Re: Bug#864166: release-notes: proofreading sweep - issues.dbk

[Niels Thykier <niels@thykier.net>]

Hi,

CC'ing debian-x, who I hope can help us with some clarification.

Justin B Rye:
> Niels Thykier wrote:
>>>       <note>
>>>         <para>
>>>           This change only applies if your X Display Manager supports
>>>  -        running X as rootless (or if you start X manually via
>>>  +        running X without root privileges (or if you start X manually via
>>>           <command>startx</command>).  Currently the only known display
>>>  -        manager supporting this is gdm.  Other display managers simply
>>>  +        manager supporting this is <systemitem role="package">gdm</systemitem>.
>>>  +        Other display managers simply
>>>           start X as root regardless of this change.
>>>         </para>
>>>       </note>
>>>
>>> [...]
>>>
>>> This way of phrasing it makes it really difficult to work out that
>>> using startx *does* require the installation of xserver-xorg-legacy.
>>>
>>
>> Sadly, then I have confused you.  Assuming the system meets the
>> requirements, then the following will *not* require root:
>>
>>  * startx (from a virtual terminal "owned" by the current user)
>>  * gdm (which knows how to start X without using root)
> 
> I was assuming otherwise because the first symptom I ran into was that
> running startx in the absence of xserver-xorg-legacy gave me an X
> session with non-functional mouse and keyboard.
> 
> But when I check now, installing every available xserver-xorg-*
> package in main including -legacy as well as -input-libinput makes no
> difference to that.  On a testbed stretch machine with functional
> logind and so on but with an old KMS-incapable graphics card, I
> haven't found any way of making startx usable.
> 

Not sure what is going there.  But I haven't used startx for years until
I learned of this feature, so I am probably not the right person to ask
what is going on/why it doesn't work.

> Switching over to lightdm I can get a usable session without -legacy
> as long as I have -input-libinput.  So I'm afraid I have no idea
> what's going on, or even how many problems there are.
> 

As I understand it, lightdm will start X as root unconditionally, so
that will work with or without -legacy.  You want -legacy when using gdm
(or startx) plus have "old drivers".

 * @debian-x: Is the above correct?


Thanks,
~Niels