A versatile default X session chooser.

Didier Spaier · 11-25-2017, 07:20 AM

The attached script sets the default X session for the user who runs it in runlevel 3 (using startx) and 4: I have tested it with xdm (with some caveat, see the comment on top), gdm2, kdm, lxdm, lightdm. If it works also with gdm3 or sddm, please let me know.

It has accountsservice as dependency, because the script user-xsession.py used to set the session for lightdm needs it. A package that bundle this script with accountsservice is here: http://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/slint-testing/slint/ and the source repo is there (thanks Eric for the SlackBuild): http://slackware.uk/slint/x86_64/sli...countsservice/

Alternatively if you don't intend to install lightdm (that needs PAM), jut edit the script accordingly.

You will also need to edit it to add window managers, that would need to have a .desktop stored in /usr/share/xsessions.

TIP: the lightweight window managers often don't ship with a .desktop, but there are a lot of them in /usr/share/apps/kdm/sessions/, that you can just copy to /usr/share/xsessions

Save the script in /usr/bin and make it executable or include it in a package.

Darth Vader · 11-25-2017, 07:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Didier Spaier

Alternatively if you don't intend to install lightdm (that needs PAM), jut edit the script accordingly.

That phrase made me to raise a eyebrow...

BLASPHEMY! SLINT CONTAINS PAM!

You should be excommunicated and to be sent out of village with no pants, because you insult The True Slackware Way and you pact with the unbelievers and PAM worshipers! BOB have mercy for you!

P.S. Now downloading the latest SLINT ISO, to see with my eyes your sins...

P.S.2 For those who wonder about "with no pants" part, it is for historical consistence, as in Medieval France the excommunicated ones was (forcefully) sent out from the city or village, well... with no pants.

I have no information if that rule was applied also to ladies.

LuckyCyborg · 11-25-2017, 08:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth Vader

I have no information if that rule was applied also to ladies.

Nope, the ladies was just declared witches and fried, to save their souls, as in any Catholic country while Medieval Age.

GazL · 11-25-2017, 09:27 AM

Isn't this what xwmconfig is for?

FlinchX · 11-25-2017, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darth Vader

P.S.2 For those who wonder about "with no pants" part, it is for historical consistence, as in Medieval France the excommunicated ones was (forcefully) sent out from the city or village, well... with no pants.

If you happen to have a whole fortune file with such informative hilarious trivia facts, please do share.

Didier Spaier · 11-25-2017, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GazL

Isn't this what xwmconfig is for?

It it is, but not as versatile. For instance, it can't set the default session for lightdm or gdm. You can choose a session in lightdm's greeter, but this setting is not accessible to blind users.

I have also modified xwmconfig to add these features, but that's another story, and some people may prefer a text UI to a ncurses dialog.

GazL · 11-25-2017, 10:55 AM

Ahh, ok. That makes sense.

I use XDM myself with a custom /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession file(I don't like the stock one). I've never seen the point of gdm, and now that I know it doesn't respect the users .xsession file, I'm even less inclined to go near it.

Didier Spaier · 11-25-2017, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GazL

I use XDM myself with a custom /etc/X11/xdm/Xsession file.

Would you like to share it? I could steal ideas to enhance the Xsession files that I have also adapted, like for lxdm and lightdm.

GazL · 11-25-2017, 12:07 PM

Sure, but it's a fairly invasive rewrite of X11 related parts.

Firstly, the motivation behind the change was primarily that I didn't like how the stock Xsession file runs and re-runs the /etc/profile file: First it sources them and then there's another section which runs 'bash --login' in order to dynamically determine the PATH (which will run through it all again in the subshell). I really hated that, so I ripped it all out and just had it run /etc/xprofile instead.

I created a /etc/xprofile.d/ directory which contains symlinks to the files in /etc/profile.d minus any that aren't really appropriate for an X environment. So basically something like this:

Code:

