Programs can run as either background or foreground processes. In any X11 terminal window, you can run only one program as a foreground process, but you can run many programs as background processes. To run a program as a background process, add an ampersand (&) to the end of the command line that starts the program.
The general syntax for the command line that starts a client is:
An & at the end of the command line causes the client to start as a background process.
Programs can be started:
From the command line.
The client name and options are typed after the command line prompt.
From menus.
Refer to chapter 7 for details of how to create your own menus.
As part of the X startup.
Refer to chapter 4 for information about the .x11start file.
Command-Line Options |
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Command-line options override all default files. If no options are specified, the client is started using
resource values from the resource database, the client's app-defaults, or from defaults built into the client.
Some toolkit options are common to most clients:
- -fn font
Specifies the font to use for the client.
- -bg color
Specifies the background color.
- -fg color
Specifies the foreground color.
- -display host:display.screen
Specifies the host where the client will display its output.
- -geometry width×height
Specifies the size of the window and its location.
- -help
Displays an explanation of the options available for the client.
For a specific client's options, refer to the client's man page.
Options have the syntax:
For example, the following command line starts an hpterm window with a black background and white foreground:
hpterm -bg Black -fg White &
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Specifying the Display and Screen |
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The default display on which a client is displayed is obtained from the
DISPLAY environment variable of the system on which the client starts. It sets the host, display number, and screen number to which the client directs its output.
This is typically display 0, screen 0.
Most clients have a -display option that lets you set the host, display number, and screen on which the client will display its output. The -display option has the syntax:
-display [host:display.screen]
- host
The hostname of a valid system on the network.
- display
The number of the display on the system on which you want the output to appear. A display can include more than one screen.
- screen
The number of the screen where the output is to appear. The default is 0.
For example, executing the command:
hpterm -display hpxhere:0.1 &
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starts an hpterm process on the local system and displays the window on display 0, screen 1 of the hpxhere system. The window has the default size, location, and color.
