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Xorg - X11R7 X server
Xorg [:display] [option ...]
Xorg
is a full featured X server that was originally designed for UNIX and UNIX-like
operating systems running on Intel x86 hardware. It now runs on a wider
range of hardware and OS platforms.
This work was derived by the X.Org Foundation
from the XFree86 Project's XFree86 4.4rc2 release. The XFree86 release was
originally derived from X386 1.2 by Thomas Roell which was contributed to
X11R5 by Snitily Graphics Consulting Service.
Xorg operates under
a wide range of operating systems and hardware platforms. The Intel x86
(IA32) architecture is the most widely supported hardware platform. Other
hardware platforms include Compaq Alpha, Intel IA64, AMD64, SPARC and PowerPC.
The most widely supported operating systems are the free/OpenSource UNIX-like
systems such as Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, and Solaris. Commercial
UNIX operating systems such as UnixWare are also supported. Other supported
operating systems include GNU Hurd. Darwin and Mac OS X are supported with
the XDarwin(1)
X server. Win32/Cygwin is supported with the XWin(1)
X
server.
Xorg supports connections made using the following
reliable byte-streams:
- Local
- On most platforms, the "Local" connection type
is a UNIX-domain socket. On some System V platforms, the "local" connection
types also include STREAMS pipes, named pipes, and some other mechanisms.
- TCP/IP
- Xorg listens on port 6000+n, where n is the display number. This
connection type can be disabled with the -nolisten option (see the Xserver(1)
man page for details).
For operating systems that support
local connections other than Unix Domain sockets (SVR3 and SVR4), there
is a compiled-in list specifying the order in which local connections should
be attempted. This list can be overridden by the XLOCAL environment variable
described below. If the display name indicates a best-choice connection
should be made (e.g. :0.0), each connection mechanism is tried until a connection
succeeds or no more mechanisms are available. Note: for these OSs, the
Unix Domain socket connection is treated differently from the other local
connection types. To use it the connection must be made to unix:0.0.
The
XLOCAL environment variable should contain a list of one more more of the
following:
NAMED
PTS
SCO
ISC
which represent SVR4 Named Streams pipe, Old-style USL Streams pipe, SCO
XSight Streams pipe, and ISC Streams pipe, respectively. You can select
a single mechanism (e.g. XLOCAL=NAMED), or an ordered list (e.g. XLOCAL="NAMED:PTS:SCO").
his variable overrides the compiled-in defaults. For SVR4 it is recommended
that NAMED be the first preference connection. The default setting is PTS:NAMED:ISC:SCO.
To globally override the compiled-in defaults, you should define (and export
if using sh or ksh) XLOCAL globally. If you use startx(1)
or xinit(1)
,
the definition should be at the top of your .xinitrc file. If you use xdm(1)
,
the definitions should be early on in the /usr/lib/X11/xdm/Xsession
script.
Xorg supports several mechanisms for supplying/obtaining
configuration and run-time parameters: command line options, environment
variables, the xorg.conf(5)
configuration file, auto-detection, and fallback
defaults. When the same information is supplied in more than one way, the
highest precedence mechanism is used. The list of mechanisms is ordered
from highest precedence to lowest. Note that not all parameters can be
supplied via all methods. The available command line options and environment
variables (and some defaults) are described here and in the Xserver(1)
manual page. Most configuration file parameters, with their defaults,
are described in the xorg.conf(5)
manual page. Driver and module specific
configuration parameters are described in the relevant driver or module
manual page.
In addition to the normal server options described in the
Xserver(1)
manual page, Xorg accepts the following command line switches:
- vtXX
- XX specifies the Virtual Terminal device number which Xorg will use.
Without this option, Xorg will pick the first available Virtual Terminal
that it can locate. This option applies only to platforms that have virtual
terminal support, such as Linux, BSD, OpenSolaris, SVR3, and SVR4.
- -allowMouseOpenFail
- Allow the server to start up even if the mouse device can't be opened or
initialised. This is equivalent to the AllowMouseOpenFail xorg.conf(5)
file
option.
- -allowNonLocalXvidtune
- Make the VidMode extension available to remote
clients. This allows the xvidtune client to connect from another host.
This is equivalent to the AllowNonLocalXvidtune xorg.conf(5)
file option.
