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><H1
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><A
NAME="APPENDIX">10. Appendix</H1
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="TERMS">10.1. Terminology and Usage</H2
><P
> There are a few basic concepts and terminologies you should be familiar with.
These terms will appear here, in the manual pages, and in other help files and
documentation.
</P
><P
> <P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
> The <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"X server"</SPAN
> is the low-level driver software that interacts
with your video card and other system hardware, and manages the
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"display"</SPAN
> and the various components attached to the
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"display"</SPAN
> (keyboard, mouse, etc.). And, of course, handles
requests from clients as well. There are different X servers for different
chipsets.
</P
><P
> X Servers are referenced in the form of:
</P
><P
> <EM
>host.domain:display_number.screen_number</EM
>
</P
><P
> An example would look like: <EM
>my_computer:0.0</EM
>
</P
><P
> If host (and domain) is omitted, localhost is assumed. <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Host"</SPAN
>
can be a remote host. If <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"screen"</SPAN
> is omitted, then
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"0"</SPAN
> (the first screen) is assumed. In it's shortest form, the
X server is often represented as just <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>":0"</SPAN
>, which would be the
first local <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"display"</SPAN
>. <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
> supports
multiple <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"displays"</SPAN
> <EM
>and</EM
> multiple
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"screens"</SPAN
>.
</P
><P
> <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Screen"</SPAN
> and <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Display"</SPAN
> have special meanings in
relation to X servers, in addition to their more common usage.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> When <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
> is invoked, the X server will initialize
one or more <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"displays"</SPAN
>. Yes, <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
> can
have more than one <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"display"</SPAN
> available (though this is not a
common configuration for the average user). Each <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"display"</SPAN
> is
a separate instance of <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"X"</SPAN
>. The <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"display"</SPAN
>
includes not only the obvious video components, but also the keyboard,
mouse and other input type components. The user can only access one
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>display</SPAN
> at a time via the same keyboard and
monitor. <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Displays"</SPAN
> may reside locally, or on a networked
host <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"somewhere"</SPAN
>, or both. It is possible that if multiple
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"displays"</SPAN
> are available, the user can choose which one he
wants when he logs in. Each <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"display"</SPAN
> may have its own
unique configuration (e.g. resolution). But again, the most typical
configuration is just one <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"display"</SPAN
> with one <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"screen"</SPAN
>,
which is how most of us use <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
>.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>
In reference to X servers, <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"screen"</SPAN
> means the primary video
output with which you view <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
>.
And there can be more than one <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"screen"</SPAN
>, just like you can
have more than one <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"display"</SPAN
>. Additional
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"screens"</SPAN
> are used in <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"multi-headed displays"</SPAN
> for
instance. In fact you can even have more than one computer running off a
single X server. This is beyond the scope of this document, but you should
be aware of this degree of flexibility as it is an important ingredient of
the <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
> protocol.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Desktop"</SPAN
> can mean different things in different
contexts. Often, <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"desktop"</SPAN
> means what is more properly
called the <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Desktop Environment"</SPAN
>. Prime examples of this are
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>KDE</SPAN
>, <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>GNOME</SPAN
>, and the not
as well-known <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>CDE</SPAN
>, which are high level
applications that control much of how the user interacts with the
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
> session. They provide consistent look and
feel, as well as consistent configuration and come bundled with their own
set of utilities for common tasks.
</P
><P
> <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Desktop"</SPAN
> also sometimes just means the viewable screen area.
This is more of the MS Window's meaning. <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
>
environments though are capable of having multiple virtual
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"desktops"</SPAN
> that can be switched between as needed. This helps with
organizing different tasks. Each <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"desktop"</SPAN
> may its own windows
and clients that are specific to it. Right now I have seven
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>WindowMaker</SPAN
> desktops
(<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>WindowMaker</SPAN
> calls them
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"WorkSpaces"</SPAN
>), and one of those I have dedicated to writing
this document. This <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"desktop"</SPAN
> has thirteen unique windows at
the moment (man pages, browser windows, clock, gvim, xterms, etc).
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Clients"</SPAN
> are any program that connect to the X server, and
require an X server for some task (e.g. to display itself). Often, these
are displayed in their own <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"window"</SPAN
>, but not always. For
instance, if I use <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>CTRL-N</TT
> to open a new
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Mozilla</SPAN
> window, this is one
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
> client but with two windows. If I run a command
line <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
> utility like <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>xev</B
> to
view key and mouse events, this runs in the <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>xterm's</B
>
window, so has none of its own, but is still a <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"client"</SPAN
>.
