Editing 963: X11
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | {{w|X_Window_System|X11}} is the X window system (commonly X Window System or X11, based on its current major version being 11). It is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and rich input device capability for networked computers. | + | {{incomplete|Title text is missing}} |
+ | {{w|X_Window_System|X11}} is the X window system (commonly X Window System or X11, based on its current major version being 11). | ||
+ | It is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and rich input device capability for networked computers. | ||
− | The X11 stacks are usually implemented using a display server. The reason that it is called a display server is that the actual viewer and the server do not need to be on the same system | + | The X11 stacks are usually implemented using a display server. The reason that it is called a display server is that the actual viewer and the server do not need to be on the same system - X11 always runs over a network connection. This adds considerably to the complexity of the mechanism. |
− | Most UNIX-based operating systems, including | + | Most UNIX-based operating systems, including {{w|Linux}} and the {{w|Berkeley_Software_Distribution|BSDs}} use X11 as their base graphical subsystem and thus always use a display server and a display client. |
+ | MacOSX has built-in support for X11, but does not use it for normal applications. | ||
+ | For Windows, commercial and free solutions implementing an X11 display client exist. | ||
− | Until 2004, for | + | Until 2004, for Linux the default display server was {{w|XFree86}}. This project required a variation of the config file that Randall mentions. |
+ | It was forked into Xorg due to disagreements over the development model. | ||
− | Xorg is nowadays the default display server: X.Org Server (commonly abbreviated to Xorg Server, XServer or just | + | Xorg is nowadays the default display server: X.Org Server (commonly abbreviated to Xorg Server, XServer or just Xorg) refers to the X server release packages stewarded by the X.Org Foundation, which is hosted by {{w|freedesktop.org}}, and provides an interface to the standard X Window releases for the use of the free and open source software community. |
− | Every aspect of XFree86 and Xorg can be modified in numerous ways, all the way down to tiny behaviors such as the default window size, window-border snapping, mouse button maps or how a touchpad is used. All of these settings can be found in the xorg.conf file, a massive file with hundreds upon thousands of individual settings that have accumulated over the lifetime of the Xorg project. The [http://www.x.org/archive/X11R6.8.1/doc/xorg.conf.5.html full documentation for xorg.conf] contains all the settings contained within the file. When a problem arises in the graphical portion of a desktop using the X server, the solution | + | Every aspect of XFree86 and Xorg can be modified in numerous ways, all the way down to tiny behaviors such as the default window size, window-border snapping, mouse button maps or how a touchpad is used. All of these settings can be found in the xorg.conf file, a massive file with hundreds upon thousands of individual settings that have accumulated over the lifetime of the Xorg project. The [http://www.x.org/archive/X11R6.8.1/doc/xorg.conf.5.html full documentation for xorg.conf] contains all the settings contained within the file. When a problem arises in the graphical portion of a desktop using the X server, the solution is often to edit the xorg.conf file. The soul-crushing prospect of having to open and look up the correct parameter out of thousands that is causing issues is enough to destroy a person's satisfaction with their life. |
− | + | The {{w|Wayland (display server protocol)|Wayland}} project aims to replace X11 and not include any of the cruft that built up over the decades. | |
+ | It was started in 2008, way more than 19 years after the aforementioned config file turned into a hell. | ||
− | + | ==Transcript== | |
− | + | :[The comic is a graph, with the x axis labelled "Time since I last had to open Xorg.conf" and the y axis labelled "General satisfaction with how my life is going". A curve starting at (0,0) snakes toward the upper right of the graph.] | |
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− | + | {{comic discussion}} | |
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[[Category:Computers]] | [[Category:Computers]] | ||
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