In computing, an X terminal is a display/input terminal for X Window System client applications. X terminals enjoyed a period of popularity in the early 1990s when they offered a lower total cost of ownership alternative to a full Unix workstation.
An X terminal runs an 'X server'. In X, the usage of "client" and "server" is from the viewpoint of the programs: the X server supplies a screen, keyboard, mouse and touchscreen to client applications. This connects to an X display manager (introduced in X11R3) running on a central machine, using XDMCP (X Display Manager Control Protocol, introduced in X11R4).
Thin clients have somewhat supplanted X terminals in that they are equipped with added flash memory and software for communication with remote desktop protocols.
Vendors
In the early 1990s, several vendors introduced X terminals including HP, DEC (including the VT1000 series), IBM, Samsung, NCD, Gipsi,2 Tektronix,3 and Visual Technology.4
See also
References
Mui, Linda; Pearce, Eric (July 1993), X Window System (softcover), vol. 8: X Window System Administrator's Guide for X11 Release 4 and Release 5 (3rd ed.), O'Reilly & Associates, ISBN 0-937175-83-8. 0-937175-83-8 ↩
InfoWorld, 28 May 1990. https://books.google.com/books?id=nzsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT39 ↩
Corcoran, Cate (1992). "Study shows 115 percent increase in X terminal sales for 1991". InfoWorld. 14 (3): 26. Network Computing Devices dominated the market... NCD, HP, Digital Equipment Corporation, IBM and Tektronix – the top five X terminal vendors – accounted for 74 percent of shipments... https://books.google.com/books?id=9T0EAAAAMBAJ&dq=x-terminal&pg=PA26 ↩
Staff writer (August 7, 1989). "Visual Technology Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, but Readies New X Terminals". Computer Business Review. New Statesman Media Group. Archived from the original on February 26, 2024. https://archive.today/20240226210300/https://techmonitor.ai/technology/visual_technology_files_for_chapter_11_bankruptcy_but_readies_new_x_terminals ↩