Subject: Re: X problems..
To: None <hth@analytikerna.se>
From: Mark Newton <newton@atdot.dotat.org>
List: port-sun3
Date: 04/28/1998 17:35:10
Håkan Thörngren wrote:

 > The greatest problem at the moment is that I cannot launch
 > programs (like xterm and emacs) from a hotkey or from the menu
 > in twm.  It seems to start a process owned by root, puts up a wrist
 > watch and hangs.  If I "kill -9 the process from remote, X displays
 > the corner advincing me to place the window, when I press the mouse,
 > it realizes that the window is gone and just forgets about it.
 > Things are back to normal after this.

Make sure the command line in your .twmrc which launches the client
(xterm in this case) is suffixed with "&".  twm doesn't automatically
background the processes it starts, which causes problems when 
windows open:  The client must negotiate some parameters with the 
window manager, but the window manager is stuck in a wait() or 
somesuch and can't answer the negotiation attmepts.

 > Another curious thing is that I start a console xterm, which in "ps"
 > seems to be owned by root, but it works as if it is owned by the user.
 > I can launch X applications from this xterm without a problem.
 > I guess this has to do with xterm being setuid as root, but can
 > someone tell me why it is setuid?

So that it can modify /var/log/wtmp and /var/run/utmp.

    - mark

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I tried an internal modem,                    newton@atdot.dotat.org
     but it hurt when I walked.                          Mark Newton
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