Download - Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e1 Chapter 5 Using Linux Graphical Environments
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 1
Chapter 5
Using Linux Graphical Environments
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 2
Objectives
In this chapter, you will:
• Understand how the X Window System functions
• Review the installation and settings of the X Window System
• Use popular graphical desktop interfaces
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 3
Understanding the X Window System
• The installation program automatically detects your graphical hardware and configures the graphical environment
• The foundation of that environment is the software that communicates with the video card and makes all other graphical interaction possible
Valued Gateway Client:
Valued Gateway Client:
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 4
A Brief History of X
• The X Window System was developed by MIT and DEC
• The X Window System was released as public domain software in 1985
• The XFree86 Project created a version of X for Intel-based Linux and Unix
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 5
Technical Concepts behind X
• Developers of X designed a text-based configuration file that lets the user write the driver for any video card
• The Xfree86 Project and Linux vendors developed configuration utilities to set up or refine the graphical configuration
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 6
Components of the X Window System
• List of components of X Window System:– X server
– X client
– Window manager
– Graphical libraries
– Desktop environment
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 7
Components of the X Window System
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 8
Exploring X Components
• Each user can select a window manager, desktop interface, and configuration options for that desktop
• A window manager or desktop interface provides the user interface to X
• Older, basic window managers like fvwm and twm are still in use
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 9
X Window Packages Installed with Red Hat Linux 7.3
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 10
The fvwm Window Manager
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 11
A Sawfish Configuration Window in Gnome
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 12
The switchdesk Utility
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 13
Exploring X Components
• Graphical libraries make it easier to create new graphical applications by sharing programming code and system resources
• Two graphical libraries are associated with the Gnome and KDE Desktops:– Qt (on which KDE is based)
– GTK+ (on which Gnome is based)
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 14
Displaying X Clients Remotely
• The DISPLAY variable or display command-line option controls remote display of X applications
• A remote host must permit an application to be displayed by another computer using xhost or xauth functionality
• With the xauth system you can restrict access to those users on a remote system who have a specific token (cookie) in order to use the X server
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 15
Remotely Displaying an X Client
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 16
Running the X Window System
• X Window System is configured during installation
• To configure X after installation, you can use utilities, such as Xconfigurator, xf86config, and others
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 17
Configuring X
• To use XFree86 packages, a window manager, and a desktop interface, configure the X server software to use a video card and a monitor correctly
• You can make changes in the configuration of a window manager or desktop environment
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 18
The Configuration File
• When X Windows System is launched, it relies on the XF86Config-4 configuration file plus a number of scripts that define which X applications should be launched
• The configuration file for XFree86 is located in the /etc directory, in the /etc/X11 directory, or in the /usr/X11R6/lib/X11
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 19
Using Xconfigurator
• The Xconfigurator program creates an XF86Config-4 file for your XFree86 X server using a menu-driven text-based interface
• Xconfigurator probes your hardware and lets you select choices from lists of options
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 20
The Xconfigurator Utility
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 21
Using xf86config
• Xf86config is a command-line configuration utility
• The xf86config utility provides complete flexibility in configuring the XFree86 software
• To launch xf86config, enter the utility name at any Linux command line
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 22
A Sample Question Posed by xf86config
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 23
Configuring X Using Other Resources
• For help configuring X, try the following:– Contact knowledgeable people
– Use specialized software
– Search for information on the Internet
– Buy a commercial X server
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 24
Launching X
• The standard method to launch X is to execute the startx command
• The startx command automatically executes a number of other commands that launch the X server and run the programs that make up the graphical environment
• Each X client is started as a background application
• A background application is an application that does not prevent the program that started it from going on to other tasks
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 25
The Start-up Process for the X Window System
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 26
Fine Tuning X
• Each graphical application uses a number of X resources such as windows, scroll bars, and fonts
• A collection of default X resource settings applies to all X applications
• The resource settings are compiled into a resource database file
• The main resource database file is called app-defaults
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 27
Fine Tuning X
• The xrdb command loads an initial X database resource file or adds resource configuration details from files
• The xset command controls aspects of X such as keyboard repeat rate and screen blanking
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 28
Using Desktop Interfaces
• A desktop interface is a graphical environment that provides a collection of functions and utilities
• Some types of information may be much easier to work with in a graphical format
• Linux desktop interfaces are KDE and Gnome
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 29
The KDE Interface
• In 1996 Matthias Ettrich started the K Desktop Environment (KDE) project
• KDE provides a convenient desktop interface with icons, menus, and taskbars
• KDE includes a powerful file manager and many graphical applications for configuring the KDE interface
• The entire KDE project uses an OpenSource license
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 30
The KDE Desktop
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 31
The KDE File Manager
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 32
The KDE Control Center
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 33
The Gnome Desktop
• Gnome is a desktop interface very similar to KDE
• Gnome uses a GPL license• Gnome provides a set of productivity
applications and system administration utilities similar to those included with KDE
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 34
The Gnome Desktop
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 35
Configuring Gnome Features
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 36
Using a Graphical Login Screen
• The graphical login prompt is provided by the xdm program
• The xdm versions specific to KDE and Gnome are called kdm and gdm, respectively
• xdm restarts automatically to provide a graphical login screen
• xdm selects which programs to start based on the session chosen by the user
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 37
The GDM Configurator
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Summary
• The X Window System is a graphical environment developed by MIT and DEC in 1985
• Components of X include– X server: interacts with the video card
– X client: graphical application what uses the services of the X server
• A window manager or desktop interface provides the user interface to X
• Qt and GTK+ are the most widely used graphical libraries
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Guide to Linux Installation and Administration, 2e 39
Summary
• The DISPLAY variable or display command-line option controls remote display of X applications
• Xconfigurator and xf86config utilities are used to configure X after installation
• Graphical applications include X resources what can be configured
• KDE and Gnome are popular desktop interfaces• The graphical login prompt is provided by the
xdm program, or the kdm or gdm versions for KDE or Gnome