XDM (display manager) explained

XDM
XDM
Screenshot Size:	350px
Author:	Keith Packard
Developer:	X.Org Foundation
Programming Language:	C, C++
Genre:	X display manager
License:	MIT License

The X Display Manager (XDM) is the default display manager for the X Window System. It is a bare-bones X display manager. It was introduced with X11 Release 3 in October 1988, to support the standalone X terminals that were just coming onto the market. It was written by Keith Packard.

Functions

XDM is used to boot an X.org based desktop environment.^[1] It can control a display directly or indirectly in order to start an X session and supports remote login.^[2] XDM is initialized on system startup.^[3]

It can be editing through the use of a configuration file, modules, or scripts.^{[4] [5]} The configratuion file is usually found in /usr/lib/X11/xdm/xdm-config.^[6]

History

XDM is one of the earliest display managers for Linux. It was developed by Keith Packard after he joined the X Consortium due to his frustration using a text-based environment to try and configure X.^[7]

XDM is available but unused on most systems because of its rudimentary nature.^[8] Desktop environments released afterwards tended to include their own display manager, such as dtlogin on CDE.

See also

• X display manager
• GDM
• KDM

Further reading

• Book: Mui . Linda . Pearce . Eric . amp . X Window System Volume 8: X Window System Administrator's Guide for X11 Release 4 and Release 5. 3rd . O'Reilly and Associates . July 1993 . softcover . 0-937175-83-8.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Impson . Jeremy . 2002-01-01 . VNC, Transparently . 2024-05-13 . www.linuxjournal.com.
2. Book: Anderson . Robin . Unix Unleashed . Johnston . Andy . 2002 . Sams Publishing . 978-0-672-32251-8 . en.
3. Web site: Edward . Robert . 2024-03-18 . What Are Display Managers and How Do They Work? . 2024-05-13 . Baeldung.
4. Book: Quercia . Valerie . X Users Guide Motif R5: Motif Edition . O'Reilly . Tim . 1993 . "O'Reilly Media, Inc." . 978-1-56592-015-6 . en.
5. Book: Barkakati, Naba . Red Hat Fedora Linux Secrets . 2005-09-19 . John Wiley & Sons . 978-0-471-77492-1 . en.
6. Book: Levi, Bozidar . UNIX Administration: A Comprehensive Sourcebook for Effective Systems & Network Management . 2002-05-29 . CRC Press . 978-1-4200-0003-0 . en.
7. Web site: O'Neal . Miles . 1996-07-10 . Taming The X Display Manager . 2024-05-13 . www.rru.com.
8. Web site: Gerganov . Hiks . 2024-03-18 . Linux Display Managers (LightDM, SLiM, XDM, GDM, SDDM, KDM, Ly): Install and Uninstall Guide . 2024-05-13 . Baeldung.