what does xserver do?

- Collapse -

can u tell me the connection between

by nerdyboy1234 Dec 30, 2005 6:39AM PST

x server, xfree86, and xwindows

- Collapse -

another question

by nerdyboy1234 Dec 30, 2005 1:34PM PST

what is a package? is that like an application? and what does a package manager do? such as rpm and tarballs?

i'm askin these questions because the a+ certification2 class i am in in high school is kind of an online course thing and i dont think my teacher is able to answer these questions and the course is pretty crappy as it doesnt explain what a lot of things are and i think that whoever made it jsut assumed that people will know wth it is talkin about.

also any good linux forums i can go to?

- Collapse -

Are you asking us to do your homework for you?

by bulldogzerofive Jan 3, 2006 7:59PM PST

That might be called cheating.

You need to know what a package manager is before you do much of anything else.

X server is important but it can wait.

This link is a good place to read about X in case your teacher did not give you any.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_Window_System

The wikipedia is an excellent resource for such questions.

- Collapse -

no i am not cheating..but its just i dont really understand

by nerdyboy1234 Jan 4, 2006 2:42PM PST

and the online thing...the lessons are online dont do a very good job at teaching anything and our like old...

also i dont think my a+ teacher will understand either. as many of the teachers in my high school are highly incompetent. especially my english teacher, which is why hawaii has provides one of the lowest education levels? of all the education systems in the nation. too much sun bakes our brains. lmao.

i have read the xwindows system at wikipedia but i am confused.

i know xfree86 is an example of an x server. however, in the lessons, it mentions the x server and x windows system as 2 different elements. and it also mentions window manager. now i believe that x window system is what it is referring to as "x server" and that xfree86 is an open source x window system and a window manager is also part of the "x window package"

oh my...i am so confused.

i kind of understand what a package manager is. the lessons dont even give a definition of it but i think i understand. all it mentions is that they "used to install and remove applications and programs in Linux systems after the installation process has completed"is this correct?

also wikipedia is not that reputable...

can some1 plz like explain the relationship between x server, x window system, xfree86, and window manager. or are they all the same? the lessons are made by cisco and i dont really want to bad mouth them but they really suk. i dont think that by taking their course that u can become a+ certified. they make references to many things which they have not provided a foundation for. clearly if i am not interested in computers, i would be like others in my class who would just plagarize the entire thing into their powerpoint then when presenting to the class would just talk bs and no one would understand what the heck they would be talking about.

unless someone is a linux expert, they probably would not understand a thing of what the lessons say. i just want to understand the basics enough to be able to answer questions and also for my own personal knowledge.

here is an excerpt of one lesson:
"Environmental Variables contain information about the computer system that programs use to get a status report on the current condition of the computer. The Environmental Variables in a Linux system contain information such as the user?s home directory, disk space, hostname, the name of the current shell, or just to find out what resources are available on the system. Programs that are installed contain some of their own environmental variables that are used to tell where their configuration files are located or how to display information.

Common Linux Environmental Variables
There are many different types of environmental variables that can be set for a Linux system. To see a list of all the ones that are currently set, type the env command at the prompt. The output of this command is displayed in Figure
. Some of the variables are as follows:

* PATH ? This is one of the most important environmental variables that is on a Linux system. This variable contains a list of directories that the system will search for executable programs when they are entered at the command prompt.
* TERM ? This variable represents the current terminal type. The TERM variable contains information that allows a Linux system to know what commands the terminal supports.
* DISPLAY ? This is the variable that will identify the display used by The X Window system.
* PWD ? Displays the current working directory.
* USER ? This is a variable that is maintained by the system that allows it to know what user is logged on.
* HOSTNAME ? This is used to display the current TCP/IP hostname of the computer.
* LD_LIBRARY_PATH ? Libraries were covered previously in this chapter. This is the variable that some programs use to indicate the directories in which the libraries can be found.
* PS1 ? This variable represents the default prompt for the bash shell. It is used to identify the bash shell from other shells that might be running on the system."

now tell me if u can understand that.

thnx for the reply but could u plz clarify for me as i am totally dumbfounded.

tom

These are only a few of the many environmental profiles that can be set on a Linux system. However, these are the most important ones and the ones that will be used most often. Sometimes a program that is installed after the installation of the operating system will require certain environmental variables to be set. In this case, set them in /etc/profile/ or in any user configuration files that the program can access. "

- Collapse -

A little digestion

by bulldogzerofive Jan 4, 2006 6:26PM PST

Quote: also wikipedia is not that reputable...

The RAND corporation, among others, have done accuracy studies on the Wikipedia and found that it to be roughly as accurate as the Encyclopedia Brittanica, although it is comparatively poorly edited and details can at times be off. The volume of topics available is certainly unbeatable by any other general resource. Although there are some high profile examples of people vandalizing it, it is generally quite usable, especially regarding commonly referenced items. I find its explanations of technology terms unbeatable. At any rate, it is certainly more reliable than information obtained from a forum such as this one and contains valuable links that you can read for more information. Of course, you cannot cite it in a paper, but it will at the very least give you some good directions to look in while explaining the basics.

Quote: i know xfree86 is an example of an x server. however, in the lessons, it mentions the x server and x windows system as 2 different elements. and it also mentions window manager. now i believe that x window system is what it is referring to as ''x server'' and that xfree86 is an open source x window system and a window manager is also part of the ''x window package''

From the wikipedia (what the X window system is):

In computing, the X Window System (commonly X11 or X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays. It provides the standard toolkit and protocol to build graphical user interfaces on Unix, Unix-like operating systems, and OpenVMS; and almost all modern operating systems support it.
X provides the basic framework for a GUI environment: drawing and moving windows on the screen and interacting with a mouse and keyboard. X does not mandate the user interface ? individual client programs handle this. As such, the visual styling of X-based environments varies greatly; different programs may present radically different interfaces.

From Wikipedia (how the X window system uses clients and servers):

X uses a client-server model: an X server communicates with various client programs. The server accepts requests for graphical output (windows) and sends back user input (from keyboard, mouse, or touchscreen). The server may function as any one of:
1. an application displaying to a window of another display system
2. a system program controlling the video output of a PC
3. a dedicated piece of hardware.
This client-server terminology ? the user's terminal as the ''server'', the remote applications as the ''clients'' ? often confuses new X users, because the terms appear reversed. But X takes the perspective of the program, rather than the end-user or the hardware: the local X display provides display services to programs, so it is acting as a server; the remote program uses these services, thus it acts as a client.

From the wikipedia (about the relationship between X and window managers):

X deliberately contains no specification as to application user interface, such as buttons, menus, window title bars and so on. Instead, user software - such as window managers, GUI widget toolkits and desktop environments, or application-specific GUIs, such as point of sale - provide/define all such details. As such, the ''typical'' X interface has varied tremendously over the years.

For more details read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_manager

Quote: i kind of understand what a package manager is

This is an excellent explanation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Package_manager

If you let us know what flavor of linux you are using we can help you more with this.

quote: can some1 plz like explain...

Writing like this is annoying to most people and probably lowers your chances of getting an answer to your questions.

quote: now tell me if u can understand that

Yes.

- Collapse -

thank you for the help

by nerdyboy1234 Jan 5, 2006 2:29AM PST

i understand it more now.

much appreciated
tom

CNET Forums

Other Forums

Forum Info