How can I use the computer without the desktop (eg KDE)?

SCerovec · 10-21-2016, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GazL

You could probably get away with using multiple single window apps concurently such as an xterm and mplayer but as soon as you get a multi-window app things are going to go pear-shaped without a WM (unless that app was written with this in mind and manages its own focus/window layout). You can use an X app without a WM, but it really needs to be written with that possibility in mind, and I suspect most aren't.

Running without an WM is an interesting exercise if you ever teach yourself to code with xlib. But even if you forgo all the window decorations, launchers and other fancy-stuff, you really want a WM that at the least does alt-tabbing and manages focus to be practical.

Back in the day, i remember killing the WM on Mandriva (segfault?) and how i managed not to reset/reboot :^)
Those where the days
kernel was fresh about 2.4, 2.2 was considered mature/stable :sigh:

Tonus · 10-21-2016, 02:58 PM

I use i3 wm. Most apps are command line based :
Mutt for mail with offlineimap
Khard for contacts
Khal for calendar
Pass for passwords
It still allows me to launch chromium, gimp okular, libreoffice, a Bluetooth applet or whatever I need with handy "desktops like" behavior.
Just have a look to a video about it to make your own opinion.

slackb0t · 10-22-2016, 07:33 AM

I agree i3 is very nice if you are a minimalist. I moved from xfce to flux to i3. It is a good progression imho.

Didier Spaier · 01-06-2017, 03:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ttk

Also, instead of startx (which also starts dbus, which I never want) I've been using this script to start X11:

Code:

#!/bin/sh
/usr/bin/xinit &
/usr/bin/sleep 2
/usr/bin/fvwm -f /etc/X11/fvwm2/system.fvwm2rc &
/usr/bin/sleep 1
/usr/bin/xset s off
/usr/bin/xset -dpms
/usr/bin/setterm -blank 0
/usr/bin/xv -root -maxpect /home/ttk/texts/critters.cat.azathoth.2015-07-28a.jpg -quit
/usr/bin/xterm

The xv command just sets my background wallpaper (a picture of my cat Azathoth lounging in the garden).

Very interesting.

Just out of curiosity: did you consider putting the commands that run after launching fvwm in its Start function?

By the way, in fvwm 2.6.7 (I don't remember if that was implemented before) the Start function covers both Init and Start, as says the new default config file:

Code:

# Start Function
#
# The start function is run right after fvwm is done reading
# the config file. This function run after each restart
# so using Test (Init) or Test (Restart) can further control
# actions that are run during the first time run (Init) or
# actions that are run after a restart.

PS Looking at Lumina's features you could like it. But they use fluxbox instead of fvwm until now (they plan to replace it with their own window manager though).

fatmac · 01-06-2017, 07:42 AM

You can off course multi task using screen, (no X needed on the system).

Midnight Commander will do all file manager tasks & has a built in editor.
Lots of music players available as well as mplayer.
Several web browsers & mail programs also.
There are even some old fashioned games!

orbea · 01-06-2017, 11:09 AM

You can also play games with any libretro emulator via RetroArch with only kms if your graphics card and driver support it. No xorg, de or wm necessary.

ttk · 01-06-2017, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Didier Spaier

Very interesting.

Just out of curiosity: did you consider putting the commands that run after launching fvwm in its Start function?

I hadn't considered it, because I think of starting X11 and starting the window manager as two distinct layers .. but looking at it, putting those commands into fvwm's Start function would allow me to eliminate that second sleep command, and simplify the x script considerably. Thank you for pointing that out.

Didier Spaier · 01-06-2017, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ttk

I hadn't considered it, because I think of starting X11 and starting the window manager as two distinct layers .. but looking at it, putting those commands into fvwm's Start function would allow me to eliminate that second sleep command, and simplify the x script considerably. Thank you for pointing that out.

As you know, the startup process differ upon usage or not of a display manager -- although I be pretty sure that you do not use one

Anyway here are the processes involved in Slint (lxdm used as display manager). Excerpts of output of pstree -a:

runlevel 3:

Code:

  ├─bash
  │   └─startx /usr/bin/startx
  │       └─xinit /home/didier/.xinitrc -- /usr/bin/X :0 -auth /home/didier/.serverauth.10631
  │           ├─Xorg :0 -auth /home/didier/.serverauth.10631
  │           │   └─{Xorg}
  │           └─sh /home/didier/.xinitrc
  │               └─ck-launch-sessi /usr/bin/startfvwm2
  │                   └─fvwm
  │                       ├─FvwmButtons 7 4 none 0 8 RightPanel
  │                       ├─FvwmEvent 9 4 none 0 8 EventNewDesk
  │                       ├─FvwmIconMan 13 4 none 0 8
  │                       └─FvwmPager 11 4 none 0 8 *

runlevel 4:

Code:

  ├─lxdm-binary -nodaemon
  │   ├─Xorg :0 vt07 -nolisten tcp -novtswitch -auth /var/run/lxdm/lxdm-:0.auth
  │   │   └─{Xorg}
  │   └─fvwm
  │       ├─FvwmButtons 7 4 none 0 8 RightPanel
  │       ├─FvwmEvent 9 4 none 0 8 EventNewDesk
  │       ├─FvwmIconMan 13 4 none 0 8
  │       └─FvwmPager 11 4 none 0 8 *

It would be interesting to compare with your startup method, i.e starting xinit then fvwm.

ttk · 01-06-2017, 12:23 PM

It doesn't look that different:

Code:

init
  |-xinit
  |   |-X :0
  |   `-xterm -geometry +1+1 -n login
  |       `-tcsh
  |-fvwm -f /etc/X11/fvwm2/system.fvwm2rc
  |   `-FvwmPager 9 4 none 0 8 0 0

Yeah, I still use tcsh on my laptop :-} more out of inertia than anything else. It's bash on all of my other systems.

rob.rice · 01-06-2017, 07:56 PM

rather than using startx you could run "init 4;exit
and pick the windomanager you want some of them are
really really bare bones

the ";exit" is there to cleanly shut down x without you having to close the VT at shutdown