Chapter 5 The X Window System

Table of Contents
5.1 Synopsis
5.2 Understanding X
5.3 Installing X11
5.4 X11 Configuration
5.5 Using Fonts in X11
5.6 The X Display Manager
5.7 Desktop Environments
Updated for X.Org's X11 server by Ken Tom and Marc Fonvieille.

5.1 Synopsis

FreeBSD uses X11 to provide users with a powerful graphical user interface. X11 is an open-source implementation of the X Window System that includes both Xorg and XFree86. FreeBSD versions up to and including FreeBSD 5.2.1-RELEASE will find the default installation to be XFree86, the X11 server released by The XFree86 Project, Inc. As of FreeBSD 5.3-RELEASE, the default and official flavor of X11 was changed to Xorg, the X11 server developed by the X.Org Foundation.

This chapter will cover the installation and configuration of X11 with emphasis on Xorg.

For more information on the video hardware that X11 supports, check either the Xorg or XFree86 web sites.

After reading this chapter, you will know:

Before reading this chapter, you should:

Note: This chapter covers the installation and the configuration of both Xorg and XFree86 X11 servers. For the most part, configuration files, commands and syntaxes are identical. In the case where there are differences, both Xorg and XFree86 syntaxes will be shown.

This, and other documents, can be downloaded from ftp://ftp.FreeBSD.org/pub/FreeBSD/doc/.

For questions about FreeBSD, read the documentation before contacting <[email protected]>.
For questions about this documentation, e-mail <[email protected]>.