README MultiWM Release 2 (Broken) July 22nd 1997 NAME multiwm - an interactive bash-script to choose best window manager and window manager configuration before starting X SYNOPSIS multiwm [8|15|16|24|36|-w|-c] DESCRIPTION NOTE: Before you try this script, you must make backups of files that will be removed by this script (see those rm commands at the beginning of script). Multiwm-script that you can download from Internet, is just an example to be modified to correspond to whatever current systems and especially window managers are available and to the user's own personal (perverted?) tastes. The script itself is so well commented, that it should not be very hard to modify it for your system. Sys admins are strongly ancouraged to modify this script, when window managers are added, upgraded and/or removed. They can also add this script or pieces of this script to system wide xinit and/or startx scripts if they can. But if your sys admins are some kind of BOFH's that are not co-operative with user, he/she can use this script from his/her home directory. When multiwm is started, it asks if the user wants to use default window manager or not. Answer must be entered as letters y, n or q (Case is not important). If answer is q, script quits. If answer is y or user just press <return>, default window manager and window manager configuration is chosen. If answer is n, user is asked to choose one window manager and in some cases configuration type from a list. Answer must be entered as number found on list. After user have chosen window manager and its configuration multiwm removes some configuration-files used by X from the user's home directory and copies right configuration files from users directory called .multiwm and its subdirectories to users home directory and creates a symbolic link from .Xclients to .xsession. If the user did not include 8, 16, 24 or 36 after the multiwm command, he will be prompted to choose correct display state (8, 16, 24 or 36 bytes per pixel). And then X is started via the startx-script (except in case of OLVWM via openwin-script). OPTIONS 8 Use 8 bits per pixel 15 Use 15 bits per pixel 16 Use 16 bits per pixel 24 Use 24 bits per pixel 36 Use 36 bits per pixel -w Show warnings (you can pipe it with your favourite pager) -c Show GNU GPL (you can pipe it with your favourite pager) NOTE: Display modes 24 and 32 bits per pixel are not available in all systems. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS You need some Unix-like operating system with X Window System. This script works fine almost out-of-the-box with Red hat Linux with XFree86 on an Intel 80x86 PC, but I'd like to know, how this work with other Linux distributions (like Debian and Slackware) and other Unixes (like FreeBSD, IRIX, Solaris etc.) and X-servers (like MetroX and Accelerated X). Script uses a script called startx which uses a script called xinitrc and and a stream editor called sed. You also must have a shell called bash installed, of course. FILES AND INSTALLATION Uncompress a file multiwm-2.1.1.tar.gz to your home directory. (tar -zxvf multiwm-2.1.1.tar.gz). Go to the directory called ~/.multiwm and move files in a way that after all you have directories and files something like this: ~/bin/multiwm - the script itself. Modify it to correspond to your system and its available windows managers and configurations and your personal (perverted?) tastes. That directory must be in your path. ~/.multiwm/ - a directory for different configuration files. It have following subdirectories xbase/ - contains a .Xdefaults file used by most window managers and their configurations, except OLVWM, FVWM with look and feel of 4DWM of IRIX of SGI. If you already have some .Xdefaults-file that works well with most window managers used, you can put it here. 3dwm, 9wm, afterstep, amiwm, enlightenment, fvwm, fvwm2, fvwm2TNL, fvwm95-2, fvwm95-2TNL, mlvwm, twm etc. - subdirectories containing a proper .Xclients and/or .xinitrc for chosen window manager and its configuration. .*wm*rc, and in some cases also some .*wm*rc-file and/or .XDefaults. It is possible, that you must edit those .Xclients -files to make it work. In some systems it may be possible that you must rename that .Xclients-file to .xinitrc. If you have some entries for window manager(s) you do not have in your system, it's not very dangerous. Just dont use those entries, if you do not bother comment or remove them away. /usr/doc/multiwm-R2/ If you are a sys admin, you can create this directory and put files called README (this file), ANNOUNCEMENT, DOWNLOAD, COPYING, Copying.paper, GNU, INTERVIEW, LINUX-GNU, LPF and WHY-FREE there. SEE ALSO - man pages and other documentations for window managers and X - DOWNLOAD to find information about Internet-sites with window managers and information about them and X. - You can freely spread ANNOUNCEMENT-file to tell other peole about MultiWM. Please, no spamming. - COPYING to read GNU GPL - Copying.paper, GNU, INTERVIEW, LINUX-GNU, LPF and WHY-FREE to read other interesting GNU stuff. BUGS AND LIMITATIONS There should not be any bugs. Practically every user must modify this script to fit his/her own system and personal (perverted?) tastes, and that is not a feature, it's a limitation. If you find some bugs or have some ideas to improve this script, send them via E-mail to Juhapekka Tolvanen (juhtolv@cc.jyu.fi). FUTURE Maybe some new releases, bug fixes etc. but always remember, that Juhapekka Tolvanen thinks it's more imporant to get a life, gf and study attainments. :-) It would be nice, if somebody could create a Debian and RPM packages of