Connecting to Raspbian Window Server with MacX

[VMSZealot]

I installed MacX, using the muscle memory from twenty years ago when I used to connect to VMS, and tried to open Evolution (running on my Raspberry Pi) on my Mac. I got an randr error - `Xlib: extension “RANDR” missing on display “:1.0”`

Any thoughts at the real Genius Bar (68kmla!)

 

[stepleton]

The X protocol is extensible, and evidently RandR refers to an extension. X programs can ask about or request these extensions from the display server (in this case MacX), which can either supply what the program needs (if it can) or confess that it doesn't have that capability (as seems is the case for MacX). Evolution (or a library it uses) evidently wouldn't take no-RandR for an answer and chose to quit.

Can you run a much simpler program like xeyes or xterm (which I think are unlikely to want RandR)? If so, then your display server works, and perhaps there's a way to tell Evolution not to use functionality that requires RandR. (I don't know what to suggest to investigate this.) If you can't find a way, there's little you can do short of finding a more featureful display server than MacX.

If you can't run simple programs, then there may be some troubleshooting to do before you give up on MacX.

 

[cheesestraws]

Agreed: get basic xlib type programs working first. GNOME applications have a tendency to be a bit ... maximalist.

 

[VMSZealot]

Ahh. Top tips. Thank you both.

 

[CC_333]

GNOME applications have a tendency to be a bit ... maximalist.

It's kind of ironic that Linux used to be (and in some cases, still is) known for being lighter on resources.

GNOME and KDE Plasma seem to both value the "everything and the kitchen sink" approach. Why do I need almost 2 gigabytes of libraries and other supporting bits just to use a modest GNOME-based word processor, for example? Most if it seems to be related to the UI, too, so not much is added in the way of useful functionality.

Fortunately, other DEs (Desktop Environments) exist that still hold at least somewhat true to the "less is more" philosophy, and other decent word processors with good feature support exist that likewise don't need 2 gigabytes-worth of bloat just to display a blank page.

c

 

[adespoton]

Funny thing is, I always thought of GNOME as being "OS X equivalent toolkit for Gnu/Linux" and KDE as being "Windows equivalent toolkit for Gnu/Linux" XFCE seems to me to be "SGI equivalent for Gnu/Linux" and is designed in such a way as to likely be the most compatible without requiring RandR -- most of what it does is just improving on X itself without adding extensions. Then there's LXQt, which does have extensions, but tries to keep them as minimal and focused as possible (and limited to Qt library support) -- it's essentially a modern, better architected alternative to LXDE.

When testing with MacX, I'd go in the order of:
Basic X
XFCE
LXQt
GNOME 2 (including MATE)
KDE Plasma
GNOME 3 (including Cinnamon)

You could also try something niche like OTDE (which is based on KDE 1), but most modern software won't be compatible with it.

 

[Arbee]

Interoperating modern and vintage X clients and servers is very difficult. XRandR allows live video mode switching, which wasn't important in 1987 and was critical in 1997. MAME emulates some 68k-based dedicated X terminals and they work best with a similar-vintage machine (a SPARCStation or SGI Indigo2 or Sony NeWS machine) running on another instance of MAME.

 

[aladds]

I cannot for the life of me remember what it’s called, but there is an X11 “compatibility layer” which you can run via old X11 servers to display new X11 applications on them. Maybe posting this will trigger someone else’s memory of what it’s called.

Edit: Got it! Xnest. Seems there is also Xephyr which is similar and a bit newer.

I’ve had good luck using one of these (maybe Xnest) with older setups like MacX and newer applications in the past. But I admit I’ve not tried to do it in years