Re: Bug#864166: release-notes: proofreading sweep - issues.dbk
On 06/05/2017 01:50 PM, Niels Thykier wrote:
> 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 looks wrong, I believe the package name is gdm3, not gdm.
>>>>
>>>> [...]
>>>>
>>>> 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?
>
Yes, any reasonable (read: KMS) setup will work fine without -legacy.
In the absence of KMS (e.g. virtualbox, or new hardware not supported by
the drivers we ship), you'll need either -legacy or a DM that hasn't
been updated to starting X as non-root yet.
Cheers,
Julien
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