How to start window manager on remote host with startx?

[lugoteehalt]

X server is on the computer with the monitor plugged into its back (not unnaturally perhaps). Problem is: how to start X and have Enlightenment - which is on a remote machine - as the window manager?

Have achieved this by trial and error but it is unsatisfactory:

Last line in .xinitrc ammounts to:
xterm -e start_enlightenment
with no & at the end - this is so that X doesn't exit, as it does if no program is running.

start_enlightenment is the shell script:
#! /bin/sh
# try to ssh -X into apricot and start enlightenment.

eval ssh -X apricot enlightenment

apricot being the name of the remote computer.

This works but the xterm used is unusable (because enlightenment is running in it in the foreground??) Also it seems to give problems with apricot's PATH sometimes. It seems to give the default path sometimes. Also crashed Linux using Gimp yesterday, at least it all froze.

Is there a better way?

Thanks any help.

[Hayl]

i don't understand what you are trying to do. can you clarify?

are you trying to get a remote desktop with VNC or something?

[lugoteehalt]

I have enlightenment on the remote computer. I want to use X on the local computer but with enlightenment as the window manager - the enlightenment in the remote computer. Could use a window manager in the local machine but I'm experimenting, also the hardware is old and this might save on something.

Hope more clear.:)

[Hayl]

probably eaiser to just export individual apps to your local box.

ssh -X remotecomputer.home.net /usr/bin/someprogram

^ will ssh to the remote box, execute the app and the app will be exported to your local X server.

to do what you were originally trying, you need to use XDMCP.

if you have GDM set up on the remote box, you can su to root on that box, and run gdmconfig, click on the last tab in that dialog box, and enable it (there are some options in the security tab as well). it is disabled by default. you will then get a gdm login screen from the remote box if you set this up and from there you can pick any type of xsession you want.

OR

you can set up VNC and remote control the X Session on te remote box, sort of like PCAnywhere.

OR

there is a terminal server project for Linux that you could try.

[lugoteehalt]

Right, thanks, will try those. Networking seems a bit abstruce.:)

[Hayl]

Originally posted by lugoteehalt
Right, thanks, will try those. Networking seems a bit abstruce.:)

it's _very_ confusing to people with working with X at first, because the networking model is "backwards" to normal/traditional client - server. with X, the X display is the server and the apps are the clients.