xmove(1)

NAME

xmove - pseudoserver to support mobile X11 clients

SYNOPSIS

xmove [ -server [server_name]:port ] [ -port listen_port ]
] [ -interface listen_interface ]

DESCRIPTION

xmove starts a pseudoserver which allows its X11 clients

to be relocated from one display to another. Upon startup it will

create a listening port from which it accepts new client connec

tions. All such clients will be displayed on the default server,

until moved elsewhere. Several clients may connect through a

single xmove, thus requiring only one per machine.

xmove will assume logical default values for both the de

fault listening port, default interface and the default server.

Take as an example a typical machine named chestnut, with a stan

dard X11 server named chestnut:0.

The default server is obtained from the environment vari

able DISPLAY at start-up time, which would normally be set to

chestnut:0, as in our example. This server is the display to

which all new connections will be initially sent. The default

server should never be set to another xmove.

The default listening port is 1. In our example, this

would mean clients should be sent to chestnut:1 instead of

chestnut:0 if you wish them to be run through xmove.

The default is to listen on all interfaces of the machine,

so local clients can use both localhost:1 and chestnut:1. xmove

can be restricted to only listen on one specific interface.

TYPICAL USAGE

Assuming that the environment variable DISPLAY contains

the name of your default server, no options need to be set.

xmove will listen for new connections at localhost:1,

where localhost is the machine on which xmove is being run.

xmove displays messages to stdout and stderr as it runs,

including information when a client is moved and whenever the X11

server sends an error to a client.

To manipulate clients running on an xmove, see xmovectrl.

SECURITY

xmove supports both host-level security, implemented with

xhost, and MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1, implemented with xauth. A new

client will only be permitted access through xmove if it could

have been started on the default server directly. A client can

be moved to a new server if that new server either permits the

host on which xmove is running via xhost, or if the user moving

the client has access to the proper cookie entry for the new

server.

OPTIONS

-server

Use the specified server as the default server to

which all clients are to be initially displayed.

-port Use the specified port as the default port through

which all clients should connect to xmove. Users must specify a

DISPLAY

chine on which xmove was executed, and n is the specified port.
The port must be a number from 1 to 9.
-interface

Clients can only connect to xmove through the spec

ified interface. Users must specify a DISPLAY of name:n, where

name is a name of that perticular interface on the machine on

which xmove was executed. Without this option, xmove will accept

connections to all interfaces on the machine.

MULTI-HEADED DISPLAYS

xmove supports displays that have multiple screens. When

moving a client it is possible to specify the screen on the des

tination machine. When starting a client through an xmove with a

multi-headed default server, it is possible to specify the screen

on which the client should appear, so long as both screens have

the same characteristics (ie. both 1-bit, or both 8-bit color,

etc.) If the screens are different, it is necessary to start the

client on screen 0 and then move to the desired screen.

X TERMINALS

In order to use xmove with an X terminal you can run

xmove on another workstation, and specify the X terminal as the

default server. If multiple people wish to run xmove on the same

workstation for multiple X terminals, each xmove must have its

own listening port.

ENVIRONMENT

The environment variable XMOVE_ATOMMAP_LIBPATH can be set

to the directory where xmove's support libraries are located.

This will override the directory set at compile time.

SEE ALSO

xmovectrl(1), X11(7), xhost(1), xauth(1)

BUGS

This is a fairly untested product. Without attempting to

frighten off potential users, it is recommended that all applica

tions intended to be used with xmove first be tested in an xmove

environment. This includes attempting to move the application to

a new server.

xmove does not work in all environments nor with all pro

grams. Although xmove does support moving clients between dis

plays with different characteristics, there are limitations.

Most notably, a client started on a 1-bit black-and-white display

can only be moved to other 1-bit displays

xmove requires font compatibility between displays. Thus,

if your client makes use of a certain font, that font must be

available on all displays to which your client is moved.

Bug reports and other problems may be sent to

ethan@cs.columbia.edu.

Questions regarding xmove, its capabilities, limitations

and future possibilities may be sent to that email address, or

posted to comp.windows.x.

NOTES

Always remember that not all of your applications need to

use xmove. If some of your clients prove incompatible with

xmove, simply run them directly to the desired server.

AUTHORS

Ethan Solomita, Columbia University

Peter Skopp, Columbia University

Ari Shamash, Columbia University

This work was supported by Professor Dan Duchamp of

Columbia University and by Dick Sillman and Jim Kempf of Sun Mi

crosystems, Inc.

xmove is based upon xmon, which was written by Greg McFar

lane, OTC, Australia.

xmon was based upon xscope, written by James L. Peterson,

MCC.

30 November 1994

xmove(1)