this is kind of the eternal X client/server vs. client/server thing. An
application that runs on X, say xterm, is an X client. the piece of
software that handles the display of things in a windowed environment is
the X server, which is told how to make windows look by the Window
Manager. So, in your example, to be able to run an xterm off of your
firewall the X client software "xterm" needs to reside on the firewall.
That X client is sending it's display across the network to be displayed
on another machine's X server. A good thing to do is to play with the
different components separately. You can run xterm on a machine without
running an X server or a window manager, by exporting xterm's display to
another machine running the X server. Similarly you can run an X server
with no clients or a window manager, this is the familiar "thatched"
background that comes up before your desktop comes up fully in X. AND
you can run an xterm without the window manager, it will just come up
without any kind of window border and other things you would normally
associate with a window...
If I'm off base, or unclear let me know folks!
js
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Michael Jinks [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Thursday, May 14, 1998 2:52 PM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: basic X questions (was Re: X server for NT?)
>
> Fred Lenk wrote:
>
> > If you are trying to share the X apps on your Linux box, the Linux
> is
> > the X server, and the other workstations are the X clients.
>
> Okay, now this is something that's been confusing me. The layout you
> describe
> is the way I thought it was, but others have told me that I'm wrong,
> and I'd
> like to be set straight on exactly how X is laid out.
>
> My unenlightened conception of things is that applications run on box
> A, the X
> server runs on box A, and the Xclient on box [n] displays the output
> of the
> applications on the physical output device (e.g. monitor) attached to
> box
> [n]. Box [n] could be box A or any other, X doesn't care.
>
> Okay, so now consider a specific case, my firewall. I wanted to use
> the
> dotfile generator to configure it, but I didn't want to violate the
> 'bare
> simplicity' rule by installing a lot of X stuff. A post to (IIRC)
> this list
> drew a reply to the effect that there would need to be a _client_ on
> the
> machine running the app, as well as a client on the machine displaying
> the
> app. (sorry about the vagueness of this but it's been quite a while.)
> The
> assertion by that same person that clients are the real space hogs in
> the X
> world made me decide against using any X apps directly on the
> firewall, and I
> found another way around my task.
>
> For one thing, are X-apps 'clients of' the X server, as distinguished
> from the
> 'X client' (which I take it does the displaying chores)?
>
> I fully expect a well-deserved RTFM here, but there seems to be
> something
> about X that just confuses me every time, which leads me to believe
> that I
> must be harboring some basic misconceptions or ignorances about the
> fundamentals.
>
> I also have a hard time when it comes to configuration. I get the
> impression
> that the 'X server', 'X client', and 'window manager' are all distinct
> from
> one another, but have a hard time getting it through my head where
> each leaves
> off and the next takes up.
>
> Lots of vague rambling, but it's getting to the point where I could
> use some
> serious re-working of my desktop environment and it's coming along
> pretty
> slowly, so if anyone would like to publish a diatribe or point me at
> some
> version of 'X for dummies,' I'd appreciate it.
>
> >
>
>
>
>
> --
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