The Client-Server Model
Although it is possible to work entirely through the shell, modern Linux distributions allow the user to work through a GUI and ARMLinux is no exception! Indeed, if your preferred method of working is to point-and-click, then you will feel very much at home with this distribution.
However, a brief explanation of the X Windows System is in order so that you can take advantage of the power which is at your fingertips.
The X Windows System or "X" as it is more commonly known is based on a client-server way of doing things in which the server program determines access to your graphics hardware. The client, in contrast, is simply an applications program like xpdf or one of the many types of window manager. Although X clients usually run locally, remote connection to a client is possible and can be very useful in situations where you need to access an important file on another computer. RISC OS users will no doubt be interested to know that it is even possible to start up an X-Server under RISC OS itself if you take advantage of an application like !X (http://gnome.co.uk/) or !X-Server (http://kyllikki.fluff.org/software/x/).
Window Managers and X Applications
There are many window mangers available for GNU/Linux so for reasons of brevity, we will confine ourselves to a description of Window Maker's basic features because this is the default desktop for Debian.
X Windows can be activated with the startx command. . To start Window Maker simply press the right mouse button and click on WindowManagers and then on the wmaker sub-menu.
When you fire up Window Maker, you will notice a number of distinctive features which include:
The Window Maker Workspace from which you can launch applications by clicking with the right mouse button before choosing the application which you require.
An Applications Dock on the right hand side of your screen which is used to activate applications which you use regularly.
A series of Miniwindows at the bottom of your screen. The Miniwindow is made up of an icon and a title and appears when you temporarily close an application window.
To end your Window Maker session, click on the workspace with your right mouse button and select WindowManagers and Exit or Exit Session. If you choose Exit Session, all applications will be closed.
For further information, take a look at the official Window Maker web site (http://www.windowmaker.org/) which has links to mailing lists, user guides and sample configuration files where you wish to customise your setup.
Congratulations, you can now use all of the X applications which are on the CD but you will need to make a few changes to the default configuration before X Windows is fully usable.
Add the line *input: true to the .X defaults file which will be in your home directory. This should solve the problem of being unable to type into dialogue boxes under X.
You will need to install pcnfsd if you wish to use the Network Filing System (NFS) for sharing files over a network to a RISC OS machine or a PC. It is not needed for UNIX-UNIX sharing. Supplementary information on this topic can be found on the CD in Docs/html-howto. The Networking HOWTO is also required reading.
So we've taken a look at Window Maker itself and in order to help you to use this window manager, what follows is a description of some of the core X applications which you may find useful. If you decide to install an application, follow the instructions in the section called Alternative Filesystems which tell you how to install a package by using dpkg.
- xterm
A window containing the shell. xterm allows the user to cut-and-paste and to scroll. To close the xterm window, type exit at the prompt, press Ctrl+D or select Close with your mouse by clicking on the button on the extreme left of the fvwm titlebar.
- xpdf
A viewer for Portable Document Format (PDF) files. xpdf has been ported to RISC OS by Leo Smiers.
- xfig
A program which is ideal for the production of complex drawings which can be saved in a variety of formats including PostScript and LaTeX.
- xv
Allows the user to view and convert images in a variety of formats including GIF, JPEG and TIFF. Facilities are also available for image cropping, rotation, gamma correction and for the capturing of screenshots.
- games
You can even have some fun with Linux by playing games like xmahjonng, xgalaga or xgammon. If you want to have fun without using X, then why not check out bsd-games - a collection of classic non-X games including battleshar, gomoku and phantasia?
X Applications
