While the heart of Red Hat Linux is the kernel, for many users, the face of the
operating system is the graphical environment provided by the X
Window System, also called simply X.
The Power of X
Linux began as a powerful, server-based operating system, excelling at
efficiently processing complicated programs requiring high CPU
utilization and handling requests from hundreds or thousands of clients
through network connections. However, because of its open nature and
stability, Linux has quickly developed into a popular GUI-based
operating system for workstations, both in the home or in the workplace.
In the UNIX™ world, windowing environments have existed for
decades, predating many of the current mainstream operating systems. The
X Window System is now the dominant graphical user interface (GUI) for
UNIX-like operating systems.
To create this GUI for the user, X uses a client-server architecture. An
X server process is started and X
client processes can connect to it via a network or local
loopback interface. The server process handles the communication with
the hardware, such as the video card, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The
X client exists in the user-space, issuing requests to the X server.
On Red Hat Linux systems, the XFree86 server fills the role of the X server. As
a large scope open source software project, with hundreds
of developers around the world, XFree86 features rapid development, a
wide degree of support for various hardware devices and architectures,
and the ability to run on different operating systems and platforms.
Most Red Hat Linux desktop users are unaware of the XFree86 server running on
their system. They are much more concerned with the particular desktop
environment in which they spend most of their time. The Red Hat Linux
installation program does an excellent job of configuring your XFree86
server during the installation process, ensuring that X performs
optimally when first started.
The X server performs many difficult tasks using a wide array of
hardware, requiring detailed configuration. If some aspect of your
system changes, such as the monitor or video card, XFree86 will need to
be reconfigured. In addition, if you are troubleshooting a problem with
XFree86 that cannot be solved using a configuration utility, such as the
X Configuration Tool
(redhat-config-xfree86), you may need to access its
configuration file directly.
 | Tip |
|---|
| | X Configuration Tool is capable of configuring
XFree86 while the X server is active. To activate the configuration
program from the command-line, type
redhat-config-xfree86. To start
X Configuration Tool while in an active X
session, go to the (on the Panel)
=> =>
. After using
X Configuration Tool during an X session, you
will need to log out of the current X session, then log back in for the
changes to take effect.
|
