On Wed, Feb 09, 2005 at 12:43:12PM +0100, Roman wrote:
> Hello again!
Hello. :)
> Maybe you are right and a session manager is what I'm really looking
> for. I don't know, because I haven't found out what's the difference
> between a session manager and a display manager. Both words are
> commonly used in the same context. For what kind of sophistication:
If they're used in the same context, whomever is doing so is in grave
error. Let me explain. A session manager is a program which is
responsible for saving the running state of open programs so that in
theory [1] when one logs out, and logs in again, the programs are
restored in their last-saved state. This ought to include geometry and
open programs, but this last point is a sore area for many session
managers.
A display manager, however, simply provides a graphical means for users
to login. At the most, this is all xdm does, but it can be customised
to do a whole lot of other things, that quite frankly, people don't
bother to look at, because they're unaware of the fact. {K,G,W}DM
however, offer more flashier in-built functions such as selecting which
window manager/desktop environment to load, whether one is to restore
their previous session or not, whether the machine should be shutdown,
etc. But that's all they do. Nothing more.
> principially as much as possibly ;) - But when I wrote before, I meant
> similar capabilities as in WinXP. That's on the one hand a graphical
> login and a possibility to shutdown or restart the system without
> logging in before. (As far as I understand that's the purpose of a
> display manager) On the other hand I want to be able to simply switch
Right. Then you are referring to the concept of "fast user switching".
Something that Linux doesn't have (but you can emulate it).
Essentially, you can start a known display manager on display(s) :0, :1,
:2, etc, and then have a locking mechanism available so that users can
switch between their displays. In that instance, the VTs will most
likely be tty7 for :0, tty8 for :1, tty9 for :2, etc., and whenever the
user wants to access theirs, they switch to it, and if there is a
screensaver running, they can enter a password to resume their work.
Although I do have to stress the importance of resource usgae here. It
may well be that you run out of system resources fast, if any one of you
is doing anything particularly intensive.
> the logged in user and then back again without disrupting any running
> programs. At least the newest version of kdm has this feature.
I'd have said that was more a facet of the desktop environment, and
*not* the display manager. But I don't use a display manager that
often...
> wdm sounds like a program, which is a step nearer the way I want it.
> I'll take a closer look at that. sdm is only for remote sessions not
> for local ones
I mentioned sdm, only because it exists.
> thanks for your answers
You're welcome.
-- Thomas Adam
[1] I really do mean the "in theory" bit. Session managers are very
hit and miss about such things. :)
--
I know nothing, and understand even less.
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