[sf-lug] Linux, X11 & virutal consoles (Re: A problem of spacing with terminal)

[Michael Paoli]

Me too!  Yeah, I typically use startx.  And in that case ... might
depend a bit upon the distribution and version, but as I recall, the
behavior in such case, was to either use the current virtual console,
or the next (or first?) available virtual console not already in use by
any processes (e.g. no getty or the like running).  I think the later
behavior is older, and the former the more current behavior.

Once upon a time, I used to run several desktop environments, window
managers, or login managers, each on a separate virtual console.  E.g.
Gnome, KDE, and a bare bones X11.  And each would generally also allow
one to select a different environment when logging in - if I recall
correctly - but defaulted to their more native environment.  But,
notably as desktop environments have gotten more resource intensive (at
least general trend, and most of them), and since I mostly wasn't using
all but one anyway, most all the time now I'm just using one (fvwm -
started with it early on (heck, before my computer even had a pointing
device!), still quite like and generally prefer it).  I still have some
carry-over bits of that earlier infrastructure.  I've got getty (or some
rough equivalent) running on tty{[1-59],1[0-2]}, and don't have
such running on tty[6-8] - leaving them open and available for X11 (or
whatever).  I used to also not run getty or the like on tty5 ... but
that was back when I'd login to text console on tty4, use startx, and
that would fire up X11 on tty5 (the first/next unused virtual console).
I got used to mostly using tty5 for the X11 stuff ... later the behavior
changed so the X11 ran on the same virtual console where it was started
(e.g. via startx), so ... I enabled getty or such on tty5, and launch
it with startx, as before, and thus still end up with the X11 stuff
running on tty5.  But I do *also* use tty4 ... one of the virtual
consoles I typically still use text based login and session on.
And that does appear to be the current behavior - opens on same virtual
console.  "Of course" I can't do another bare startx with :0 already in
use, but ... e.g. on tty4, doing startx -- :1 ... and it fires up
another X server, etc., and ... it runs on the same tty4 where I
launched it.  So ... I think that's been the case for some fair number
of years now.  And using tty5 or tty7 for X11, also helps follow the
principle of least surprise ... as, at least for Linux, that's where
one would commonly expect to find X11 environment running.

> From: "Akkana Peck" <akkana at shallowsky.com>
> Subject: Re: [sf-lug] A problem of spacing with terminal
> Date: Tue, 15 Aug 2017 09:06:55 -0600

> Michael Paoli writes:
>> /dev/tty5 (Ctrl+Alt+F5), and
>> /dev/tty7 (Ctrl+Alt+F7)
>> are most common for X11 among what I've seen for various
>> Linux distributions and versions thereof.
>
> The Debian testing I'm running puts it on Ctl-Alt-F1 as of three or   
> four years ago (was on F7 before that). That might be because I'm
> logging in on the console and running startx, rather than logging
> in to a desktop manager.