Date: Wed, 4 Jul 2007 07:29:30 +0200 From: Jeroen Ruigrok van der Werven <asmodai@in-nomine.org> To: Ben Kaduk <minimarmot@gmail.com> Cc: freebsd-doc@freebsd.org Subject: Re: what is the definition of X11? Message-ID: <20070704052930.GU30825@nexus.in-nomine.org> In-Reply-To: <47d0403c0707031641j68c686b9sa4aa01119170ae59@mail.gmail.com> References: <47d0403c0707031641j68c686b9sa4aa01119170ae59@mail.gmail.com>
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-On [20070704 01:39], Ben Kaduk (minimarmot@gmail.com) wrote: > Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X11) seems to imply that the X > window system is a protocol (for the client/server communication?), so > then X11 is a version of this protocol, and Xorg and XFree86 are > implementations of this protocol (but I am loth to blindly trust > wikipedia). > > If this is true, then the above quote isn't quite right, as the > inclusion should somehow be the other way -- Xorg and XFree86 both > implement X11 (``include'' it in them). Of course the text could be > changed to say that the X11 protocol is used by many different > softwares, including both Xorg and XFree86, but that still seems a bit > awkward. > > Any comments from someone who knows more than I about what all these terms > mean? It's difficult, since you are now in the shady zone of accepted word usage that's a bit beyond the original definition. People typically say: X, X11 (since that has been, over the past 10 years at least, the dominant/only version left), X Windows (how wrong it may be), or X Window System. So when people say X or X11 they refer to their desktop/window manager commonly. Yes, pedantically X11 is just a protocol. If you want to be less ambiguous you could opt for 'X Window System' instead of X11, but in the Unix community X11/X is readily understood. And then the question becomes: would it make a difference for any newcomers? I wonder what X.org says actually. -- Jeroen Ruigrok van der Werven <asmodai(-at-)in-nomine.org> / asmodai イェルーン ラウフロック ヴァン デル ウェルヴェン http://www.in-nomine.org/ | http://www.rangaku.org/ When you blame others, you give up your power to change...
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