X11... What is is?

Discussion in 'macOS' started by Drew017, Feb 3, 2012.

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  1. Drew017, Feb 3, 2012

    Drew017 macrumors 65816

    Drew017

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    #1
    After doing some browsing on my Mac, in the Utilities folder is an app called X11. I opened it, and it looked like terminal. Exactly what does X11 do... and How do I use it? Thanks!

    PS- I'm running OS X 10.5.8
     
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  2. coolspot18, Feb 3, 2012

    coolspot18 macrumors 65816

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    #2
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  3. alexreich, Feb 3, 2012
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2012

    alexreich macrumors 6502a

    alexreich

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2011
    #3
    I don't exactly understand it, but I know it helps various applications run in OS X. I know whenever I open Gimp (a image editing software) or Wine and WineBottler (apps to run Windows applications directly in OS X) it opens while I am using those applications.
     
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  4. old-wiz, Feb 4, 2012

    old-wiz macrumors G3

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    #4
    *NIX applications are written to work with as many different systems as possible. One of the big issues with porting a *NIX application is the GUI since different targets use different GUI calls. X11 provides an interface between the *NIX applications and the GUI of the target system. X11 is a heavy duty protocol that provides a lot of flexibility.
     
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