a screen saver and locker for the X window system
by Jamie Zawinski
+ http://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/
+
To build on Unix:
- ./configure
configure scripts (those generated by the GNU autoconf system.)
The most important hint is probably this:
- ./configure --includedir=/opt/Motif/include --libdir=/opt/Motif/lib
+ ./configure --with-motif=/opt/Motif --with-xpm=/usr/local
To build on VMS, see README.VMS.
-If you think you've found a bug, please let me know; but first, read
-the enlosed `README.debugging' file to find out what kind of information
-would be most helpful to include in your bug report.
+If you are upgrading, you might want to delete your ~/.xscreensaver file.
+If you don't, you might not see the new graphics modes. If you are upgrading
+from version 2.* to version 3.*, definitely do delete your .xscreensaver file.
+
+If you think you've found a bug, please let me know! No bug report is too
+small. But first, please read the enclosed `README.debugging' file to find
+out what kind of information would be most helpful to include in your bug
+report.
Getting Started:
============
-The xscreensaver program waits until the keyboard and mouse have been idle
-for a period, and then runs a graphics demo chosen at random. It turns off
-as soon as there is any mouse or keyboard activity.
-
-The purpose of xscreensaver is to display pretty pictures on your screen
-when it is not in use, in keeping with the philosophy that unattended
-monitors should always be doing something interesting, just like they do
-in the movies.
-
-However, xscreensaver can also be used as a screen locker, to prevent
-others from using your terminal while your are away.
-
-The benefit that this program has over the combination of the xlock and
-xautolock programs is the ease with which new graphics hacks can be
-installed: you don't need to recompile this program to add a new display
-mode, you just change some resource settings. Any program which can be
-invoked in such a way that it draws on the root window of the screen can
-now be used as a screensaver without modification. The programs that
-are being run as screensavers don't need to have any special knowledge
-about what it means to be a screensaver.
-
-The XIDLE, MIT-SCREEN-SAVER, and/or SGI SCREEN_SAVER server extensions
-will be used if you have them.
+The xscreensaver daemon waits until the keyboard and mouse have been idle
+for a period, and then runs a graphics demo chosen at random. The demo is
+terminated as soon as there is any mouse or keyboard activity (or, in
+locking mode, when the proper password is typed.)
-The dialog boxes (for locking and demo-mode) look best using Motif or
-Lesstif, but can be configured to use Athena widgets instead.
+It is trivially easy to add new display modes to xscreensaver: any program
+which can be invoked in such a way that it draws on the root window of the
+screen can be used as a screensaver. You just change a resource setting --
+there's no need to recompile or reinstall anything.
-Also included are numerous graphics hacks for use as screensavers. There's
-nothing magic about these: they're just programs that draw on the root
-window, which are pointed at by the screensaver's default resource settings.
-
- qix - My own implementation of this, with many more options
- than you would have thought qix could have.
- helix - Generates spirally "stringart" patterns.
- pedal - Draws a different kind of spirally pattern.
- rorschach - Random inkblot patterns.
- attraction - A bouncing ball demo, or a qix-like demo, or a wild
- color-cycling thing, with some odd rules.
- greynetic - Random colored/stippled rectangles.
- rocks - Flying through an asteroid field.
- blitspin - Rotate a bitmap using bitblts.
- imsmap - Generates random maps or cloud formations.
- hypercube - 2d projection of a hypercube rotating on all four axes.
- slidescreen - Divides the screen into a grid and plays a 16-puzzle on it.
- decayscreen - A melting effect.
- jigsaw - Turns the screen into a jigsaw puzzle and shuffles it.
- halo - Random circular patterns.
- pyro - Fireworks. Looks a lot like the version in xlock.
- hopalong - Fractals. I snarfed this code from xlock.
- flame - Fractals. Also from xlock.
- noseguy - A guy with a big nose wanders around the screen saying
- things. I snarfed this code from xnlock.
- maze - This is the X maze demo modified to take a -root option
- so that it works with xscreensaver.
