X Window System core protocol

The X Window System core protocol is the base protocol of the <a href="/facts/X_Window_System/ac2vRIQL">X Window System</a>, which is a <a href="/facts/Computer_network/3w5RM99p">networked</a> <a href="/facts/Windowing_system/nKYmkjP6">windowing system</a> for <a href="/facts/Bitmap/Fr80ySnT">bitmap</a> displays used to build <a href="/facts/Graphical_user_interface/wBlQFWDP">graphical user interfaces</a> on <a href="/facts/Unix/0pNL2seI">Unix</a>, <a href="/facts/Unix-like/YAKrAxzd">Unix-like</a>, and other <a href="/facts/Operating_system/8XTuvMh2">operating systems</a>. The X Window System is based on a <a href="/facts/Client%25E2%2580%2593server_model/FSnf27C5">client–server model</a>: a single <a href="/facts/Server_(computing)/dEaYFD7r">server</a> controls the <a href="/facts/Input%2foutput/WQTE8Jas">input/output</a> hardware, such as the <a href="/facts/Computer_screen/NRaTDFHc">screen</a>, the <a href="/facts/Computer_keyboard/MczF9LIS">keyboard</a>, and the <a href="/facts/Computer_mouse/fJpa1tUE">mouse</a>; all application <a href="/facts/Computer_program/e38jH9N9">programs</a> act as <a href="/facts/Client_(computing)/u0wlVsWI">clients</a>, interacting with the <a href="/facts/User_(computing)/zQRzG0KG">user</a> and with the other clients via the server. This interaction is regulated by the X Window System core protocol. Other <a href="/facts/Protocol_(computing)/5uady7cB">protocols</a> related to the X Window System exist, both built at the top of the X Window System core protocol or as separate protocols.
In the X Window System core protocol, only four kinds of packets are sent, asynchronously, over the network: requests, replies, events, and errors. Requests are sent by a client to the server to ask it to perform some operation (for example, create a new window) and to send back data it holds. Replies are sent by the server to provide such data. Events are sent by the server to notify clients of user activity or other occurrences they are interested in. Errors are packets sent by the server to notify a client of errors occurred during processing of its requests. Requests may generate replies, events, and errors; other than this, the protocol does not mandate a specific order in which packets are sent over the network. Some extensions to the core protocol exist, each one having its own requests, replies, events, and errors.
X originated at <a href="/facts/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology/Xk49vNA8">MIT</a> in 1984 (its current release X11 appeared in September 1987). Its designers <a href="/facts/Bob_Scheifler/hE01kpJP">Bob Scheifler</a> and <a href="/facts/Jim_Gettys/jsCbnu5q">Jim Gettys</a> set as an early principle that its core protocol was to "create mechanism, not policy". As a result, the core protocol does not specify the interaction between clients and between a client and the user. These interactions are the subject of separate specifications, such as the <a href="/facts/ICCCM/wVdgR67H">ICCCM</a> and the <a href="/facts/Freedesktop.org/qGlctGYA">freedesktop.org</a> specifications, and are typically enforced automatically by using a given <a href="/facts/Widget_set/v8wM8wwy">widget set</a>.

X Window System core protocol open-in-new

X Window System core protocol