X terminal

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Not to be confused with terminal emulators running under X.

A Network Computing Devices NCD-88k X terminal.

An X server runs on the X terminal, connecting to a central computer running an X display manager. In this example, client programs (xterm and xedit) are running on the same computer.

In computing, an X terminal is a smart terminal used to display X Window System applications. X terminals enjoyed a period of popularity in the early 1990s when they offered a lower cost alternative to a full Unix workstation.

The X terminal runs an X server. (In X, the usage of "client" and "server" is from the viewpoint of the programs: the X server supplies a screen, keyboard and mouse to client programs.) This connects to an X display manager (introduced in X11R3) running on a central machine, using XDMCP (X Display Manager Control Protocol, introduced in X11R4).^[1]

X terminals have experienced a resurgence of interest in recent years with several companies producing dedicated X terminals today. Whereas X terminals (along with most computer hardware) were very expensive, X terminals available as of 2006 are typically 25-50% of the cost of a fully equipped workstation.^{[citation needed]} Some organisations use other obsolete PCs as X terminals, often through net booting. These PCs do not require a local harddrive and after booting from the network often run a minimal Linux installation in a RAM disk or via NFS before starting the X server.

However, most remote X in commercial practice is done using X server software running on a Microsoft Windows or Linux desktop.

[edit] References

^ Linda Mui and Eric Pearce, X Window System Volume 8: X Window System Administrator's Guide for X11 Release 4 and Release 5, 3rd edition (O'Reilly and Associates, July 1993; softcover ISBN 0-937175-83-8)