Running Linux, Third Edition

X Applications

There are thousands of programs available for X. They range from basic utilities (such as xterm and xclock, already discussed) to editors to programming aids to games to multimedia applications. The most we can provide here is a tiny slice of the software available for X. In this section, we’ll present those applications that all X users should know how to use. These aren’t necessarily the most exciting programs out there, but they should certainly be part of your toolbox. Note that if you are using a desktop environment such as KDE, described in the last section, it may have tools of its own that do the same things as the ones described here, but work better with the desktop. The general techniques described here usually apply to the desktop tools as well.

A more comprehensive explanation of X applications can be found in X Window System User’s Guide.

xterm: Your Home Base

Let’s start our exploration of X applications with the workhorse that you’ll be spending most of your time with—xterm. This is simply a window that contains a Unix shell. It displays a prompt, accepts commands, and scrolls like a terminal.

Note

If you use KDE, you can also use KDE’s own terminal emulator kvt, which provides more or less the same features as xterm, but can be configured via a user-friendly GUI.

Perhaps you are struck by the irony of buying a high-resolution color monitor, installing several megabytes of graphics software, and then being confronted by an emulation of an old VT100 ...