Session manager

[Erik Harrison]

On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 09:28:28 +1100, Steve Cooke
<stephen.cooke at dpiwe.tas.gov.au> wrote:
> Chris Green wrote:
> > On Mon, Nov 29, 2004 at 12:24:23PM +0100, Benedikt Meurer wrote:
> >
> >>Chris Green wrote:
> [snip]
> >>>>In simple terms, a session manager keeps track of the applications that
> >>>>you start so that when you login again it will restore your desktop to
> >>>>the state that it was when you last logged off.
> >>>
> >>>Which would be a real pain in the backside if it was the only thing it
> >>>could do.  I expect a session manager to be able to save a particular
> >>>desktop arrangement and then make that arrangement my default whenever
> >>>I start up. [snip]
> 
> 
> >>
> >>Thats not the job of the session manager. The session manager only
> >>remembers the active workspace number for every screen, but the window
> >>positions, workspaces, states, etc. are saved by the window manager when
> >>the session manager tells him to do so.
> >>
> > Yes, that's fine.  As a user I make a wonderful arrangement of
> > windows, applications, xterms, etc. that I want to restore when I
> > log in the next time.  Thus (as with CDE) I want ways to:-
> >
> >     Tell the session manager (or window manager, as a user I don't
> >     really care) that I want to save the arrangement as it is *now*.
> >
> >     Tell the start-up sequence (presumably the session manager but
> >     again I don't actually care) to restore the arrangement I saved.
> >     In CDE this is done by having options to restore - nothing, or the
> >     last saved arrangement, or the arrangement when I last logged out.
> >     (Actually I think CDE allows one to decide when it's saved, e.g.
> >     automatically at logout, when I decide, not at all, etc.)
> 
> Thankyou to everyone who replied. I now see that the functionality
> provided by the session manager IS useful - at log out/in.
> 
> I never log out of my machine (I use xscreensaver to lock the machine
> when I am not around,) therefore it's looking like I do not need a
> session manager. Xfce is "marketed" as lightweight, so I assume it is
> modular, and that I am able to pick and choose which components I want
> in MY particular instance of Xfce. If I choose not to include a session
> manager (for whatever reason) is there some way to tell the compiler to
> "miss" that module, or simply not include it in the compilation?

The answer is an unequivacol "depends".

If you are building from source, you can download the tarballs, and
simply not build the session manager. If you are using the
os-cillation installer, then no, you cannot exclude the session
manager, but you can uninstall it after by removing
$PREFIX/bin/xfce4-session. If you are running a source based distro,
check with the package maintainer.

The xinitrc script included with Xfce will figure out that the session
manager isn't running and react accordingly.

-Erik


> 
> Regards,
> Steve Cooke.
> 
> 
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-- 
-Erik