Clients can be locally running applications, or applications that are
running on another system over the network, but are displayed locally.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>
The <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Window Manager"</SPAN
> is a special type of client application
and a user definable component of the GUI. It is what the user interacts
with to a large extent. The Window Manager provides such functionality as
window borders and decorations, menus, icons, virtual desktops, button
bars, tool bars, and allows the user to customize these. It is technically
possible to run <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
> without a window manager
(though not very functional), but not the other way around. Window managers
should not be confused with <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Desktop Environments"</SPAN
> like
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>KDE</SPAN
>. Desktop Environments include their own
preferred Window Manager, but this is a configurable. There is some
overlapping of responsibilities between Window Managers and Desktop
Environments.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>
The <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"root window"</SPAN
> is the background of your screen. It is
referred to as a window in name alone, it does not behave like any other
window, but rather you run your applications on the root window, or put an
image on it, or perhaps just a solid color. All other windows are children
of this parent window. The root window conceivably can be larger than the viewable
screen area.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>
The <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"pointer"</SPAN
> is the arrow or indicator of any
given shape which represents the location of your mouse, or other pointing
device. The pointer often changes to give you contextual feedback as to
what will happen when you use the mouse at that point on the screen.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>
The <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"window"</SPAN
> is a frame in which any given application runs
and which is <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"managed"</SPAN
> by the Window Manager. This includes
pretty much anything except the so-called root window. Even windows which
do not appear to have frames, titles, or normal borders of any kind are
being managed by your window manger. The <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"active window"</SPAN
> is
the window you are currently using. This window will will respond to the
keyboard when you type, and is traditionally denoted by the fact that your
mouse cursor is pointing at it, though this is not always the case. The
active window is said to have <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"focus"</SPAN
>. Most Window Managers
will somehow highlight the <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"active"</SPAN
>, or focused, window to
differentiate it from other windows.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Menus"</SPAN
>, <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"icons"</SPAN
> and <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"task bars"</SPAN
>
behave in <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
> similar to the way they behave in
other windowing systems, and the same general principles apply.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>
Windows that run text only applications are called <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"terminal
emulators"</SPAN
>, such as <B
CLASS="COMMAND"
>xterm</B
> and various
similar applications. This is the well-known <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"command line"</SPAN
> in
an X environment. These basically emulate a console text-only display, and
have some advantages due to their being used in
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
>. These are much more complex and sophisticated
applications than a simple <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>DOS</SPAN
> box on Windows.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
>
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Widgets"</SPAN
> is the term used to describe such GUI control
components as buttons, sliders, menus, scrollbars, listboxes, checkboxes, etc.
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"Toolkits"</SPAN
> are libraries containing a diverse set of widgets
with the same look and feel. Some common examples are
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>GTK+</SPAN
> (used by <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>GNOME</SPAN
>,
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Mozilla</SPAN
> and others), <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Xaw</SPAN
>
(X Athena Widget set), <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Tk</SPAN
>,
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>Motif</SPAN
> and <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>QT</SPAN
> (used
by <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>KDE</SPAN
>). Applications are built with one toolkit
or another. Sometimes the same application can be built with different
toolkits, depending on compile time options.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Window <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"geometry"</SPAN
> is a shorthand way of expressing a window's
size and screen placement. This might look like
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"60x20+10+50"</SPAN
>, which is <TT
CLASS="LITERAL"
>WIDTH x HEIGHT +VERT_OFFSET
+HORZ_OFFSET</TT
>. While both pairs are often specified, it is
permissible to use just one or the other pair.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> In <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
> lingo, <SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"resources"</SPAN
> are
definable application attributes. Commonly available
<SPAN
CLASS="QUOTE"
>"resources"</SPAN
> are fonts, colors, size, window title, etc,
etc.
</P
></LI
></UL
></P
></DIV
><DIV
CLASS="SECT2"
><H2
CLASS="SECT2"
><A
NAME="LINKS">10.2. Links and other References</H2
><P
> <P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
> The definitive source of information on XFree86 is, of course,
<A
HREF="http://xfree86.org"
TARGET="_top"
>http://xfree86.org</A
>. Don't forget
the man pages that you have installed already too (X, Xserver, XF86Config,
XFree86, xdm, xinit, xmodmap, startx, xauth, Xsecurity, etc, etc). These are
really mostly decent, though some are quite technical.
</P
><P
> Some pages at xfree86.org to check:
</P
><P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
> Docs and support info: <A
HREF="http://www.xfree86.org/support.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.xfree86.org/support.html</A
> for
various versions and topics.
