XINIT(1) UNIX Programmer's Manual XINIT(1)
NAME
xinit - X Window System initializer
SYNOPSIS
xinit [ [ client ] options ] [ -- [ server ] [ display ]
options ]
DESCRIPTION
The xinit program is used to start the X Window System
server and a first client program on systems that cannot
start X directly from /etc/init or in environments that use
multiple window systems. When this first client exits,
xinit will kill the X server and then terminate.
On HP systems, the X Window System is normally started via
the Visual User Environment (VUE) which uses xdm (X Display
Manager) technology rather than xinit to start X. When VUE
is not used, the normal method of starting X is via the
x11start script which is simply a "wrapper" around xinit
providing environment and command line setup appropriate for
HP systems (see x11start(1)).
If no specific client program is given on the command line,
xinit will look for a file in the user's home directory
called .xinitrc to run as a shell script to start up client
programs. If no such file exists, xinit will use the fol-
lowing as a default:
xterm -geometry +1+1 -n login
If no specific server program is given on the command line,
xinit will look for a file in the user's home directory
called .xserverrc to run as a shell script to start up the
server. If no such file exists, xinit will use the follow-
ing as a default:
X :0
Note that this assumes that there is a program named X in
the current search path. However, servers are usually named
Xdisplaytype where displaytype is the type of graphics
display which is driven by this server. The site adminis-
trator should, therefore, make a link to the appropriate
type of server on the machine, or create a shell script that
runs xinit with the appropriate server.
An important point is that programs which are run by .xin-
itrc should be run in the background if they do not exit
right away, so that they don't prevent other programs from
starting up. However, the last long-lived program started
(usually a window manager or terminal emulator) should be
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left in the foreground so that the script won't exit (which
indicates that the user is done and that xinit should exit).
An alternate client and/or server may be specified on the
command line. The desired client program and its arguments
should be given as the first command line arguments to
xinit. To specify a particular server command line, append
a double dash (--) to the xinit command line (after any
client and arguments) followed by the desired server com-
mand.
Both the client program name and the server program name
must begin with a slash (/) or a period (.). Otherwise,
they are treated as an arguments to be appended to their
respective startup lines. This makes it possible to add
arguments (for example, foreground and background colors)
without having to retype the whole command line.
If an explicit server name is not given and the first argu-
ment following the double dash (--) is a colon followed by a
digit, xinit will use that number as the display number
instead of zero and will incorporate it into the $DISPLAY
environment variable. All remaining arguments are appended
to the server command line.
EXAMPLES
Below are several examples of how command line arguments in
xinit are used.
xinit This will start up a server named X, if .xserverrc
doesn't exist, and run the user's .xinitrc, if it
exists, or else start an xterm.
xinit -- /usr/bin/X11/Xqdss :1
This is how one could start a specific type of
server on an alternate display.
xinit -geometry =80x65+10+10 -fn 8x13 -j -fg white -bg navy
This will start up a server named X, if .xserverrc
doesn't exist, and will append the given arguments
to the default xterm command. It will ignore .xin-
itrc.
xinit -e widgets -- ./Xsun -l -c
This will use the command ./Xsun -l -c to start the
server and will append the arguments -e widgets to
the default xterm command.
xinit remsh fasthost cpupig -display ws:1 -- :1 -a 2 -t 5
This will start a server named X on display 1 with
the arguments -a 2 -t 5. It will then start a
remote shell on the machine fasthost in which it
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will run the command cpupig, telling it to display
back on the local workstation.
Below is a sample .xinitrc that starts a clock, several ter-
minals, and leaves the window manager running as the
``last'' application. Assuming that the window manager has
been configured properly, the user then chooses the ``Exit''
menu item to shut down X.
xrdb -load $HOME/.Xresources
xsetroot -solid gray &
xclock -g 50x50-0+0 -bw 0 &
xload -g 50x50-50+0 -bw 0 &
xterm -g 80x24+0+0 &
xterm -g 80x24+0-0 &
mwm
Sites that want to create a common startup environment could
simply create a default .xinitrc that references a site-wide
startup file:
#!/bin/sh
. /usr/local/lib/site.xinitrc
Another approach is to write an X start-up script that runs
xinit with a specific client script. Such X start-up
scripts are usually named x11, xstart, or startx and are a
convenient way to provide a simple interface for novice
users. HP provides the X start-up script, /usr/bin/x11start
and the default client script, /usr/lib/X11/sys.x11start for
this purpose:
#!/bin/sh
...
xinit /usr/lib/X11/sys.x11start "$@"
where "$@" is simply additional client and/or server options
that can be specified on the x11start command line. The
default client script can be copied to the user's $HOME
directory, customized and renamed .x11start in which case
x11start will use this version in place of the default
script (see x11start(1)).
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES
DISPLAY If not already set, this variable gets set to
the name of the display to which clients
should connect.
XINITRC This variable specifies an init file contain-
ing shell commands to start up the initial
windows. By default, .xinitrc in the home
directory will be used.
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XSERVERRC This variable specifies an init file contain-
ing shell commands to start up the server.
By default, .xserverrc in the home directory
will be used.
FILES
.xinitrc default client script
xterm client to run if .xinitrc does not exist
.xserverrc default server script
X server to run if .xserverrc does not exist
HP ENHANCEMENTS
HP has added a number of enhancements to the generic version
of xinit provided by MIT. These enhancements may not be
supported in future versions of xinit.
DISPLAY The generic version of xinit always resets
the default value of $DISPLAY to unix:0.0
regardless of its value prior to running
xinit. This behavior has been changed so
that the (exported) value of $DISPLAY outside
of X will be maintained within X unless modi-
fied on the xinit command line. In addition,
if $DISPLAY is not set outside of X, its
default value will be initialized to host-
name:0.0 where hostname is the name of the
system invoking xinit as returned by gethost-
name(2).
TTY Settings The generic version of xinit always ran the
client script in a new session (with a
separate controlling terminal). Tty settings
set outside of X, consequently, did not apply
to X terminal windows. The client script is
now run in the same session as xinit so that
tty settings set prior to running xinit need
not be reset within X.
WARNINGS
xinit, as well as the x11start components, x11start,
sys.x11start and sys.Xdefaults may not be supported in
future releases. The vuelogin component of VUE will perform
all of the tasks performed by these components and will
become the supported method of starting up the X Window Sys-
tem both when VUE is and is not used.
SEE ALSO
X(1), x11start(1), Xserver(1), xterm(1)
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COPYRIGHT
Copyright 1988, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
See X(1) for a full statement of rights and permissions.
AUTHOR
Bob Scheifler, MIT Laboratory for Computer Science
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