test@ws1:~$ ls -l /etc/xprofile.d
total 0
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 26 Nov 15  2016 00-manpath.sh -> ../profile.d/00-manpath.sh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 28 Nov 15  2016 00-pkgconfig.sh -> ../profile.d/00-pkgconfig.sh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 24 Apr 27  2017 freetype.sh -> ../profile.d/freetype.sh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 22 Nov 14  2016 glibc.csh -> ../profile.d/glibc.csh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 Nov 14  2016 glibc.sh -> ../profile.d/glibc.sh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 Nov 14  2016 gtk+.csh -> ../profile.d/gtk+.csh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 20 Nov 14  2016 gtk+.sh -> ../profile.d/gtk+.sh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 Nov 14  2016 lang.csh -> ../profile.d/lang.csh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 20 Nov 14  2016 lang.sh -> ../profile.d/lang.sh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 25 Nov 14  2016 libglib2.csh -> ../profile.d/libglib2.csh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 24 Nov 14  2016 libglib2.sh -> ../profile.d/libglib2.sh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 26 Nov 14  2016 pkgconfig.csh -> ../profile.d/pkgconfig.csh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 25 Nov 14  2016 pkgconfig.sh -> ../profile.d/pkgconfig.sh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 26 Mar 17  2017 pulseaudio.sh -> ../profile.d/pulseaudio.sh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 20 Nov 14  2016 qt4.csh -> ../profile.d/qt4.csh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 19 Nov 14  2016 qt4.sh -> ../profile.d/qt4.sh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 Nov 14  2016 scim.csh -> ../profile.d/scim.csh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 20 Nov 14  2016 scim.sh -> ../profile.d/scim.sh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 22 Nov 14  2016 t1lib.csh -> ../profile.d/t1lib.csh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 Nov 14  2016 t1lib.sh -> ../profile.d/t1lib.sh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 22 Nov 14  2016 vdpau.csh -> ../profile.d/vdpau.csh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 Nov 14  2016 vdpau.sh -> ../profile.d/vdpau.sh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 39 Nov 14  2016 z-dot-in-non-root-path.csh -> ../profile.d/z-dot-in-non-root-path.csh
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 38 Nov 14  2016 z-dot-in-non-root-path.sh -> ../profile.d/z-dot-in-non-root-path.sh

(the z-dot-in ones are chmod -x in /etc/profile.d/ so they don't get run anyway)

Now, to allow the user to select different environments in xdm you alter the translations part of /etc/X11/xdm/Xresources like this.

Code:

xlogin*login.translations: #override \
        Ctrl<Key>R: abort-display()\n\
        <Key>F1: set-session-argument(failsafe) finish-field()\n\
        <Key>F2: set-session-argument(xfce) finish-field()\n\  
        <Key>Delete: delete-character()\n\
        <Key>Left: move-backward-character()\n\
        <Key>Right: move-forward-character()\n\
        <Key>Home: move-to-begining()\n\
        <Key>End: move-to-end()\n\
        Ctrl<Key>KP_Enter: set-session-argument(failsafe) finish-field()\n\
        <Key>KP_Enter: set-session-argument() finish-field()\n\
        Ctrl<Key>Return: set-session-argument(failsafe) finish-field()\n\
        <Key>Return: set-session-argument() finish-field()

if the user presses F1 instead of enter after typing their password they get the fail-safe, press F2 and they get xfce. Just hit enter and they get whatever their ~/.xsession does.

Anyway, I've been using this for a while now and it works for me, but it is a significant deviation to what stock Slackware provides.

files attached:

PS. I also included my rc.4.local as I do some interesting stuff in there to to help prevent SAK issues.

Didier Spaier · 11-25-2017, 12:27 PM

That's interesting, thanks for sharing.

franzen · 11-26-2017, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Didier Spaier

Would you like to share it? I could steal ideas to enhance the Xsession files that I have also adapted, like for lxdm and lightdm.

Not sure if that's of interest for your case, and you probably already know https://slackbuilds.org/repository/1...are-xdm-theme/

Johannes

Didier Spaier · 11-26-2017, 11:14 AM

I will look at that, thanks Johannes.

Didier Spaier · 11-26-2017, 12:09 PM

I installed it in Slint with "spi -i slackware-xdm-theme", selected it with "dm-chooser xdm" and rebooted.

It looks nice. I just need to modify it to display "Slint"

phenixia2003 · 11-26-2017, 12:43 PM

Hello,

I recently wrote a slackware xdm theme (requires imagemagick, and optionally numlockx) which looks like this :

This theme can be customized at different levels using configuration files.

For instance, it is possible to :

* defines whether or not the clock is displayed.

* defines which buttons must be present in the buttons bar and their order.

* specify one or more extra image operations that are applied to the background image. Here is two example :

1. extra image ops: "-emboss 8"

2. extra image ops: "-grayscale Rec709Luminance" "-emboss 8" "" "-flop"

Note: As extra image ops can be time consuming, an image cache is used to avoid to have to regenerate the (same) background image each time xdm (re)starts.

--
SeB

DarkVision · 11-26-2017, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phenixia2003

Hello,

I recently wrote a slackware xdm theme (requires imagemagick, and optionally numlockx) which looks like this :
--
SeB

Nice! How can i apply your theme?