Glossary

A key or sequence of keys (typically a modifier key and some other key) that provides a "shortcut," for accessing functionality.

The terminal window where what you type appears. If there is no active window, what you type is lost. Only one terminal window can be active at a time.

Placed at the end of a command to specify that the client started by the command should be started as a background process. The command can be typed after the command-line prompt or included in a file such as .x11start or .hpwmrc.

A computer program that performs some useful function, such as word processing or data base management.

A computer used solely to provide processing power for application programs.

A process that doesn't require the total attention of the computer for operation. Background processing enables the operating system to execute more than one program or command at a time. As a general rule, all clients should be run as background processes.

Generally speaking, an array of data bits used for graphic images. Strictly speaking, a pixmap of depth one (capable of 2-color images).

An output device that displays bitmaps. The CRT monitor of your system is a bitmap device.

A bitmap font is made from a matrix of dots.

An area used for storage.

A button on a mouse pointing device. Mouse buttons can be mapped to the keyboard.

Association of a mouse button operation with a window manager function. For example, pressing button 3 on a window frame displays the system menu.

Association of a button number with a physical mouse button.

To press and release a mouse button. The term comes from the fact that pressing and releasing the buttons of most mice makes a clicking sound.

A program written specifically for the X Window System. Some clients make their own windows. Other clients are utility programs.

A network of computers in which only one computer has file-system disk drives attached to it.

A combination of image and overlay planes in which a single display has a single screen that is a combination of the image and overlay planes.

A command-line prompt shows that the computer is ready to accept your commands. Each terminal emulation window has a command-line prompt that acts just like the command-line prompt you see on the screen immediately after login. Usually the command-line prompt is either a $ (for Bourne and Korn shells) or a % (for C shells), but it can be modified. One popular modification is to print the current working directory and the history stack number before the $ or %. You can find the command-line prompt by pressing Return several times. Every time you press Return, HP-UX prints the prompt.

A buffer (memory area) that holds text that has been deleted from a file.

The number of planes in a set of planes. For example, a set of 12 image planes would have a depth of 12.

The networking of several systems (SPUs) together to share a common hard disk for storage of data and programs.

Strictly speaking, the combination of a keyboard, mouse, and one or more screens that provide input and output services to a system. While "display" is sometimes used to mean just the CRT screen, a display, as defined by the X Window System, can actually include more than one physical screen.

In the X Window System, the display server is the software that controls the communication between client programs and the display (keyboard, mouse, and screen combination).

A term describing the method used by Starba se wherein half of the color planes on a monitor are used to display to the screen and the other half are used to compute and draw the next screen display. This provides smooth motion for animation and it is faster. However, it does reduce the number of colors that are available for display on the screen at one time.

To press and release a mouse button twice in rapid succession.

To press and hold down a mouse button while moving the mouse on the desktop (and the pointer on the screen). Typically, dragging is used with menu selecting, moving, and resizing operations.

A computer whose primary task is to control the storage and retrieval of data from hard disks. Any number of other computers can be linked to the file server in order to use it to access data. This means that less storage space is required on the individual computer.

A font is a style of printed text characters. Times Roman is the font used for most newspaper text; Helvetica is the font used for most newspaper headlines.

A process that has the terminal window's attention. When a program is run in a window as a foreground process (as opposed to a background process), the terminal window cannot be used for other operations until the process is terminated.

A form of communication between people and computers that uses graphics-oriented software such as windows, menus, and icons, to ease the burden of the interaction.

The directory in which you are placed after you log in. Typically, this is /home/username, where username is your login name. The home directory is where you keep all "your" files.

The area of a graphical image used as a pointer or cursor that is defined as the "point" of the pointer or cursor.

A type of terminal window, sometimes called a "terminal emulator program" that emulates HP2622 terminals, complete with softkeys. The hpterm window is the default window for your X environment.

A small, graphic representation of an object on the root window (typically a terminal window). Objects can be "iconified" (turned into icons) to clear a cluttered workspace and "normalized" (returned to their original appearance) as needed. Processes executing in an object continue to execute when the object is iconified.

The act of turning a window into an icon.

The default screen mode using multiple image planes for a single screen. The number of image planes determines the variety of colors that are available to the screen.

The primary display planes on a device that supports two sets of planes. The other set of display planes is known as the overlay planes.

Any of several pieces of equipment used to give information to the system. Examples are the keyboard, a mouse, or a digitizer tablet.

Association of a special key press with a window manager function. For example, pressing the special keys Shift Esc displays the system menu of the active window.

The text part of an icon.

The ability to run a program on the computer you are currently operating. This is different from remote access, where you run a program on a computer that is physically removed from the one you are operating.

A local client is a program that is running on your local computer, the same system that is running your X server.

A graphical image used in conjunction with another graphical element to hide unwanted graphical effects.

A border located just inside the window between the client area and the frame. It is used to create a three-dimensional effect for the frame and window.

A list of selections from which to make a choice. In a graphical user interface such as the X Window System, menus enable you to control the operation of the system.

To turn a window into an icon. The terms minimize and iconify are interchangeable.

