I've found the source code for the X Window server and some good "official" documentation -- it's on the XFree86.org site (surprise!) -- go to http://www.xfree86.org), click on "Ftp & HTTP Mirror Sites", pick a mirror, navigate to a recent complete distribution (4.2.0 is, the one after that is only a patch), then navigate to doc or source. I've been using the mirror ftp://ftp.mirrorcentral.com/pub/XFree86.

See also:

• xlib
• KeyboardMacrosInX
• xim

• XWinTerminology
• ForwardingX
• NetworkTunneling

Clearly, the pages on X need to be rewritten and reorganized. Right now I sort of have three main threads -- using X (including the various ways of running programs on one machine and their display on another), programming X (i.e., modifying X, in general), and finding a keyboard macro system that works (as I desire) in X.

Also, I'm starting a series of examples / experiments to demonstrate some of the capabilities of running programs on one machine and their display on another — some of those examples may eventually be included on a "main" X window page, some of them may remain on other pages but be referenced here. Some of those experiments are on:

• Network with Application Server and X Terminals
• network tunneling

Other pages relevant to the subject of running programs on one machine and their displays on another include:

• Terminal Server
• port forwarding
• Forwarding X

Maybe I also need pages for (assuming they don't exist already):

• X Terminal
• X Server
• X Client
• Application Server

See AboutThesePages.

Contents

Notes

There is a smaller footprint x server known as kdrive (that's all I know about it).

As I start to review the XFree86 4.2.0 source code and documentation, I'll make notes of particular files that seem relevant to keyboard event handling (with the location in the source tree). Aside: I downloaded all the files for the source, so I don't know which tar.gz file any particular file came from.

Code

Documentation

• The X Window User HOWTO; ; — this is chapter 8. X Networking and Security, haven't read it yet -- the entire document seems like a useful resource, perhaps for even casual reading by a Linux newbie.

• The X Keyboard Extension: Library Specification; 241 pages

X Tricks

X :1 -query 192.168.0.5 works to start a second X display (connected to a foreign computer, as long as that computer allows connections)

startx -- :1 the "--" is significant -- parameters after "--" go to the server (those before go to the client, presumably)

X Experiments

One (imaginative, huh?)

See also (listed above).

Trying to remember:

• On system8, in one VT, I started X, something like X :3 (because 0 thru 2 were in use), and got the blank gray X display. Could have tried X :3 & to avoid the need for another VT (below).
• On system8, in another VT, I ran a command like xterm :3 (??) and got an xterm window on the blank gray X display.
• Could not move the window around or similar (could use the x icon to close)
• Then wanted to try running a window manager instead of just X, so tried something like xdm :3 -- didn't work. Then started reading the xdm mangpage -- there is a hint on how to do something like this near the bottom in a section named "Other Possibilities".

My real objective was to try to display several windows from several other computers on a single X window display. (I'm sure it can be done.) Some of the trials mentioned above might have included reference to a remote computer -- but maybe not -- I forget too quickly

Two (similar to above)

Similar assumptions / preconditions as the previous one.

This time:

• On system5 in a non-root konsole, I run xterm -display system12:0 (and variations for different display and screen numbers) -- no luck, I get error messages like /usr/X11R6/bin/xterm.real Xt error: Can't open display: system12:0 (Then realized no one was logged in on system12 -- tried logging in, no difference.)
• Then I try xterm -display system8:1 -- no error message, I go to system8, and, son of a gun, there's my xterm window, with a system5 prompt!

Oops, but wait -- in the above case, a window manager was running on system8:1 already. When I started just an X window on system8 (by running X :3 on system8), and then tried to display an xterm there from system5 (using xterm -display system8:1), it did not work. Got the same error as above, /usr/X11R6/bin/xterm.real Xt error: Can't open display: system8:3

And yes, the display numbers are right -- at the time I did this I was running 3 X servers on system8, the one I started above was the 4th (:3).

Three

Linc Fessenden suggested the following, but I had some problems with it (at least the first time):

On Saturday 29 March 2003 08:46 pm, Linc Fessenden wrote:
> system1$ xhost - system2
> system1$ telnet system2
> ------------you know what goes here...
> system2$ export DISPLAY=system1:0
> system2$ (run any x command you'd like here and it'll show up on
> system1)

Thanks!

The above didn't work the first time I tried it. Then got worse when I tried it a second time -- xhost would no longer run -- gives me unable to open display -- I presume thats because of the export DISPLAY.

How can I get rid of that entirely? I can partially get rid of it by doing something like export DISPLAY= (or similar), but in my other systems, DISPLAY does not appear at all, so I'm assuming that's the default condition I'd like to get back to.

Are you sure it was supposed to be xhost - system2 (and not +?)?

Anyway, not really a problem -- other things seem to be OK and I'm guessing this will clear up after a reboot and I'll think about it till then before I consider trying again.

> Now if you have ssh set up the right way, you can do this:
> system1$ ssh -X system2
> system2$ (run any x command you'd like here and it'll show up on
> system1)
>
> Note that if that does not work it's because you have x11 forwarding
> turned off in your ssh config file (mine is in /etc/ssh/sshd_config)

Yes, I've done that before. I don't even need the -X -- I guess that means (I read it somewhere) that X forwarding is enabled somewhere else (besides the ssh config file?).

Randy Kramer

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Resources

See ResourceRecommendations. Feel free to add additional resources to these lists, but please follow the guidelines on ResourceRecommendations including ResourceRecommendations#Guidelines_for_Rating_Resources.

Recommended

• (rhk) [[][]] --

Recommended for Specific Needs

X Terminals, Remote X, etc.

• (rhk) XDM and X Terminal mini-HOWTO; Kevin Taylor; v1.00, 2002-05-16 -- IIRC, this was what I read most thoroughly after the article "summarized" at Network with Application Server and X Terminals

• (rhk) Basic Host Configuration: Connecting X Terminals to Linux Mini-HOWTO; viewed 18 Mar 2003 --

• (rhk) Remote X Apps mini-HOWTO: Setting Up an X Terminal; viewed 18 Mar 2003 --

• (rhk) [[http://development.gbdirect.co.uk/xterminal.html][

Building X terminals with Linux]]; viewed 20 March 2003 -- browsed, seems a decent overview

• (rhk) Introduction to Linux based X terminals; viewed 20 March 2003 -- browsed, seems a decent overview

• (rhk) The X Terminal HOWTO: How to connect an X terminal to a Linux PC; 1.0 BETA (July 1995); Scot W. Stevenson; not maintained --

Security for Remote X

• What to do when Tk reports that your display is insecure; Kevin B. Kenny; 19 MAY 1997 —

• Remote X Display; August 6, 2001 —

• Remote X Apps mini-HOWTO;

Vincent Zweije; v0.7.5, 8 December 2001 —

Recommended by Others

• (rhk) [[][Thin Client HOWTO]] --
• (rhk) [[][Running Remote X Applications]] --
• NoMachine's NX -- something a little different, see About our effort at NoMachine

No Recommendation

• (rhk) X Org -- supposedly have an FAQ but I didn't find it -- site doesn't look real helpful

• (rhk) [[][]] --

Not Recommended

• (rhk) [[][]] --

Contributors

• () RandyKramer - 23 Sep 2002
• <If you edit this page: add your name here; move this to the next line; and include your comment marker (initials), if you have created one, in parenthesis before your WikiName.>

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