XF86Config - Part IV

XF86Config - Part IV

Finally, we’re winding down with the XF86Config series. By now, you should know all you need to know to configure you X server in a way that’s perfect for your hardware and your personal tastes.

We’ll close this series with a quick look at the latest in X Window configuration - XF86Config-4. This is a simplified incarnation of the traditional XF86Config file. Of course, a simplification in the configuration file requires some real underlying changes in the program itself, but we’ll save that for a later time. Today, we’ll look at the XF86Config-4 file only, and how it’s changed from the original.

All in all, the XF86Config-4 file has reduced the time necessary to manually configure your X server. It’s done this by consolidating several sections into common subsections. For example, you’ll remember that the original XF86Config contained separate sections for Keyboard and Pointer. Keyboard and pointer configurations were discrete processes. These processes are now combined into individual “input Device” sections. While each is still configured separately, the naming convention is much easier to understand and follow.

The Monitor section has also been simplified. In the original XF86Config, this section contained virtually all possible comination of modelines, etc. It was very difficult to work your way through and to change, if necessary. The Monitor section is XF86Config-4 greatly simplifies this manual configuration.

The Device section is much lighter in XF86Config-4 than in the original. As many of the subsections of the original are now deprecated, they’ve not been included in version 4. Again, simplification without a sacrifice of configurability.

Finally, the Screen section is, on most systems, a single section as opposed to multiple available screens. The additional Screen sections and Display subsections in XF86Config were, in most cases, redundant. By stripping the Screen section down to the single relevant combination of monitor, color depth and device, the XF86Config-4 file is lighter and easier to configure.

After fourteen installments, that’s it for XF86Config. The instructions and comments provided over the past few weeks should certainly help you along the way to configuring and/or troubleshooting the X window configuration for your machine. While the learning curve is a bit steep, proper configuration of X window is crucial, both the to operation and the look and feel of your graphical interface.