Re: [Nolug] XDM - Debian Question

On Feb 16, 2004, at 12:16, James Scott wrote:
> On Mon, 2004-02-16 at 00:24, Kevin Kreamer wrote:
>> On Feb 15, 2004, at 23:53, G. Meyers wrote:
>>> I installed Debian 3.0 not too long ago. Changed source from stable
>>> to testing, did an apt-get update and upgrade. Decided to get
>>> XFree86
>>> so I did an "apt-get install x-window-system". This installed XDM.
>>> Don't really care too much for XDM and would either like to remove it
>>> or at least install either GDM or KDM in its place.
>
> Though all of the methods here will work I think we should help the
> "new
> with a concept or 2 here. First XDM, GDM, KDM, are GUI login managers.
> The only conflict between them is you cannot use them all at once.
> They
> can however co-exist on the system without conflict. To use one or the
> other however represents a choice of windowing environments. If the
> choice to boot to a GUI login is made automatic (controlled by setting
> the init level to 5 in inittab) one must also make a default choice of
> a
> login manager.

I was talking of Conflicts in terms of Debian packages. However, as
Ron pointed out, it seems that they no longer conflict with each other,
in Debian's unstable branch. I think that they did conflict once, in
the past, but I'm not sure. I generally don't use XDM, and so one of
the first things I do is to remove it.

> One can choose not to have the machine to boot to a GUI login manager
> at
> all and whether you use a configuration tool or edit the inittab file
> directly the net effect is set the init level to 3.
> Example of inittab entry in question.
>
> id:5:initdefault: for boot to X
> id:3:initdefault: for boot to prompt no X running

Debian does not use runlevels in this way. With Debian, the default
runlevel is 2, and Debian itself does not differentiate between
runlevels 2 through 5. They are reserved for administrator use. Which
means, that if xdm is installed, by default it will run and run on all
runlevels 2 through 5.

> Next if set to 5 inittab (in RH9) calls x:5:respawn:/etc/X11/prefdm
> -nodaemon. Which in turn looks at /etc/sysconfig/desktop witch is
> where
> the actual desktop environment is defined (In my system
> DESKTOP="GNOME").

I went ahead and install two of the *dm to see how Debian handles it
now. When configuring the second one, a debconf prompt came up and
asked me which to use as a default. That choice was recorded in
/etc/X11/default-window-manager, and is looked at when the system init
scripts are run. So, I was wrong about them conflicting. Sorry about
that.

Debian does not have /etc/X11/prefdm nor does it have a /etc/sysconfig
directory at all.

> If I had installed the KDE environment or another and the files were on
> the machine changing this line would start the one of choice and not
> harm another.
> The script startx just checks if there are any special user
> configuration files and some other stuff and then runs X and clients.
> because you have already logged in with your user name and password
> there is no need for login screen and moving to init level 5 (an X
> session).
> One can enter the command "init 5" at the prompt and get the same
> result.

This will, of course, run all the init scripts dealing with runlevel 5,
including many other deamons unrelated to X and XDM. Also, to be
clear, the system is still at runlevel 5 (on a RedHat machine, 2 on
Debian, by default) when you are logged in. It's just that XDM isn't
running at that point.

> Ok. I think I got carried away. The point is you do not have to
> "un-install" one to install another.

This is true with Debian as well as with RedHat, at least in sid.

Hope this helps,
Kevin

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Received on 02/16/04