.xinitrc, but then ~/.xinitrc needs execute permissions),
then the alternative doesn't matter, it's what you put in there what
gets executed by startx, or in the case of ~/.xsession, by the session
manager (xdm/gdm/kdm/wdm/...).
> I looked into /etc/X11/ and off-hand couldn't
> find a call for fluxbox, although there's a fluxbox directory to
> define its default behavior. So I no longer know how to stop fluxbox
> except by terminating its process, which will do me no good because
> fluxbox is recalled when I start the X server.
I don't know what you're trying to attempt. Again, if you use startx,
and have ~/.xinitrc, then it's what you have in there what get called.
I you used a session manager (like xdm), and you have ~/.xession then
it's what's there in ~/.xsession what gets called. That's why I don't
have 2 configuration files, I just have ~/.xinitrc and then ~/.xession
is just a link to it, but that implies giving execute permissions to
~/.xinitrc.
Beyond that, you fluxbox menu have entries to exit fluxbox (kill it),
load different window managers, reload it, etc...
>
> I did check root account behavior: I logged in as root and for first
> time started X for it. I found again that fluxbox starts automatically
> when I startx. I created an empty .xsession file, and when that file
> exists, the X server gives up the ghost without any suicide note.
Can you try the following? As you already have ~/.xsession, make sure
it has execute permissions. Then make a link to it naming such link
~/.xinitrc. Once you have that, if it's empty, then I would expect X
to just die, since there's NO window manager specified. At the end of
~/.xsession, you now need to specify the window manger you want to
run. In my case startfluxbox, you could call fluxbox directly as
well, or any other thing such as startkde, gnome-session, or any other
thing...
In absence of ~/.xsession, you'll get the alternative when calling a
session manager such xdm, and in presence of ~/.xsession then the
session manger will pay attention to ~/.xsession (they do not pay
attention to ~/.xinitrc), and if you use instead startx, it pays
attention to ~/.xinitrc. If you don't include a window manger or
desktop manager in your ~/.xinitrc or ~/.xession, and you're meant to
use it, then X will just die...
--
Javier.
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