- lmorph - morphing line drawings.
- bubbles - condensation forms on your monitor, then pops.
- deco - Generates Brady-Bunch-era wall paneling.
- moire - Circular interference patterns.
- moire2 - More moire.
- kaleidescope - Groovy, man.
- swirl - Swirly color-cycling patterns.
- bouboule - Spinning bubbles on a transparent ball.
- braid - Draws random color-cycling braids around a circle.
- drift - Drifting recursive fractal cosmic flames.
- vines - Small, curvy geometric patterns.
- galaxy - Spinning, colliding galaxies.
- grav - Orbital simulation and/or cloud chamber.
- ifs - Spinning, colliding iterated-function-system shapes.
- julia - Animated rendition of the Julia set.
- laser - Moving radiating lines.
- lightning - Crackling fractal lightning bolts.
- penrose - Quasiperiodic tilings.
- sierpinski - two-dimensional Sierpinski triangle.
- slip - Sucks your desktop through a jet engine.
- spiral - Circular color-cycling interference patterns.
- strange - Animating strange attractors.
- flag - A waving flag of an arbitrary bitmap or text.
- sphere - Draws a bunch of shaded spheres.
- forest - grows a fractal forest.
- lisa - draws animated full-loop lisajous figures.
- lissie - another lisajous path.
- goop - Squishy transparent oil-and-bubble images
- starfish - Radially-symmetric throbbing colormap-hacking blobs.
- munch - The classic 1962-vintage "munching squares" hack.
- rd-bomb - Reaction-diffusion fractals.
- coral - Simulation of coral growth, sort of.
- fadeplot - Draws a swimming ribbon.
- mountain - Generates mountains on a square grid.
- triangle - Generates mountains on a triangular grid.
- worm - Draws wiggly worms.
- rotor - Draws a rotating spiral pattern.
- ant - A cellular automaton.
- xjack - Simulates a schizophrenic typist.
- xlyap - Calculates and displays Lyapunov exponents.
- flow - More strange attractors.
- epicycle - Spiral patterns based on pre-Copernican cosmologies.
- interference - More groovy colored fields.
- truchet - Nonrepeating planar tilings.
- bsod - Simulates the system crashes of various other OSes.
- gears - Draws interlocking rotating gears (GLX only.)
- morph3d - Draws shiny shape-changing 3d forms (GLX only.)
- superquadrics - More shiny shape-changing 3d forms (GLX only.)
- pipes - Generates a field of intertwined plumbing (GLX only.)
- rubik - Solves a Rubik's Cube (GLX only.)
- sproingies - Marble Madness meets Q-Bert (GLX only.)
- stairs - Draws Escher's infinite staircase (GLX only.)
- cage - Draws Escher's impossible cage (GLX only.)
- moebius - Draws Escher's Moebius Strip II (GLX only.)
- atlantis - Draws swimming mammals (GLX only.)
-
-All of these will pop up their own window unless given that -root option.
-See their respective man pages for more details.
-
-Other reasonable things to use as screensavers, if you have them, are
+ ============
- xdaliclock -root -builtin2 - melting digital clock
- xswarm -r 2>&- - swimming sperm
- xwave -root - random 3d graphs
- xbouncebits - bounce arbitrary bitmaps around
- ico -r -p8 -faces -sleep 1 - it's dull, but it's there
- xv -root file.gif -quit - they don't all have to animate!
- xsplinefun - bouncing splines
- xfishtank -c black -d -r 1 - fish (use version 2.0 or later)
- xmountains -b - very realistic generated mountains
- xtacy -root - various eye candy
- xearth -wait 0 -timewarp 400 - the earth as seen from space
- /usr/demos/bin/bongo - an SGI GL demo
- /usr/demos/bin/ep -S - another: the stunning ElectroPaint.
- (Compile hacks/xscreensaver-sgigl.c
- to use these with xscreensaver.)
+Along with the xscreensaver daemon itself, this package also includes
+numerous graphics hacks for use as screensavers. There is nothing magic
+about these: they are just programs that draw on the root window.
