xmove(1) UNIX System V (30 November 1994) xmove(1)
NAME
xmove - pseudoserver to support mobile X11 clients
SYNOPSIS
xmove [ -server server_name:port ] [ -port listen_port ]
DESCRIPTION
xmove starts a pseudoserver which allows its X11 clients to
be relocated from one display to another. Upon startup it
will create a listening port from which it accepts new
client connections. All such clients will be displayed on
the default server, until moved elsewhere. Several clients
may connect through a single xmove, thus requiring only one
per machine.
xmove will assume logical default values for both the
default listening port and the default server. Take as an
example a typical machine named chestnut, with a standard
X11 server named chestnut:0.
The default server is obtained from the environment variable
DISPLAY at start-up time, which would normally be set to
chestnut:0, as in our example. This server is the display to
which all new connections will be initially sent. The
default server should never be set to another xmove.
The default listening port is 1. In our example, this would
mean clients should be sent to chestnut:1 instead of
chestnut:0 if you wish them to be run through xmove.
TYPICAL USAGE
Assuming that the environment variable DISPLAY contains the
name of your default server, no options need to be set.
xmove will listen for new connections at localhost:1, where
localhost is the machine on which xmove is being run.
xmove displays messages to stdout and stderr as it runs,
including information when a client is moved and whenever
the X11 server sends an error to a client.
To manipulate clients running on an xmove, see xmovectrl.
SECURITY
xmove supports both host-level security, implemented with
xhost, and MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1, implemented with xauth. A new
client will only be permitted access through xmove if it
could have been started on the default server directly. A
client can be moved to a new server if that new server
either permits the host on which xmove is running via xhost,
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or if the user moving the client has access to the proper
cookie entry for the new server.
OPTIONS
-server
Use the specified server as the default server to which
all clients are to be initially displayed.
-port
Use the specified port as the default port through
which all clients should connect to xmove. Users must
specify a DISPLAY of localhost:n, where localhost is
the name of the machine on which xmove was executed,
and n is the specified port. The port must be a number
from 1 to 9.
MULTI-HEADED DISPLAYS
xmove supports displays that have multiple screens. When
moving a client it is possible to specify the screen on the
destination machine. When starting a client through an xmove
with a multi-headed default server, it is possible to
specify the screen on which the client should appear, so
long as both screens have the same characteristics (ie. both
1-bit, or both 8-bit color, etc.) If the screens are
different, it is necessary to start the client on screen 0
and then move to the desired screen.
X TERMINALS
In order to use xmove with an X terminal you can run
xmove on another workstation, and specify the X terminal as
the default server. If multiple people wish to run xmove on
the same workstation for multiple X terminals, each xmove
must have its own listening port.
ENVIRONMENT
The environment variable XMOVE_ATOMMAP_LIBPATH can be set to
the directory where xmove's support libraries are located.
This will override the directory set at compile time.
SEE ALSO
xmovectrl(1), X11(7), xhost(1), xauth(1)
BUGS
This is a fairly untested product. Without attempting to
frighten off potential users, it is recommended that all
applications intended to be used with xmove first be tested
in an xmove environment. This includes attempting to move
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the application to a new server.
xmove does not work in all environments nor with all
programs. Although xmove does support moving clients between
displays with different characteristics, there are
limitations. Most notably, a client started on a 1-bit
black-and-white display can only be moved to other 1-bit
displays. Additionally, xmove does not support 24-bit
displays, although some users have reported sporadic
success.
xmove requires font compatibility between displays. Thus, if
your client makes use of a certain font, that font must be
available on all displays to which your client is moved.
Bug reports and other problems may be sent to
ethan@cs.columbia.edu.
Questions regarding xmove, its capabilities, limitations and
future possibilities may be sent to that email address, or
posted to comp.windows.x.
NOTES
Always remember that not all of your applications need to
use xmove. If some of your clients prove incompatible with
xmove, simply run them directly to the desired server.
AUTHORS
Ethan Solomita, Columbia University
Peter Skopp, Columbia University
Ari Shamash, Columbia University
This work was supported by Professor Dan Duchamp of Columbia
University and by Dick Sillman and Jim Kempf of Sun
Microsystems, Inc.
xmove is based upon xmon, which was written by Greg
McFarlane, OTC, Australia.
xmon was based upon xscope, written by James L. Peterson,
MCC.
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