Subject: FVWM: fvwm question

From: Cebouk <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 00:27:18 EST

Hi,

My name is Chuck. I was using fvwm95 on my pc. I got it with Linux 2.0
(SLAKWARE) and XFree86.  I installed a new video card (Millenium II) to
support a large screen monitor I got.  I purchased AcceleratedX from
Xigraphics to get support for my video card. 

I now realize I don't understand fvwm.  Does fvwm run on top of an Xserver
like AcceleratedX or in place of it?  If it runs on top what would I have to
do to make it run (when i type in fvwm95-2 at the command line I get a can't
find screen message)?

If you coulld help me understand this I would appreciate it.  The web sites
I've been to haven't helped me figure out how fvwm fits into the overall
system picture.

Thanks,
Chuck
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From: "Patrick K." <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 25 Jan 1998 22:38:28 -0800 (PST)

Hi there Chuck,

> Xigraphics to get support for my video card. 

   This is not related but I thought XFree86 3.3.1 had support for
   the Maxtor Millennium II graphics card.  Am I wrong?

> do to make it run (when i type in fvwm95-2 at the command line I get a can't

   I am not familiar with AcceleratedX .. but yes fvwm or any other
   window manager (wm) needs to run on top of a Xserver.  So the
   process is to start up your X server and then start your favorate
   wm.

   This can be done in a few different ways.  The way I am doing this
   is I start my X server using the 'startx' script.  I also have a
   '.xinitrc' file in my home directory which at the very last line
   has the command to startup my wm (fvwm2 for the time being).  The
   '.xinitrc' script is executed as the server is brought up and as
   a result of the last line the wm (fvwm2) is started.

   btw ... fvwm95-2 is not the same as fvwm2.  It is a derivitive of
   fvwm2 as far as I know.

> I've been to haven't helped me figure out how fvwm fits into the overall

   Hope this helps .. I am sure there will be others from this list
   that will be able to help answer your questions to more detail.

Patrick ...
[email-masked]

P.S.  I just have to ask ... AOL.COM?  :^>

---

From: Manfred Bartz <[email-masked]>
Date: 26 Jan 1998 17:48:11 +1100

>    the Maxtor Millennium II graphics card.  Am I wrong?

I think you mean Matrox not Maxtor.

And yes, you are correct, the Matrox Millenium 1 and 2 are supported
by recent XFree86 SVGA servers.

Matrox XFree86: <http://www.bf.rmit.edu.au/~ajv/xf86-matrox.html#Welcome>

Regards
-- 
Manfred Bartz <[email-masked]>
------------------------------------------------------
Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty.
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From: Kai Grossjohann <[email-masked]>
Date: 26 Jan 1998 11:28:19 +0100

>>>>> On Mon, 26 Jan 1998, Cebouk  said:

  Cebouk> I now realize I don't understand fvwm.  Does fvwm run on top
  Cebouk> of an Xserver like AcceleratedX or in place of it?  If it
  Cebouk> runs on top what would I have to do to make it run (when i
  Cebouk> type in fvwm95-2 at the command line I get a can't find
  Cebouk> screen message)?

Yes, fvwm (like any other window manager) runs on top of the so-called
X server.  There is a clear division of labor: the X server can
display stuff on screen, and the window manager tells the X server
what to display (in addition to the application windows already on
screen), such as borders, title bars, mouse cursors.  When you hit a
mouse button to move a window, the window manager intercepts it and
tells the X server where to move the window.

Whether or not fvwm works should not depend on your X server.

The same old startup code that worked for the old video card should
work for the new one, except of course that you have to run a
different X server.  I think there is a file in /etc/X11 that tells
the system what binary to use as X server, just enter Xaccel there.

-- 
Kai Grossjohann, Informatik VI        [email-masked]
Uni Dortmund, D-44221 Dortmund        http://ls6-www.cs.uni-dortmund.de/
                                      Vox +49 231 755 5670, Fax -2405
OOP: object oriented programming;  OOPS: object oriented mistakes
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---

From: Kendrick Vargas <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 26 Jan 1998 13:04:03 -0500 (EST)

> do to make it run (when i type in fvwm95-2 at the command line I get a can't

fvwm runs on top of AcceleratedX. Basically, this is how things work...

You turn on your computer and it boots Linux at some point. I'm not sure
if you have your system setup to start the X windowing system on boot, or
if you start it from a console, so I'll explain both.

If your system boots into X11 automatically, what happens is that the
computer boots, does everything that is necessary, and eventually runs
xdm on your computer so that it corresponds to screen :0 (the first
screen). Xdm stands for the X Display Manager. It starts an Xserver
session and listens for all kinds of requests (most too complicated for me
to go into). It also pops up a login screen for users to log in. When a
user logs in, the owner of the screen is changed to the user which just
logged in, and the user is given control over what happens to the display.

Xdm runs a script called /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession which handles most of
that crap. The Xsession file simply does some housekeeping for the user
which cleans up any mess which is left behind. After all of that, Xsession
calls an executable in the users home directory called .xsession (usually
a script). This file has the job of actually running all of the stuff that
the user sees.

The .xsession file basically sets up any aditional environments (like a
PATH which includes personal X11 binaries, etc), maybe runs an xterm,
starts some backround processes that the user only wants to run when he
starts X, and the runs the window manager. 

That's what fvwm is: a window manager. It manages windows. It talks to the
Xserver and tells it how to move the windows around, draw borders around
the windows, minimize, etc. Otherwise, you'd have to use several hellified
commands to find out a window's XID and move it around with pixel
coordinates.

When the .xsession is run, the $DISPLAY environment is already set, so
fvwm knows which display to use.

Now... if start X11 from the console by running "startx" at the prompt,
the the same thing basically happens except that the filenames are Xinitrc
and .xinitrc respectively. Otherwise, the same basic ideas takes place
(except that the Xserver is run directly without worrying about the xdm). 
Xdm isn't needed because you already own the process and you are already
logged in. 

So to answer your question, fvwm is simply a program which manages the way
your windows are handled. The Xserver actually handles the hardware and
allows for programs (like fvwm) to map things to the display. Therefore,
fvwm DOES sit on top of the Xserver... it has to :)
			-peace

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