Re: [Debian Wiki] Update of "XStrikeForce/FAQ" by AurélienCouderc
Hi Aurélien,
thanks for working on this FAQ. A couple comments below.
On Fri, May 13, 2011 at 12:36:10 -0000, Debian Wiki wrote:
> Dear Wiki user,
>
> You have subscribed to a wiki page or wiki category on "Debian Wiki" for change notification.
>
> The "XStrikeForce/FAQ" page has been changed by AurélienCouderc:
> http://wiki.debian.org/XStrikeForce/FAQ?action=diff&rev1=21&rev2=22
>
> * [[#defxsession|What is an X session?]]
> * [[#defrootwindow|What is the root window?]]
> * [[#defwinman|What is a window manager?]]
> + * [[#abouteffects|Does Debian support AIGLX and desktop effects?]]
> * [[#defsessman|What is a session manager?]]
> * [[#deffocus|What is window focus?]]
> * [[#defresourc|What are X resources?]]
> @@ -294, +295 @@
>
> Fundamentally, the window manager is in charge of window placement (moving, resizing, stacking order, and so forth). In practice, X window managers over the years have acquired more and more features. The typical window manager in use today draws borders around the windows which can be used to move and resize the window by grabbing, determines the focus policy, and presents menus which permit the iconification ("minimizing") or easy killing of X clients.
>
> Some window managers go farther and do some tasks of session management as well.
> +
> + <<Anchor(abouteffects)>>
> + ==== Does Debian support AIGLX and desktop effects? ====
> +
> + AIGLX is an extension to the X server which lets clients use accelerated OpenGL functions.
> + Modern window managers like Compiz, Kwin or Mutter use AIGLX to provide desktop effects such as window transparency and shadow, window switching with previews, window maximization and minimization animations, presentation of all opened windows (a.k.a. "exposé"), presentation of all workspaces…
Not quite. They use GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap, which initially was
only available with available for indirect contexts (and thus AIGLX was
needed). With DRI2 (and a graphics memory manager in the kernel), tfp
(and thus GL compositors) is also possible with direct GL contexts. So
AIGLX is no longer used in most cases.
> + The technique on composing the desktop scene from the opened windows and applying effects is known as window composition.
> +
> + The X server includes AIGLX since version 7.1 and is thus supported in Debian from Lenny onwards.
> + Moreover, the graphic driver needs to support the GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap OpenGL extension for window composition to work.
GLX rather than OpenGL, but close enough I guess.
> + This is the case for most AMD/ATI and Intel graphic chips with their default Xorg drivers. nVidia users will need to install the proprietary driver.
The nouveau DRI driver should support that from wheezy onwards.
> + Other manufacturers have a poor history of OpenGL support in ther Xorg drivers and probably won't work.
> +
> + You will then need to install [Compiz|Compiz], or to enable desktop effects in KDE configuration utility.
> + Gnome Shell in Gnome 3 requires window composition, and automatically falls back to a classical desktop when composition isn't available.
>
> <<Anchor(defsessman)>>
> ==== What is a session manager? ====
>
Cheers,
Julien
Reply to: