node-x11

X11 protocol client for Node.js: implements the core X11 protocol, as well as Xrender, Damage, Composite, Big-Requests, Dpms, Screensaver, XFixes, Shape, XTest, XC-Misc, GLX, and Apple-WM extensions.

Install

npm install x11

Windows users:

1. install XMing or Cygwin/X
2. get node-x11 copy (using git or from Github)

Example

Core requests usage:

var x11 = require('x11');

var Exposure = x11.eventMask.Exposure;
var PointerMotion = x11.eventMask.PointerMotion;

x11.createClient(function(err, display) {
  if (!err) {
    var X = display.client;
    var root = display.screen[0].root;
    var wid = X.AllocID();
    X.CreateWindow(
      wid,
      root, // new window id, parent
      0,
      0,
      500,
      500, // x, y, w, h
      0,
      0,
      0,
      0, // border, depth, class, visual
      { eventMask: Exposure | PointerMotion } // other parameters
    );
    X.MapWindow(wid);
    var gc = X.AllocID();
    X.CreateGC(gc, wid);
    var white = display.screen[0].white_pixel;
    var black = display.screen[0].black_pixel;
    cidBlack = X.AllocID();
    cidWhite = X.AllocID();
    X.CreateGC(cidBlack, wid, { foreground: black, background: white });
    X.CreateGC(cidWhite, wid, { foreground: white, background: black });
    X.on('event', function(ev) {
      if (ev.type == 12) {
        X.PolyFillRectangle(wid, cidWhite, [0, 0, 500, 500]);
        X.PolyText8(wid, cidBlack, 50, 50, ['Hello, Node.JS!']);
      }
    });
    X.on('error', function(e) {
      console.log(e);
    });
  } else {
    console.log(err);
  }
});

Screenshots

In use

• ntk - higher level toolkit on top of X11
• node-remote - media center controller
• tiles - tiling window manager
• vnc - vnc client.
• node-ewmh - set of EWMH helpers.
• OdieWM - window manager
• Dbusmenu - unity global menu client.
• AirWM - tiling window manager
• npdf - pdf viewer
• tinywm The famous TinyWM written in node.js
• basedwm Infinite-desktop panning X window manager in LiveScript

X11 resources/documentation:

• Xplain - A series of articles to help explain the X Window System http://magcius.github.io/xplain/article/
• Official X11 docs
• protocol specification
• C Xlib to X11 request mapping table http://tronche.com/gui/x/xlib/appendix/a.html
• How to write composite manager
• Extended Window Manager Hints specification

Other implementations

• C: XLib - http://www.sbin.org/doc/Xlib/ http://www.tronche.com/gui/x/xlib/ http://www.x.org/docs/X11/xlib.pdf
• C: XCB - http://xcb.freedesktop.org/
• Python: http://sourceforge.net/projects/python-xlib/ ( github fork: https://github.com/Ademan/python-xlib-branch pypi: http://pypi.python.org/pypi/Python%20Xlib )
• https://github.com/alexer/python-xlib-render
• Python/twisted: https://launchpad.net/twisted-x11
• Perl: http://search.cpan.org/~smccam/X11-Protocol-0.56/Protocol.pm
• Go: https://github.com/BurntSushi/xgb
• Java: https://github.com/xderoche/J11
• Ruby: https://github.com/dj2/x-ruby-bindings
• Clojure: https://github.com/noodlewiz/xcljb
• Guile: https://github.com/mwitmer/guile-xcb
• Emacs lisp: https://github.com/ch11ng/xelb ( autogenerated from XCB XML )

Server side (protocol + functionality) implementations for js + DOM

would be really great to make completely web based playground page, connecting node-x11 api to DOM based implementation

• https://github.com/GothAck/javascript-x-server
• https://github.com/ttaubert/x-server-js