Package: X11-common Version: 1:7.7+16 Severity: normal Tags: patch
Xsession(5) says: /etc/X11/Xsession.d/40x11-common_xsessionrc Source global environment variables. This script will source anything in $HOME/.xsessionrc if the file is present. This allows the user to set global environment variables for their X session, such as locale information. A number of questions come to mind. Is this file intended solely for environment variables? If so, how does one control that? It appears anything that can go in ~/.xsession can go in ~/.xsessionrc. Where should lines and scripts starting programs go? In ~/.xsessionrc or ~/.xsession? Does it matter? (I keep thinking I'm missing something here). Was there ever a need to introduce ~/.xsessionrc in reponse to #411639 and, if so, is it still a useful file? 'exec x-window-manager' or 'exec x-session-manager' in ~/.xsession would seem to have been a solution to the reporter's problem. A side-effect of the existence of this file and its documentation is the number of users who think ~/.xsessionrc is a more modern ~/.xsession and supplants it Anyway, if ~/.xsessionrc is to be kept as a feature of Debian's X, I'd suggest the docmentation be changed to read something like this: A ~/.xsession must contain a command for a process which does not complete (e.g. 'exec fvwm'). If it doesn't it is not possible to put environment variables (or anything else) there. In the absence of a suitable ~/.xsession a user may set configuration directives in ~/.xsessionrc. A situation in which users are recommended to use a ~/.xsessionrc is when lightdm is the session manager and it is desired to source ~/.profile (#636108). Presumably the user doesn't have a ~/.xsession with a line for non-completing process. (What is the disadvatage to recommending 'exec gnome-session' in ~/.xsession)? Regards, Brian.