Arch Linux

pandemonium

Member

Registered: 2011-03-16

Posts: 9

Turning an Arch installation into a single-application appliance

I'm looking for any tips, hints, or instructions that would be useful in turning a machine running Arch into an "appliance" that just runs a single Xorg application.  Specifically, I want to turn an old netbook into a dedicated Xwax DJ mixing machine.

I know how to install Arch and get it running, and I know how to install Xwax and get it running.  What I'm not sure about is how to create an Xorg installation that would cater to a single application.  I want the machine to boot straight into Xwax with no taskbar, docks, menus, or window decorations, and with Xwax maximized.  Does anyone have any tips on how to set up Xorg to operate like this?  What window manager, if any, would I want to run?

Thanks for the help.

owain

Member

Registered: 2009-08-24

Posts: 251

Re: Turning an Arch installation into a single-application appliance

It's possible to launch a single application without a window manager.  The following in .xinitrc should work (I just tested it loading xterm and it was OK for me):

X :0 -ac -terminate &
sleep 2
/path/to/xwax

quigybo

Member

Registered: 2009-01-15

Posts: 223

Re: Turning an Arch installation into a single-application appliance

The hard part is getting the app maximised to your screen without a window manager. The easiest way is to use a basic WM eg. matchbox. Try something like this in your .xinitrc:

/path/to/app &
exec matchbox-window-manager -use_titlebar no

The rest of the starting X on boot stuff is in the wiki.

pandemonium

Member

Registered: 2011-03-16

Posts: 9

Re: Turning an Arch installation into a single-application appliance

I finally got back to this project.  quigybo, your suggestion worked.  One more question:

Does anyone know of a way to start an application at a specific window size?

So far, I installed Arch linux, then installed Xorg, xwax, slim, and matchbox window manager and set it to autologin.  I start xwax fullscreen by putting this in my ~/.xinitrc:
/usr/bin/xwax -l /home/shaun/music -a hw:2 -a hw:1 &
exec matchbox-window-manager -use_titlebar no

This works fairly well.  The netbook boots quickly and it goes straight into fullscreen xwax.  When I'm done, I hit the power button and it shuts down.

The biggest problem is that xwax isn't starting at the right screen size.  The netbook's screen resolution is 1024x600, but it appears that xwax is starting at a resolution a bit more narrow and tall.  There's some black blank space on the right side that it's not filling, and the track list goes down off the bottom of the screen.  The unfilled space isn't such an issue, but the extra vertical size makes it impossible to see some tracks on the list.

Does anyone have any ideas how I can make it start at the right size?

Thanks!

Last edited by pandemonium (2011-06-15 16:04:41)

pandemonium

Member

Registered: 2011-03-16

Posts: 9

Re: Turning an Arch installation into a single-application appliance

I figured out two ways to do it that don't require recompiling:

- xvkbd is a command that lets you send keypress events (among other things) to the window that's in focus.  By putting it in the startup script right after xwax launches, I can send xwax an F11, which is fullscreen in matchbox

- wmctrl lets you control size and location (and other things) of any window that's running.  This is what I went with.  After launching xwax, I run:
wmctrl -r xwax -e 0,0,0,1024,600 &
This puts the window at the top left and makes it 1024x600.

I'm all set now.  Thanks for the help and input.  :-)

quigybo

Member

Registered: 2009-01-15

Posts: 223

Re: Turning an Arch installation into a single-application appliance

Good to hear that you have a solution that works for you.

For the record, wmctrl can set the fullscreen hint directly:

wmctrl -r xwax -b add,fullscreen

pandemonium

Member

Registered: 2011-03-16

Posts: 9

Re: Turning an Arch installation into a single-application appliance

Thanks for the tip!  I'll give that a try.