New to Linux and Motif, Install on RH 7.1

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New to Linux and Motif, Install on RH 7.1

Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 01/11/2002 - 20:05. General Questions
Im setting up a linux system for someone and they requested that motif be the default wm/desktop environment for all users. I downloaded and installed the rpm, and I tried to install the mwm through the gnome desktop config console. Am I correct to use /usr/X11R6/bin/mwm as the command to load mwm? Is there any way to load just motif, the person im doing this for doesnt like the gnome or kde DE`s. Also, once I get this working, if i do, how would i change system defaults so all users would use motif as default? Please excuse my ignorance, im very new to this.

ICS_support

There is an understandable confusion on your part, because Motif refers to any or all of four things, depending on the context
1) the Motif API, for applications to use
2) the Motif Style Guide, which suggests how applications should use the widgets
3) the sample widget set
4) the Motif Window Manager, mwm

When you run mwm on its own (as you do above), the X applications get a Motif-y border and title. But this isn`t really "running Motif". There isn`t such a thing. The closest is to run a suite of applications, all of which use the same Motif widget set and have a similar look/feel. You can provide such Motif-based applications -- or you can run applications from the Common Desktop Environment (CDE).

Anonymous

Their are two ways to allow motif startup automatically.
look in your
/var/gdm/Sessions
The file "Xsession" calls the ~/.xinitrc (in anyone`s home). If you have "mwm &" in there, mwm will be loaded.

Also, you can copy (a sample) .xinitrc file into /var/gdm/Sessions and then that will be a new "selection" with a system default look and feel from the gdm login thing.

Don`t forget you need a ~/.mwmrc (again, the sample will do). This gives you a default desktop menu. Also, the .Xdefaults file (get a sample) is needed for colors, to enable the desktop icon box, etc...

Just to be complete, if you don`t get an automatic login (but you will) use "gdm &" as root (you can`t start X as a user). "xdm" is a quite older login choice -- that works fine for handling X logins.

If your doing "saved sessions" and have people logging in to their accounts remotely (not a bad idea ) you`ll have to tell gdm (see /var/gdm) to show the X-server in the login box for them to login to.

You`ll likely need this trick no matter what you do
"xhost +inethostname"
"xhost +localhostname"

These allow a remote application running on hostname to open your dislplay (elsewise, they just quit).

After all that you won`t have much of a desktop manager comparitively to GNOME. For example, you won`t have programmable icons or icons that can act on files dropped that have mime types (ie, mpg).

Now do an internet search and pay the $50 or so bucks for a real (fully compliant) CDE. You`ll be happy you save yourself a whole mess of trouble.

Motif and CDE are much much more than just a desktop choice or dev kit. A motif desktop from 1985 was more powerful than a windows 98 desktop. While CDE is use by television stations for control and at Lucas Films for graphics, VOLVO for crash simulation -- you will find it hard to find a "ms windows style" toy multimedia desktop for cde. Try "xi graphics?".

Something like CDE with Solaris 8 will show you CDE (if you survive the install). But you`ll see quickly that your linux things won`t move over to solaris without great effort. If you like linux I suggest you not plan on "switching to solaris 8".

BTW I`m supprised to find gnome is very solid since I`ve switched to debian linux. I incurred many many glitches under redhat -- enough to make me look elsewhere.

If you need a full suite of these things you will save IMMENSE time by buying products and not trying to integrate it all together yourself. If you can`t afford a used SGI -- at least afford CDE, right?

Its better to learn from a thing that is "together" (ie, SGI but not redhat) and then put one together yourself afterward. Thats the much easier way around.