A key that, when pressed and held along with another key, changes the meaning of the other key. CTRL, Extend char, and Shift are examples of a modifier key.

Although a mouse makes it easy to use the X Window System, the mouse is not absolutely necessary. The system can be configured to run from the keyboard alone.

The ability to execute several programs (tasks) simultaneously on the same computer.

An address used by the system. For example, each device on the system has its own node. The system looks there whenever it needs to access the device. A node can also be an address on a network, the location of a system.

A program that is written to run on a terminal and so must be "fooled" by a terminal emulation window into running in the window environment.

To change an icon back into its "normal" (original) appearance. The opposite of iconify.

The secondary set of display planes on a device that supports two sets of planes. The other set of display planes is known as the image planes.

A window that causes another window to appear. A window that "owns" other windows.

Short for "picture element." The individual dots, or components, of a screen. They are arranged in rows and columns and form the images that are displayed on the screen.

An array of data bits used for graphics images. Each pixel (picture element) in the map can be several bits deep, resulting in multi-color graphics images.

Sometimes called the "mouse cursor," the pointer shows the location of the mouse. The pointer's shape depends on its location. In the root window, the pointer is an ×. On a window frame, the pointer is an arrowhead. Inside the frame, the pointer can be an arrowhead (as when it is inside a clock or load histogram frame) or an I-beam (as when it is inside a terminal window).

Strictly speaking, to hold down a mouse button or a key. Note that to hold down a mouse button and move the mouse is called "dragging."

A computer that controls spooling and other printer operations. This permits a large number of individuals to efficiently share printer resources.

The ability to run a program on a computer that is physically removed from the one you are currently operating. This is different from local access, where you run a program on the computer that you are operating.

An X program that is running on a remote system, but the output of the program can be viewed on your terminal.

A computer physically removed from your own that you can log in to. See chapter 4 for prerequisites for establishing a remote host.

That which controls an element of appearance or behavior. Resources are usually named for the elements they control.

The act of changing an minimized (iconified) or maximized window back to its regular size. The terms restoring and normalizing are usually interchangeable.

The menu associated with the root window. The root menu enables you to control the behavior of your environment.

The root window is what the "screen" (the flat viewing surface of the terminal) becomes when you start X. To a certain extent, you can think of the root as the screen. The root window is the backdrop of your X environment. Although you can hide the root window under terminal windows or other graphic objects, you can never position anything behind the root window. All windows and graphic objects appear "stacked" on the root window.

Scalable fonts are defined by a file containing a mathematical outline used by the system to create a bitmapped font for a particular size, slant, or weight.

The physical CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) that displays information from the computer.

An operation that captures an image from your screen, saves it in a file, and enables you to send that file to a printer for hardcopy reproduction.

A program that controls all access to input devices (typically a mouse and a keyboard) and all access to output devices (typically a display screen). It is an interface between application programs you run on your system and the system input and output devices.

The menu that displays when you press the system menu button on the HP Window Manager window frame. Every window has a system menu that enables you to control the size, shape, and position of the window.

An HP level 0 terminal. It is a reference standard that defines basic terminal functions. For more information, see Term0 Reference or Terminal Control: User's Guide.

A client program that provides a window within which you can run non-client programs. The non-client program runs just as though it were running from a real terminal rather than a window acting as a terminal.

The type of terminal attached to your computer. HP-UX uses the terminal type to set the TERM environment variable so that it can communicate with the terminal correctly. The terminal type is usually set at login, but can be set afterward.

A terminal window is a window that emulates a complete display terminal. Terminal windows are typically used to "fool" non-client programs into believing they are running in their favorite terminal -- not a difficult task in most cases. When not running programs or executing operating system commands, terminal windows display the command-line prompt. Several terminal emulators are supplied with X11-hpterm, which emulates HP terminals, xterm, which emulates DEC and Tektronix terminals, and dtterm, which emulates a DEC VT2200 terminal and has EUC 4-byte capability.

A program (non-client) written to be run on a terminal (not in a window). Terminal-based programs must be "fooled" by terminal-emulation clients to run on the X Window System.

The line-oriented cursor that appears in a terminal window after the command prompt. The term is used to distinguish the cursor used by a window from the cursor used by the mouse, the pointer.

A rectangular area used to cover a surface with a pattern or visual texture. The HP Window Manager supports tiling, enabling users with limited color availability to create new color tiles blended from existing colors.

The title bar is the rectangular area between the top of the window and the window frame. The title bar contains the title of the window object, usually "Terminal Emulator" for hpterm windows, "xclock" for clocks, and "xload" for load histograms.

A window of short duration such as a dialog box. The window is only displayed for a short time, usually just long enough to get some direction from the user.

A data structure that represents all or part of the CRT display screen. It contains a two-dimensional array of 16-bit character data words, a cursor, a set of current attributes, and several flags. Visually, a window is represented as a rectangular subset of the display screen.

The frame and window control buttons that surround windows managed by the a window manager.

The window manager controls the size, placement, and operation of windows on the root window. The window manager includes the functional window frames that surround each window object as well as a menu for the root window.

A client or program written for use with the X Window System. The "opposite" of a window-based program is a terminal-based program.