UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

If X was not installed, what would print data onto the display? Does it include applications form Gpl/Gnu or is it a daemon only?

Thanks in advance!

For what system?

If you didn't have X on a linux system, you'd probably have a VGA text console. A raw VGA console doesn't need a daemon to exist, it's just a device, provided by the kernel itself. The system's normal login system would then control this terminal.

These terminals are almost always available on Linux even when you have X installed, or for that matter, running. Try ctrl-alt-f1 on a linux system to get to a raw text console. F1 through F6 are different, seperate terminals. ctrl-alt-F7 to switch back to the GUI, since it traditionally resides on VT 7. Though I've seen some systems where it resides on f8, too.

For some video boards, there will be framebuffer support. Then there are numerous graphic toolkit options that can "draw" to the framebuffer (e.g. SDL, svgalib, DirectFB, GGI, etc.).

So... if you just HAVE to have raster graphics... maybe that will do.... again, depends on the video card though.