</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
><P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
> README: <A
HREF="http://www.xfree86.org/current/README.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.xfree86.org/current/README.html</A
>
</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
><P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
> Release Notes: <A
HREF="http://www.xfree86.org/current/RELNOTES.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.xfree86.org/current/RELNOTES.html</A
>
</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
><P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
> DRI: <A
HREF="http://www.xfree86.org/current/DRI.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.xfree86.org/current/DRI.html</A
>
</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
><P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
> Status: <A
HREF="http://www.xfree86.org/current/Status.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.xfree86.org/current/Status.html</A
>
</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
><P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
> Mouse: <A
HREF="http://www.xfree86.org/current/mouse.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.xfree86.org/current/mouse.html</A
>
</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
><P
></P
><TABLE
BORDER="0"
><TBODY
><TR
><TD
> Supported card list:
<A
HREF="http://xfree86.org/cardlist.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://xfree86.org/cardlist.html</A
>
</TD
></TR
></TBODY
></TABLE
><P
></P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Other related documents from LDP:
</P
><P
> <P
></P
><UL
><LI
><P
> If you are just starting out, you may find the
<I
CLASS="CITETITLE"
>X Window System Architecture Overview HOWTO</I
>, <A
HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/XWindow-Overview-HOWTO/index.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/XWindow-Overview-HOWTO/</A
>
to be helpful. It covers all the basic concepts quite well.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <I
CLASS="CITETITLE"
>The Remote X Apps Mini HOWTO</I
>,
<A
HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/Remote-X-Apps.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/Remote-X-Apps.html</A
>,
does a nice job of discussing running <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
>
remotely, and related security issues of <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
> networking.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <I
CLASS="CITETITLE"
>The XDMCP HOWTO</I
>,
<A
HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/XDMCP-HOWTO/index.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/XDMCP-HOWTO/index.html</A
>,
covers the X Display Manager Control Protocol, for running
<SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
> remotely. Also,
<I
CLASS="CITETITLE"
>The XDM and X Terminal mini-HOWTO</I
>,
<A
HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/XDM-Xterm/index.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/XDM-Xterm/index.html</A
>.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <I
CLASS="CITETITLE"
>The XFree86 HOWTO</I
>,
<A
HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/XFree86-HOWTO/index.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/XFree86-HOWTO/index.html</A
>,
succinctly covers installation, and initial configuration.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <I
CLASS="CITETITLE"
>The XFree86 Video Timings HOWTO</I
>,
<A
HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/XFree86-Video-Timings-HOWTO/index.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/XFree86-Video-Timings-HOWTO/index.html</A
>,
gets down and dirty with the finer points of monitor tuning. Generally
not required for XFree86 v4.x.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <I
CLASS="CITETITLE"
>The Xinerama HOWTO</I
>,
<A
HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Xinerama-HOWTO.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Xinerama-HOWTO.html</A
>,
covers multi-headed displays.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <I
CLASS="CITETITLE"
>The Font HOWTO</I
>,
<A
HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Font-HOWTO.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Font-HOWTO.html</A
>,
covers various font topics.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <I
CLASS="CITETITLE"
>The Font De-Uglification Mini HOWTO</I
>,
<A
HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/FDU/index.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/FDU/index.html</A
>,
covers a range of <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
> font issues.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <I
CLASS="CITETITLE"
>The International Keyboard HOWTO</I
>;
<A
HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/Intkeyb/index.html"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/mini/Intkeyb/index.html</A
>
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <I
CLASS="CITETITLE"
>The Linux Infrared HOWTO</I
>:
<A
HREF="http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Infrared-HOWTO/index.html "
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.linuxdoc.org/HOWTO/Infrared-HOWTO/index.html </A
>
</P
></LI
></UL
>
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Looking for information on a Window Manager, or wanting to try
something new or different:
<A
HREF="http://www.plig.org/xwinman/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.plig.org/xwinman/</A
>
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Wheel mice tips and configuration:
<A
HREF="http://koala.ilog.fr/colas/mouse-wheel-scroll/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://koala.ilog.fr/colas/mouse-wheel-scroll/</A
>
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> Linux and Laptops:
<A
HREF="http://www.linux-laptop.net/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.linux-laptop.net/</A
>
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> The O'Reilly series on X Window! Visit <A
HREF="http://www.ora.com/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.ora.com/</A
> for the definitive books on <SPAN
CLASS="APPLICATION"
>X</SPAN
>.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> The X Consortium's web site is <A
HREF="http://www.x.org/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.x.org/</A
> ... or perhaps it's moved to
<A
HREF="http://www.opengroup.org/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.opengroup.org/</A
>.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> <A
HREF="http://www.x11.org/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://www.x11.org/</A
> is sort of a clearinghouse
for all things X.
</P
></LI
><LI
><P
> And for everything else under the Sun: <A
HREF="http://google.com/linux/"
TARGET="_top"
>http://google.com/linux/</A
>.
An incredible resource in its own right.
</P
></LI
></UL
></P
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