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X Windows
The UNIVERSITY of NORTH CAROLINA at CHAPEL HILL
Course topics
X Windows
X Protocol
Window managers
Classic X apps
Starting X apps
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X Windows
The X Windows System, also referred to as
X or X11, is the standard graphical engine
for Unix and Linux.

It is largely OS and hardware independent, it
is network-transparent, and it supports
many different desktops.
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X Windows contd
X was developed in the mid 80s to provide a
standard GUI for Unix systems, similar to
Microsoft Windows.

Windows only runs locally on the machine,
but X Windows uses the X Protocol to
separate the processing and display for an
application.
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X Protocol
The X Protocol provides a client-server
architecture at the application level:

The X client is the processing part of the
application and often runs on a remote
machine.

The X server is the display and interaction
system.
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X Protocol contd
The X Protocol is also divided into device
dependent and device independent layers.
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X architecture
The client-server nature of the X Protocol
allows a single X server to support many
clients (applications) on several hosts.
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roles of a windowing
system
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X Windows architecture
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X Windows architecture
(ctd)
pixel imaging model with some pointing
mechanism

X protocol defines server-client
communication

separate window manager client enforces
policies for input/output:
how to change input focus
tiled vs. overlapping windows
inter-client data transfer
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Client-server design
X server
Runs locally and accepts multiple X clients
Displays drawing requests and errors
Handles keyboard, video, and mouse
Creates and destroys windows

X client
An application written using X libraries (e.g. Xlib)
Sends request and receives events and errors
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X Protocol messages
Requests client sends requests to the server (e.g.
create window)

Replies server response to client requests

Events server forwards events (such as mouse
clicks or keyboard entry) to the client

Errors server reports errors to the client
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An aside: XFree86
What is XFree86?

In short, XFree86 is an open source X11-
based desktop infrastructure. xfree86.org

It runs primarily on Unix and Unix-like OSes
such as Linux (and also under Cygwin).
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Using X Windows
First, an X server must be running:
On a local PC or workstation, you can usually
start the X server with the startx command
or it may start automatically, presenting a
graphical login display.

Historical note: An X terminal is a dumb
terminal that only runs the X server locally,
and always connects to X clients on a remote
host.
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xterm
The most important X application is, rather
ironically, the terminal program xterm.

Old school xterm:
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Xterm contd
Fancy xterm:
OS X xterm:
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An aside: Copying text
In X Windows, the copying interaction is
very different from the Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V of
Windows.

In an xterm or other X application, highlight
the text with the left button, and then paste
by middle clicking in any window accepting
input.
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Some classic X apps
xman manual pages app

Not this
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Some classic X apps
xbiff mail notification





Back when we didnt have mail servers (and we
liked it!), mail was stored in local spool files and a
process notified the user of new mail. xbiff is named
after biff, which is named after Biff the dog, who
barked at the postman. Seriously.


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Some classic X apps
xeyes ok, this is really the most important

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Some classic X apps
xclock pretty self-explanatory


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Window managers
The window manager is a special X client
that controls the placement and movement
of applications, provides title bars and
control buttons, menus and taskbars. Some
support virtual desktops and very fancy
graphics.

Classic window managers include: twm,
mwm, olwm, fvwm

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Starting X applications
To launch an X client from a remote host for
display on the local X server, you need to set
two things:
1) Permission for the remote host to display
X clients on the local machine.
xhost +remotehost
2) The target display for the remote
application.
setenv DISPLAY=server:display