this. maybe I should create man- and info-files. I think, we should make all configurations to work seamlessly both interactively and via command line switches, not just display modes like in this version but also choosing of window manager configuration and maybe even display and other commandline switches you can put after command startx: If some important command line switch is left away, user would be promted to choose it. It would be a good idea to keep commandline switches POSIXly correct. Maybe it would be a good idea to integrate this script with xdm. A port to be used with XFree86 for OS/2 ? AUTHORS Juhapekka Tolvanen (juhtolv@silmu.cc.jyu.fi) (http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~juhtolv) Ideas, most testing, documentation, publicity issues, distributing and some bash coding. Nerdish and geekish student of sociology. User of Red Hat Linux, Sun Solaris, IBM OS/2 and Caldera OpenDOS. Mika Jorma Saaristo (mjsaaris@cc.jyu.fi) (http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~mjsaaris/) Most of the bash-coding and some testing. Student of mathematics. Real geek, nerd, hacker and computer guru. User of Minix, Linux, Sun Solaris etc. HISTORY Version numbering and naming convention will be like this: Release X (some kewl nickname). File naming follows guidelines of ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/ Release 2 (Broken) released in July 22nd 1997. This is not actually broken. I'll tell you in documentation of next release, where that name is derived from. These changes were made: - Some new window manager entries added - Configuration files of Enlightenment are now for version Thebes 1 DR10. - More careful documentation - More GNU propaganda added. - 4dwm is now called 3dwm, because original creator of that configuration calls it so. 4dwm is a window manager used by an operating system called IRIX used by Silicon Graphics computers. It is actually enhanced MWM. 3dwm is actually the FVWM configured to look and feel like 4dwm. - Display states 24 and 36 bpp are now enabled by default. - Manual to cope with debates about MultiWM included. - file naming convention follows guidelines of sunsite.unc.edu - This time Mika Jorma Saaristo was not available for development of this script. That is the reason, why this script is not as good as it could be. - Homepage for MultiWM created: http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~juhtolv/multiwm/ Release 1 (Debut) released in April 10th 1997. Name of this release was derived from an album of Bj�rk (That letter between j and r is o with dots. If it looks like v in your screen, it means that you are using an ancient character set called ASCII, so you must get a life and ISO-LATIN-1 or maybe even Unicode or ISO-10646). Development environments included following hardware and software: Juhapekka Tolvanen: - An Intel Pentium 133 MHz w/ 48 Megs Memory - Red Hat Linux 4.1 with Kernel 2.0.29 - XFree86 3.2 for S3 ViRGE and ViRGE VX - bash 1.14.7-1 - FVWM95-2.0.42a-6 (The Next Level does not work with later, I think) Mika Jorma Saaristo: - An Intel Pentium 150 MHz w/ 32 Megs Memory - Red Hat Linux 4.1 with Kernel 2.0.27 - XFree86 3.2 for S3 - FVWM95-2.0.42a-6 (The Next Level does not work with later, I think) UPDATES AND AVAILABILITY Latest version should be available from www-pages of Juhapekka Tolvanen: http://www.cc.jyu.fi/~juhtolv/multiwm/ See the file DOWNLOAD to find some information about how to obtain multiwm, different window managers and their configuration files and other X-related stuff. DEBATES ABOUT MULTIWM (ESPECIALLY IN NEWSGROUPS). I'd appreciate it if any MultiWM users wouldn't endorse MultiWM in a computing war. If you can't stay out altogether, please follow the following tactic: 1. If you feel like participating in a debate about MultiWM in newsgroups, eat some fresh vegetables instead, for example a fruit called sharon. 2. If you still want to participate to debate, eat some other vegetables, for example some slices of rutabaga. 3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 as many times as needed. In this time you can eat some other kind of vegetables, for example carrots or oranges. 4. If you still don't feel satisfied and really really have to say something, buy and some more vegetables (for example cabbage) and post a message that says "MultiWM is fun because I can eat so much healthy vegetables!!!" 5. If you still want to continue, you know what to do with a vegetable number five. 6. You shouldn't start a debate just for vegetables. If you can't find any debate about MultiWM, you are still allowed to eat vegetables as much as you want. It's OK to eat vegetables at every occasion. Vegetables are healthy! Vegetables keep your body slim! Vegetables are cheap! Eat more vegetables and you'll feel good! You might want to avoid eating some vegetables, that are noisy, when eaten (like carrots or apples) at occasion where you are expected be silent, like in church or court proceedings. 7. If you have eaten enough vegetables, you are allowed to use an alternative tactic: subliminal messages. Write some harmless innocent sentences, but phrase it so that the first seven words begin with m. u, l, t, i, w and M. For example: "My ultimate lover, this is weird music!". That's not quite as fun as eating vegetables, of course. LICENCING This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2 of the License, or any later version. This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details. You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 675 Mass Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.