Re: exmh and Xauthority

[Lord of the Elves <elflord pegasus rutgers edu>]

> 
>I modified file /usr/X11R6/bin/startx  a little bit:
>...
>serverargs="-auth $HOME/.Xauthority" 
>...
>done
>
>xauth add :0 . `mcookie`
>xauth add `hostname`:0 . `mcookie`
>
>xinit $clientargs -- $serverargs 
>

This works perfectly on Red Hat.(ie it solves Xauthority problems that 
come out from under the rug when one uses exmh )
 
I was wondering- does anyone  know if 
exactly the same startx script (or the same modifications)
will work on all linux distributions , 
given sensible changes in the paths ?  

Do the alternatives to XFree86 have the same problems with Xauthority, or is
this just an XFree86 issue?

I don't even know if other linux distributions have a startx script 
and if so, what directory it's in. Also, does using xdm fix the Xauthority
problem on all linux varients? I want to come up with some Xauthority 
solutions that are distribution independent. 

The reason why I'm interested is this:

The writers of exmh , who I contacted , are receptive to contributions to
their documentation, but they don't have time to trouble shoot on every
unix platform. I am hoping that I can find an answer to this that works on
all or almost all linux systems. I urge anyone who knows enough to write a
small piece on exmh for linux to mail the authors of exmh. And I'd love it
if you'd cc me or tell me... 
A lot of linux users would no doubt benefit from improvements
in the documentation for exmh. 

It would also help if Red Hat fixed the
startx script so that it worked, or at least put it down on the record that
the Xauthority stuff works just fine if you use xdm. 
but they haven't responded to my question
about this yet. It would be a pity if they didn't distribute it so that it did
Xauthority correctly (or at least provide documentation). Their FAQ deals
with the question "why doesn't xmh work?" answer "don't use xmh. use exmh 
instead... " but "why doesn't exmh work ? " well, they appear to have just 
swept that one under the rug. Can some-one from red hat
give the RedHat position on this? What plans does Red Hat have to provide 
documentation on the subject of getting exmh to work?

-- Donovan