By default non-local connections are not allowed.
- -bgamma value
- Set the blue
gamma correction. value must be between 0.1 and 10. The default is 1.0. Not
all drivers support this. See also the -gamma, -rgamma, and -ggamma options.
- -bpp n
- No longer supported. Use -depth to set the color depth, and use -fbbpp
if you really need to force a non-default framebuffer (hardware) pixel format.
- -config file
- Read the server configuration from file. This option will work
for any file when the server is run as root (i.e, with real-uid 0), or for
files relative to a directory in the config search path for all other users.
- -configure
- When this option is specified, the Xorg server loads all video
driver modules, probes for available hardware, and writes out an initial
xorg.conf(5)
file based on what was detected. This option currently has
some problems on some platforms, but in most cases it is a good way to
bootstrap the configuration process. This option is only available when
the server is run as root (i.e, with real-uid 0).
- -crt /dev/ttyXX
- SCO only.
This is the same as the vt option, and is provided for compatibility with
the native SCO X server.
- -depth n
- Sets the default color depth. Legal values
are 1, 4, 8, 15, 16, and 24. Not all drivers support all values.
- -disableVidMode
- Disable the parts of the VidMode extension (used by the xvidtune client)
that can be used to change the video modes. This is equivalent to the DisableVidModeExtension
xorg.conf(5)
file option.
- -fbbpp n
- Sets the number of framebuffer bits per
pixel. You should only set this if you're sure it's necessary; normally the
server can deduce the correct value from -depth above. Useful if you want
to run a depth 24 configuration with a 24 bpp framebuffer rather than the
(possibly default) 32 bpp framebuffer (or vice versa). Legal values are
1, 8, 16, 24, 32. Not all drivers support all values.
- -flipPixels
- Swap the
default values for the black and white pixels.
- -gamma value
- Set the gamma
correction. value must be between 0.1 and 10. The default is 1.0. This value
is applied equally to the R, G and B values. Those values can be set independently
with the -rgamma, -bgamma, and -ggamma options. Not all drivers support this.
- -ggamma value
- Set the green gamma correction. value must be between 0.1 and
10. The default is 1.0. Not all drivers support this. See also the -gamma,
-rgamma, and -bgamma options.
- -ignoreABI
- The Xorg server checks the ABI revision
levels of each module that it loads. It will normally refuse to load modules
with ABI revisions that are newer than the server's. This is because such
modules might use interfaces that the server does not have. When this option
is specified, mismatches like this are downgraded from fatal errors to
warnings. This option should be used with care.
- -isolateDevice bus-id
- Restrict
device resets to the device at bus-id. The bus-id string has the form bustype:bus:device:function
(e.g., oqPCI:1:0:0cq). At present, only isolation of PCI devices is supported;
i.e., this option is ignored if bustype is anything other than oqPCIcq.
- -keeptty
- Prevent the server from detaching its initial controlling terminal. This
option is only useful when debugging the server. Not all platforms support
(or can use) this option.
- -keyboard keyboard-name
- Use the xorg.conf(5)
file
InputDevice section called keyboard-name as the core keyboard. This option
is ignored when the Layout section specifies a core keyboard. In the absence
of both a Layout section and this option, the first relevant InputDevice
section is used for the core keyboard.
- -layout layout-name
- Use the xorg.conf(5)
file Layout section called layout-name. By default the first Layout section
is used.
- -logfile filename
- Use the file called filename as the Xorg server
log file. The default log file is /var/log/Xorg.n.log on most platforms,
where n is the display number of the Xorg server. The default may be in
a different directory on some platforms. This option is only available when
the server is run as root (i.e, with real-uid 0).
- -logverbose [n]
- Sets the
verbosity level for information printed to the Xorg server log file. If
the n value isn't supplied, each occurrence of this option increments the
log file verbosity level. When the n value is supplied, the log file verbosity
level is set to that value. The default log file verbosity level is 3.
- -modulepath
searchpath
- Set the module search path to searchpath. searchpath is a comma
separated list of directories to search for Xorg server modules. This option
is only available when the server is run as root (i.e, with real-uid 0).
- -nosilk
- Disable Silken Mouse support.
