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Michael Jinks wrote:
> 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.
What Fred said is wrong (no offense intended).
> 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.
Yes, I replied to that message, I'll try to elaborate here. The X Server
draws on the screen, takes input from the mouse and keyboard, and speaks
the X protocol. There are a bunch of libraries (from the very basic Xlib
to more complex things like widget sets) which make it easier for programs
to talk to the X server. Just about any program that you interact with (I
can't think of any that this doesn't apply to, but I'm sure there are
some) is an X client. Here is a very rough sort of diagram (basically
copied from O'Reilly's Xlib Programming Manual):
/--------\ /--------\
/--------\ | client | | client |
| client | | (wm) | |--------|
|--------| |--------| |toolkit |
| Xlib | | Xlib | |--------|
\--------/ \--------/ | Xlib |
| | \--------/
| | |
================================================== Network
|
/--------\
| server |
|--------|
| device |
| drivers|------Screen
\--------/
(Wow, that was fun. I love ASCII art.)
> 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.
The window manager is an X client, but it is a special X client. It puts
title bars and borders around the windows of other clients. Well mannered
clients talk to the window manager about things like where they should be
on the screen, etc.
All of this is confusing at first, since it isn't really like the
client-server models for just about everything else (http, ftp, etc.). I
hope this explanation helped. If you have more questions please ask.
_________________________________________________________________________
Kevin Mernick
[EMAIL PROTECTED] / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
"You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always
quite the something you were after." --J.R.R. Tolkien
finger [EMAIL PROTECTED] for PGP public key
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