December 2007
Intermediate to advanced
269 pages
6h 17m
English
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Chapter 1. Introduction to the X Window System
The X Window System
The X Window System is a portable, network-based display system. That short definition contains three of the keys to X’s success:
- Portable
The X Window System is primarily used on Unix, Linux, and BSD systems, but it can also be used on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and many other systems—in fact, it can be used on just about any modern operating system. It supports a wide range of hardware, from PDAs and standalone terminals to multimonitor workstations and information displays. Technology may be mixed and matched to suit user preferences, needs, and budget.
- Network-based
Programs can display anywhere on the network, and windows from programs running on machines several time zones apart can be displayed side-by-side on one screen. With X, users have complete freedom to work wherever they want.
- Display system
X is not a graphical user interface (GUI), but it provides a solid foundation for building one. GUI developers can escape from dealing with the intricacies of the display hardware and focus on user interface design, and legacy applications written for decades-old X-based GUIs will continue to work with modern ones.
Although most users of Unix (or Linux, or FreeBSD, or Darwin) often take X for granted, a good understanding of how it works opens up a world of possibilities, from speeding up remote access to building personal video recorders to configuring multiuser computers and information kiosks.
In this book, I ...
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O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.Amir M.
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.