- -pixmap24
- Set the internal pixmap format for
depth 24 pixmaps to 24 bits per pixel. The default is usually 32 bits per
pixel. There is normally little reason to use this option. Some client
applications don't like this pixmap format, even though it is a perfectly
legal format. This is equivalent to the Pixmap xorg.conf(5)
file option.
- -pixmap32
- Set the internal pixmap format for depth 24 pixmaps to 32 bits
per pixel. This is usually the default. This is equivalent to the Pixmap
xorg.conf(5)
file option.
- -pointer pointer-name
- Use the xorg.conf(5)
file InputDevice
section called pointer-name as the core pointer. This option is ignored
when the Layout section specifies a core pointer. In the absence of both
a Layout section and this option, the first relevant InputDevice section
is used for the core pointer.
- -quiet
- Suppress most informational messages
at startup. The verbosity level is set to zero.
- -rgamma value
- Set the red
gamma correction. value must be between 0.1 and 10. The default is 1.0. Not
all drivers support this. See also the -gamma, -bgamma, and -ggamma options.
- -screen screen-name
- Use the xorg.conf(5)
file Screen section called screen-name.
By default the screens referenced by the default Layout section are used,
or the first Screen section when there are no Layout sections.
- -showconfig
- This is the same as the -version option, and is included for compatibility
reasons. It may be removed in a future release, so the -version option should
be used instead.
- -showDefaultModulePath
- Print out the default module path
the server was compiled with.
- -showDefaultLibPath
- Print out the path libraries
should be installed to.
- -showopts
- For each driver module installed, print
out the list of options and their argument types.
- -weight nnn
- Set RGB weighting
at 16 bpp. The default is 565. This applies only to those drivers which
support 16 bpp.
- -verbose [n]
- Sets the verbosity level for information printed
on stderr. If the n value isn't supplied, each occurrence of this option
increments the verbosity level. When the n value is supplied, the verbosity
level is set to that value. The default verbosity level is 0.
- -version
- Print
out the server version, patchlevel, release date, the operating system/platform
it was built on, and whether it includes module loader support.
The
Xorg server is normally configured to recognize various special combinations
of key presses that instruct the server to perform some action, rather
than just sending the key press event to a client application. The default
XKEYBOARD keymap defines the key combinations listed below. The kbd (4)
driver also has these key combinations builtin to its event handler for
cases where the XKEYBOARD extension is not being used. When using the XKEYBOARD
extension, which key combinations perform which actions is completely configurable.
The special combinations of key presses recognized directly by Xorg are:
- Ctrl+Alt+Backspace
- Immediately kills the server -- no questions asked. This
is disabled by default. It can be enabled with the -retro command line flag
or by setting the DontZap xorg.conf(5)
file option to a FALSE value.
- Ctrl+Alt+Keypad-Plus
- Change video mode to next one specified in the configuration file. This
can be disabled with the DontZoom xorg.conf(5)
file option.
- Ctrl+Alt+Keypad-Minus
- Change video mode to previous one specified in the configuration file. This
can be disabled with the DontZoom xorg.conf(5)
file option.
- Ctrl+Alt+F1...F12
- For systems with virtual terminal support, these keystroke combinations
are used to switch to virtual terminals 1 through 12, respectively. This
can be disabled with the DontVTSwitch xorg.conf(5)
file option.
Xorg
typically uses a configuration file called xorg.conf for its initial setup.
Refer to the xorg.conf(5)
manual page for information about the format of
this file.
Xorg has a mechanism for automatically generating a built-in configuration
at run-time when no xorg.conf file is present. The current version of this
automatic configuration mechanism works in two ways.
The first is via enhancements
that have made many components of the xorg.conf file optional. This means
that information that can be probed or reasonably deduced doesn't need to
be specified explicitly, greatly reducing the amount of built-in configuration
information that needs to be generated at run-time.
The second is to have
"safe" fallbacks for most configuration information. This maximises the
likelihood that the Xorg server will start up in some usable configuration
even when information about the specific hardware is not available.
The
automatic configuration support for Xorg is work in progress. It is currently
aimed at the most popular hardware and software platforms supported by
Xorg. Enhancements are planned for future releases.
The Xorg server
config file can be found in a range of locations. These are documented
fully in the xorg.conf(5)
manual page. The most commonly used locations
are shown here.
- /etc/X11/xorg.conf
- Server configuration file.
