On Wed, May 08, 2002 at 07:49:36PM -0700, Vineet Kumar wrote: > * Andy Saxena ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) [020508 18:44]: > > Even if an executable can tell whether or not it is being called by a > > symlink, why should the xterm binary be coded to disregard the > > ~/.Xresources file? > > Well, technically speaking, xterm never reads the .Xresources file at > all. That file is read by the X server at login time to set entries in > the X server resource database. You can also use the xrdb utility to > set, change, and remove these entries. > > When xterm is run, it queries this database for certain values; things > like font size, background color, etc. Basically, for each variable, it > goes through this process: > > Was the value given on the command line? > Yes => Use this value > No => Is there an entry in the X resource database? > Yes => Use this value > No => use the default value > > The X resources generally look like "applicationName*attribute: value" > When you start an xterm, queries to the resource database are made for > xterm's "name" where I've written "applicationName" above. This name is > given by either the command line argument "-name foo" or by looking at > argv[0]. So when you use a symlink with a different name, argv[0] is > different, and so therefore is the default name by which resources are > loaded. > > > How does that help? > > It allows for the possibility of having different attribute sets for > different-behaving xterms. For example, I have one which I call with > "-name xterm-mutt" which starts out with a larger window and no scroll > bars. I also have a different-named xterm which starts out with larger > fonts, for when other people use my computer and ask ""Jeez! How can you > read that small text!?" > > Forgive me if I've been loose and quick with this explanation. A more > detailed explanation of X resources is given in X(7). >
Thank you, that solved my problem. Actually, I was trying to get the ion wm to run, and it would call up x-terminal-emulator, which obviously wasn't getting the same preferences set for xterm. I copied over xterm's preferences and changed xterm to x-terminal-emulator, and everything works now. Thanks for your patience and time. I learned much. Cheers, Andy -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
