GRAPHICAL INTERFACE (V1.0 2003-03-23)
=====================================


1. INTRODUCTION
===============

The graphical interface is a collection of programs that gives you the 
capability to work with a graphical program, menu, etc.

The graphical interface is composed by the following elements:

  - font server (service xfs)

  - windowing system (X-Window)

  - window manager (twm, fvvm, icebox, sawmill, xfce, enlightenment, blackbox,
    windowmaker, ...)

  - desktop manager (Gnome, KDE)



2. FONT SERVER
==============

To have a graphical interface, at first is necessary a font server.
The font server provides all the available fonts on the system to the program that are 
requiring them.
On Unix like system, the font server can be on remote machine, but normally each machine
has its own font server.

The responsible service for the font server is called xfs.




3. WINDOWING SYSTEM
===================

The windowing system is responsible for the management of the windows.

It's normally called X-Window or simply X.

It's possible to start it more than once on the same machine. This gives you the 
possibility to switch between two independent graphical screens.


To ask on what screen are you currently working, call

  echo $DISPLAY
  
This should give you something like

  yourMachineName:0.0

where 

  yourMachineName is the name (partially or full) of your machine
  
  the first 0 is the server that are you using
  
  the second 0 is the screen that are you using.



To start a second screen try

  X :1 -xfconfig /etc/X11/XF86Config-4 &
  
This will automatically switch to the same console as pressing 
  
  CTRL + ALT + F8
  
Don't panic: you will probably have only a black screen here!


To return to your old console press
  
  CTRL + ALT + F7

or if you want to kill your currently X-Window, press the following 
keys

  CTRL + ALT + BACKSPACE



To launch an application in the second screen (these present on F8),
try

  gimp --display :1 &
  
Don't panic: you will probably have only windows without borders!
The borders aren't job of the X-Window.



4. WINDOW MANAGER
=================

The Window Manager provides you the border and some buttons that you currently
use to move, resize, iconize or close the windows.

They are a lot of Window Manager. The most known are listed in chapter 1.

To start a specific Window Manager simply call it from a shell

e.g.:
  twm &

The Window Manager normally provides more features as the already described.
It can provide also menus. If you place your mouse outdoor of a window (or
better on the desktop) and you click the right button of your mouse, the
menu should appear.




5. DESKTOP MANAGER
==================

The first Window Managers were very simple (like twm). Today there are very
powerfully Window Managers that can do much more than the required features of
a Window Manager. Therefore, these Window Managers are called Desktop Managers.

The most known are GNOME and KDE.

They provides also audio functionality, device access and system configuration
tools.



6. CONTACT
==========

Any hints and corrections would be appreciated.

mailto:eplanamente@gmx.net