- /etc/X11/xorg.conf-4
- Server configuration file.
- /etc/xorg.conf
- Server configuration file.
- /usr/etc/xorg.conf
- Server configuration file.
- /usr/lib/X11/xorg.conf
- Server configuration
file.
- /var/log/Xorg.n.log
- Server log file for display n.
- /usr/bin/*
- Client
binaries.
- /usr/include/*
- Header files.
- /usr/lib/*
- Libraries.
- /usr/lib/X11/fonts/*
- Fonts.
- /usr/share/X11/XErrorDB
- Client error message database.
- /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/*
- Client resource specifications.
- /usr/share/man/man?/*
- Manual pages.
- /etc/Xn.hosts
- Initial access control list for display n.
X(7)
, Xserver(1)
,
xdm(1)
, xinit(1)
, xorg.conf(5)
, xvidtune(1)
, apm(4)
, ati(4)
, chips(4)
, cirrus(4)
,
cyrix(4)
, fbdev(4)
, glide(4)
, glint(4)
, i128(4)
, i740(4)
, imstt(4)
, intel(4)
,
mga(4)
, neomagic(4)
, nsc(4)
, nv(4)
, openchrome (4)
, r128(4)
, rendition(4)
,
s3virge(4)
, siliconmotion(4)
, sis(4)
, sunbw2(4)
, suncg14(4)
, suncg3(4)
,
suncg6(4)
, sunffb(4)
, sunleo(4)
, suntcx(4)
, tdfx(4)
, tga(4)
, trident(4)
,
tseng(4)
, v4l(4)
, vesa(4)
, vmware(4)
,
Web site <http://www.x.org
>.
Xorg has many contributors world wide.
The names of most of them can be found in the documentation, ChangeLog
files in the source tree, and in the actual source code.
Xorg was originally
based on XFree86 4.4rc2. That was originally based on X386 1.2 by Thomas Roell,
which was contributed to the then X Consortium's X11R5 distribution by SGCS.
Xorg is released by the X.Org Foundation.
The project that became XFree86
was originally founded in 1992 by David Dawes, Glenn Lai, Jim Tsillas and
David Wexelblat.
XFree86 was later integrated in the then X Consortium's
X11R6 release by a group of dedicated XFree86 developers, including the
following:
Stuart Anderson anderson@metrolink.com
Doug Anson danson@lgc.com
Gertjan Akkerman akkerman@dutiba.twi.tudelft.nl
Mike Bernson mike@mbsun.mlb.org
Robin Cutshaw robin@XFree86.org
David Dawes dawes@XFree86.org
Marc Evans marc@XFree86.org
Pascal Haible haible@izfm.uni-stuttgart.de
Matthieu Herrb Matthieu.Herrb@laas.fr
Dirk Hohndel hohndel@XFree86.org
David Holland davidh@use.com
Alan Hourihane alanh@fairlite.demon.co.uk
Jeffrey Hsu hsu@soda.berkeley.edu
Glenn Lai glenn@cs.utexas.edu
Ted Lemon mellon@ncd.com
Rich Murphey rich@XFree86.org
Hans Nasten nasten@everyware.se
Mark Snitily mark@sgcs.com
Randy Terbush randyt@cse.unl.edu
Jon Tombs tombs@XFree86.org
Kees Verstoep versto@cs.vu.nl
Paul Vixie paul@vix.com
Mark Weaver Mark_Weaver@brown.edu
David Wexelblat dwex@XFree86.org
Philip Wheatley Philip.Wheatley@ColumbiaSC.NCR.COM
Thomas Wolfram wolf@prz.tu-berlin.de
Orest Zborowski orestz@eskimo.com
Xorg source is available from the FTP server <ftp://ftp.x.org/>, and from the
X.Org server <http://gitweb.freedesktop.org/
>. Documentation and other information
can be found from the X.Org web site <http://www.x.org/
>.
Xorg is copyright
software, provided under licenses that permit modification and redistribution
in source and binary form without fee. Xorg is copyright by numerous authors
and contributors from around the world. Licensing information can be found
at <http://www.x.org
>. Refer to the source code for specific copyright notices.
XFree86(TM) is a trademark of The XFree86 Project, Inc.
X11(TM) and X Window
System(TM) are trademarks of The Open Group.
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