Talk:X Window System

Why intro does not clarify that X11 is a protocol?
The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems. X Window System is a specification which seems to have second name of X11 (whereas there exists X11 protocol which is a part of X11 specification). However the reference "windowing system" can confuse since it does state in its intro the following fact ...a windowing system (or window system) is software As I have stated, X Window System is not software but specification or design description though it has a reference implementation. That did mislead me in first place and could mislead others. Shall we clarify that is it a specification? If not, I apologize and please tell me what I am missing. -- Yoratade (talk) 22:06, 2 June 2021 (UTC)

X-Window-System is a standard an X11 one of its versions. Inside XWindowS you have the Xprotocol, that is like Machine Language for X, and XLibs to make programmers live easier. Guilloip (talk) 19:20, 16 February 2022 (UTC)

How could one possibly confuse this with Microsoft Windows?
There's a weird archived section from 2004 about how Microsoft lawyers would sue the maintainers of X11 for the name "X Windows" (and...no...I think few lawyers would be stupid enough to do that even when that was the name, not to mention this predates Windows 1.0 so they couldn't do anything). But I don't understand why else the article would start with "not to be confused with Microsoft Windows" because everything on the article points to this not being Microsoft's Windows. Is this a byproduct of that weird section in 2004? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.201.25.34 (talk) 04:24, 13 April 2022 (UTC)


 * @72.201.25.34 It's not uncommon to see it called X Windows, X-Windows, etc. For people less technically- (or at least less Unixily-) inclined, it's not improbable they might think anything computer-related called "Windows" is something to do with Microsoft. I'm not sure of the origin of the hatnote, but it doesn't do any harm. Getting that potential confusion cleared up immediately, without the reader getting through more of the article, is not a bad thing. Inops (talk) 17:51, 17 April 2022 (UTC)

VcXsrv not listed as free implementation on Windows
A reference to VcXsrv in Implementation section was removed as not non-notable entry. This is strange as VcXsrv is one of the only 3 available as free implementation on Windows.

The other two are Cygwin/X and Xming. While Cygwin/X is free, opensource and kept updated, the minimum installation is 800 MB, so not suggested but in case you need also posix layer and other tools with windows. Xming on the other way come in two versions, only one (v6.9) is free/public domain/MIT licensed but it is very old, from 2007, unstable and not ready for production env. The other Xming is updated (v7.7) but proprietary licensed and payd so not free.

So most of Windows users today are using VcXsrv. This is expecially true in recent years where WSL is really common and widespread, and more and more these days that WSL got DirectX acceleration with WSLg in Win10 21H1 too.

OK VcXsrv does not have a Wiki page, but this do not do it non-notable Efa (talk) 11:24, 27 November 2022 (UTC)


 * In the above, the only cited source is the project's SourceForge page. In Wikipedia, talk pages aren't a reliable source, so to continue the discussion, you should demonstrate notability by presenting independent sources which could be used to develop a suitable topic TEDickey (talk) 11:45, 27 November 2022 (UTC)

Here some:

https://itservices.cas.unt.edu/software/windows-x-server-vcxsrv

https://www.stat.ipb.ac.id/agusms/index.php/2019/01/15/how-to-run-graphical-linux-applications-on-bash-on-ubuntu-on-windows-10/

https://uni-tuebingen.de/fakultaeten/wirtschafts-und-sozialwissenschaftliche-fakultaet/faecher/fachbereich-wirtschaftswissenschaft/wirtschaftswissenschaft/fb-wiwi/einrichtungen-wirtschaftswissenschaft/wiwi-it/services/services/computing-asp/tools/x-server/vcxsrv/

https://www.shogan.co.uk/how-tos/wsl2-gui-x-server-using-vcxsrv/

https://www.uxora.com/unix/45-xdisplay-over-ssh-with-putty-xming-vcxsrv

https://askubuntu.com/questions/1435037/how-to-check-and-confirm-a-right-opengl-version-with-vcxsrv-for-using-ros2-rviz

https://seanthegeek.net/234/graphical-linux-applications-bash-ubuntu-windows/

https://help.cs.uwindsor.ca/mediawiki/index.php/VcXsrv

https://www.scrc.umanitoba.ca/doc/tutorial/T19_3a_xsrvputty.htm

https://www.oit.va.gov/Services/TRM/ToolPage.aspx?tid=9676

https://www.onworks.net/software/windows/app-vcxsrv-windows-x-server

https://codeyarns.com/tech/2019-05-12-vcxsrv-x-server-for-windows.html#gsc.tab=0

--Efa (talk) 14:50, 27 November 2022 (UTC)


 * sure - then go ahead and create a topic, so that others can validate which are reliable sources TEDickey (talk) 22:24, 27 November 2022 (UTC)

be careful not to get caught up in bureaucracy, damaging the quality of the Wiki product--Efa (talk) 10:50, 28 November 2022 (UTC)

Wayland as its successor?
Should this article body and infobox state Wayland as the successor to X11? They're under the same umbrella.

https://www.x.org/wiki/XorgFoundation/ :

"X.Org Foundation's (or X.Org for short) purpose is to research, develop, support, organize, administrate, standardize, promote, and defend a free and open accelerated graphics stack and the developers and users thereof. This stack includes, but is not limited to, the following projects: DRM, Mesa, Wayland and the X Window System." Merko (talk) 11:47, 18 April 2024 (UTC)