No, I'm saying that provides no useful information to a Slackware user and that is not correct for Slackware. If this wasn't a newbie issue, I'd probably let the comment slide; I'd expect an experienced Slackware user to know enough to discount the posting accordingly. Newbies don't know enough to do that. (When they do know enough, they aren't newbies any more.)

I have checked threads in the past to ensure that I'm not flaming someone for posting non-Slackware advice in threads that weren't in the Slackware forum at the time of their posting. This particular comment was posted after the thread was moved over here.

This is way off topic. I'll create a thread tonight when I get in from work to discuss this issue. Maybe it'll get people to stop posting on that damned systemd thread.

Slackware has a configuration script for changing the default window manager globally, which I believe is done via /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc

You would only need to create an ~/.xinitrc if you need to override this on a per user basis. So yes it works...

I'm not sure if the startx script is part of a hypothetical xinit package in Slackware however, probably not. It's most likely just part of the main xorg package (not at my own machine right now).

xinitrc files come with a de/wm

xwmconfig cp's /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc.whatever_wm to /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc when you select it

/etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc is the default X... thing to start something
does not even have to be a DE, like i had xinitrc.dota2 when ram was short

edit: default xinit... thing to be more precise (man xinit for more)

You can use different xinitrc's to start various desktop environments on the fly, it's what I do.

Create a separate xinitrc for each environment in a folder somewhere, for instance:

xinitrc1 (start kde)
xinitrc2 (start fluxbox)
xinitrc3 (open just an xterm)

and so on. Then in your .bashrc alias startx to the various xinitrc's thus:

alias startx1='startx ~/path/to/my/folder/xinitrc1' (starts kde)
alias startx2='startx ~/path/to/my/folder/xinitrc2' (starts fluxbox)
alias startx3='startx ~/path/to/my/folder/xinitrc3' (starts just an xterm)

Normally I will do alt-F2, login again and startx another xinitrc. I can then switch between this one and the original prompt with ctrl-alt-F7 and ctrl-alt-F1. The next is set up by logging in on alt-3, opening on ctrl-alt-F8 and so on.

Personally (I use TWM) each xinitrc opens a particular set of programs, creating a different workspace, which I can then switch between. Sort of like KDE's activities I guess.

No offense to Debian (which is another great distribution), but I don't think anything came from them. Most of it was figured out here through trial and error (and helpful testing by folks on LQ), but if anyone should get credit for helping directly it's Steven Shiau from Clonezilla.

3 members found this post helpful.

I think part of the issue is that for the most recently posted to thread, from the main forum page, will appear under the FORUM - Linux Distributions. It does not appear to be under the slackware sub-forum until AFTER you click the link. And only if you look at the directory tree above the thread and all posts to it. From the main forum page there is no indication that the thread is in a sub forum. Or which sub forum.

Aside from the qualifier debian, I fail to see the irrelevance. Had I generalized the post, and ommited the word debian, you may have been completely passive of it's content. It's great to see passion in the world, but I think yours is a little misplaced. In linux, there's always more than one way to do things. When you start focusing on methodologies and only one way to do things, when that one way fails to deliver, you're effectively offline. More so, if that's they only way you know how to do things.

For example I use the cwm window manager. Which is a bsd window manager. Debian does not have a package for it. And I would guess that slackware does not either. So the methodology of xwmconfig wouldn't apply as the source compiled binary would not include an xinitrc for that wm and weave it into the xwmconfig methodology of slackware. So how did my original comment not apply? Is there no xinit package? Will startx fail if you create an .xinitrc that doesn't match any of the KNOWN versions of it supplied by the distro? It may not be an accepted methodology, but does it fail?

Thanks.

I have been using openSUSE and am happy with it.

Take care.

Actually, cwm is availble on SlackBuilds. And the package includes a xinitrc which works fine with xwmconfig.

I find it Ironic that a person with the name Fixit7 can't figure out how to get their wifi working. Enjoy using Suse, until that "breaks" .