How Does Mac OS X Know Where X11 is Located?

[mac57mac57]

As part of the work I have been doing with MacPorts, I now have a number of X11-based apps ported over Mac OS X Sorbet Leopard (Abiword, gnumeric, etc.) that I would like to create AppleScript "apps" for, so that they can be started by double clicking on the AppleScript app in the /Applications directory like any other application. Otherwise, I have to start a Terminal session and run them manually from there.

I have the AppleScript to do this up and running, but Mac OS X (Sorbet) insists on running Apple's X11 instead of MacPort's X11.

If I simply delete Apple's X11, it clearly still seems to know where it WAS located and simply hangs.
If I rename Apple's X11 to something like "X11.app.disabled" it still runs it using this new name!
If I change the xinit folder in Apple's X11 folder hierarchy so that it is a soft link to the MacPorts X11, it STILL runs the Apple X11!

Somehow, Finder (or the OS in general) knows where Apple's X11 is located. Where is this linkage made? I would like to undo it, and point it towards the xorg-server that I have installed via MacPorts.

Does anyone know how Mac OS X knows where Apple's X11 is, so that when it wants to start X11, it will start the one I want it to?

Perhaps I have only a partial X11 from MacPorts? I only installed xorg-server-legacy. Do I need to install ALL of the "x" ports to get a full working X11? Or perhaps there a single port name that will drag them all in?

 

[mac57mac57]

Desperate times require desperate measures! Unable to stop Mac OS X from launching Apple's X11.app instead of the one installed by MacPorts whenever I launched an X-based app such as Abiword, I did something terribly grotty, but terribly effective. I am passing it on here in case anyone else has a similar issue.

What did I do? Here goes... Apple's X11.app can be found in the Utilities folder. MacPort's X11.app is in Applications/MacPorts. I did a "Show Package Contents" on each, and then deleted the contents of Apple's X11.app, replacing them with the one installed by MacPorts. I closed both app files back up, crossed my fingers and launched Abiword.

Up popped MacPort's X11, and then Abiword launched quickly and correctly. Coupled with the very simple AppleScript app I built to allow applications like Abiword to be located in the Applications folder, I can now simply double click the Abiword icon there and it launches X11 and then Abiword. Ditto for all of the other X-apps I have installed via MacPorts.

Gutting and replacing the package contents of an app is grotty indeed, but in this case, it seemed to be the trick that was needed.

 

[f54da]

https://github.com/XQuartz/xquartz.github.io/blob/master/FAQs.md#want-another-x11app-server so probably some harcoded cfbundleidentifier somewhere.

There's actually fairly tight interaction between the (open source) xquartz and osx private framework internals.