Chapter 7. The X Window System (Topic 1.1.10)

Unix has a long history that predates the popular demand for a graphical user interface (GUI). However, a GUI is an essential part of running desktop systems today, and the standard GUI on Linux systems is the X Window System, or more simply, X. Originally developed at MIT and Digital Equipment Corporation, X's Version 11 Release 6 is the version most commonly seen in Linux distributions. This version is more commonly referred to as X11R6, or just X11. X is a complete windowing GUI and is distributable under license without cost. The implementation of X for Linux is XFree86 (http://www.xfree86.org), which is available for multiple computer architectures and is released under the GNU Public License. This section covers the following three Objectives on XFree86 for LPI Exam 101:

Objective 1: Install and Configure X11

An LPIC 1 candidate should be able to configure and install X and an X font server. This Objective includes verifying that the video card and monitor are supported by an X server as well as customizing and tuning X for the video card and monitor. It also includes installing an X font server, installing fonts, and configuring X to use the font server (which may require manually editing /etc/X11/XF86Config). Weight: 5.

Objective 2: Setup a Display Manager

This Objective states a candidate should be able to setup and customize a display manager. This includes turning the display manager on or off and changing the display manager greetings. It also includes changing default bitplanes for the display manager and configuring display managers for use by X stations. This Objective covers the display managers xdm (X Display Manager), gdm (Gnome Display Manager), and kdm (KDE Display Manager). Weight: 3.

Objective 4: Install and Customize a Window Manager Environment

LPIC candidates should be able to customize a system-wide desktop environment and/or window manager to demonstrate an understanding of customization procedures for window manager menus and/or desktop panel menus. This Objective includes selecting and configuring the desired X terminal (xterm, rxvt, aterm, etc.), verifying and resolving library dependency issues for X applications, and exporting X display to client workstations. Weight: 5.