Xwindows ?s

[Cliptin]

Is there a command I can ru or place I can look to see what windows manager I'm running?

I have the comp set to not start X. So, I have to type startx when I want to run X. How do I get out of X cleanly once I've started it (ie. get back to the console)?

 

[ihsan]

Ctrl+Alt+Backspace is the command key to use. However, if the WM has an easy to use logout button such as KDE (I use KDE3 and TWM on occasion), you'll be out no the console in no time. Use the command key if the WM misbehaves which is extremely rarely in my experience.

I do that all the time and unless there's a better way, it seems to be the correct thing to do.

 

[ihsan]

As to look for the current WM, you can always check .xinitrc file for exec command that starts it.

 

[Cliptin]

Very helpful ihsan. I believe I am using TWM (twm &). The key sequence you suggested would not work for me but I figured out why I'm getting error messages when X closes.

I remembered from a long time ago that the & was signifigant.

My .xinitrc looks like this:

twm & 
xterm .*filler*.
xterm .*filler*.
xterm .*filler*.&

Even if I tell twm to exit(using the mouse), X will stay open until I close the xterm that was started with the & at the end. And, it will close even if I have not closed the other xterms. What exactly does the & mean?

 

[cas]

What exactly does the & mean?

It means simply that you do not want the shell to block until the process returns.
Since IO is still sent to the same console, "program &" is the sh equivalent of cmd's "start /B program".

 

[Cliptin]

What exactly does the & mean?

It means simply that you do not want the shell to block until the process returns.
Since IO is still sent to the same console, "program &" is the sh equivalent of cmd's "start /B program".

I may not understand the term "block" but I can not reconcile the & after twm and the one ater xterm and have what you've said make any sense.

 

[Cliptin]

Followup: Why does processing not stop after the twm &?

 

[ihsan]

In plain English, the execution of the program is done in the background. Yu may have noticed that if you type, say find /usr/local -name httpd.conf, the shell will not return to a prompt until the find completes. The & allows the control immediately be returned to the console, freeing you to do whatever you want while the find command will be done in the background. Of course the the find will do nothing for you because the output is suppressed (it will not be shown on the screen) unless you concatenate the result to a file for example.

In your case, if twm is started without the &, control will not be passed to you and you're left with a dangling screen, or whatever the term the call it. Perhaps some aspect of twm require it to be started with a &, because there are two xterm lines after the twm that needs to retain control. I'm putting out a wild guess that if twm stays in the foreground, you'll not be able to see and interact with the two xterm console screens.

In my .xinitrc, startkde line does not have & appended to it so I assume, the control is automatically passed immediately to the caller after the execution.