-You can get most of these from the contrib directory on ftp.x.org. If you
-know of (or write) any other interesting programs that can be used as
-screensavers, please let me know!
+More than 80 such programs are included. For details, see the xscreensaver
+web page, or the enclosed manual pages. There are also some helpful hints
+on customization in the xscreensaver app-defaults file (normally installed
+in /usr/lib/X11/app-defaults/XScreenSaver.)
The latest version of xscreensaver is always available on the web at
-http://people.netscape.com/jwz/xscreensaver/.
+http://www.jwz.org/xscreensaver/.
- -- Jamie Zawinski <jwz@netscape.com>
+ ============
-\f
-Changes since 2.20: * Made "xscreensaver-command -time" use different words.
+Changes since 3.06: * Configure tweaks (sometimes -lXmu wasn't getting linked
+ in properly; check for _Xsetlocale in -lXintl.)
+ * Portability fixes for sonar.c.
+ * Fixed a compilation problem when you have GL but don't
+ have XPM.
+ * Made configure notice when MesaGL requires -lpthread.
+ * Made `flame' ignore SIGFPE (not sure if this is the
+ right fix; it seems only to be needed on FreeBSD.)
+ * Kludged `rd-bomb' work on visuals that are of depth 24
+ but that *do not* support pixmaps of depth 32.
+ * Fixed `halo' to work properly in TrueColor.
+ * Changed `xscreensaver.spec' to install the hacks in
+ /usr/X11R6/lib/xscreensaver/ by default, since that's
+ where recent Red Hat distributions put them.
+ * Added `t3d' hack.
+ * Updated versions of `crystal', `hopalong', and `flow'
+ from xlockmore.
+ * Imported `demon' and `loop' modes from xlockmore.
+Changes since 3.05: * Oops, the "default-n" visual descriptor was broken;
+ it was always installing a colormap if the
+ `installColormap' preference was set, meaning that
+ `xearth', `xv' and friends were using the wrong
+ colors on 8-bit systems.
+ * Turned off HAVE_PING in `sonar', since it compiles
+ on some Linux systems, but not others of similar
+ vintage...
+Changes since 3.04: * Fixed an off-by-1 in `distort'.
+ * Added `sonar' hack.
+ * New version of `glplanet' (with stars.)
+ * Made all hacks exit when you type `q' or `ESC' at them,
+ and made them obey the WM_DELETE_WINDOW ClientMessage.
+ * Fixed a nonfatal buffer overrun in lament (note:
+ lament still doesn't work with MesaGL 3.0: it dies in
+ lambda_textured_triangle1(), which is Mesa's bug, not
+ mine.)
+Changes since 3.03: * Added an `xscreensaver.spec' file, to make it easier
+ for other folks to generate RPMs.
+ * Made the password code work on HPUX in the situation
+ where: ``enhanced security'' is available; but not
+ used; but the user typed a password more than 8
+ characters long anyway. FTSOHPUX.
+Changes since 3.02: * Made locking work when passwd aging is enabled.
+ * Added support for PAM (Pluggable Authentication
+ Modules.) It is still turned off by default, though,
+ since it doesn't seem to work on Solaris 2.6, and has
+ been behaving erratically on Red Hat 5.1.
+ * Made each possible authentication method be tried in
+ turn until one succeeds; this means that Kerberos is
+ being used, we will first check Kerberos, and if that
+ fails, will then consult the local password file.
+ Likewise with PAM.
+ * Save and restore the bits under the passwd dialog,
+ to avoid leaving a black rectangle behind when
+ unlocking is cancelled.
+Changes since 3.01: * Not everyone has sys/select.h, sigh...
+Changes since 3.00: * Some fixes to `reflect'.
+ * Configure tweaks.
+ * Made it log unsuccessful attempts to unlock the screen
+ to syslog.
+ * Fixed a bug where `xscreensaver-demo' could be seeing
+ a different programs list than `xscreensaver' did.
+Changes since 2.34: * The xscreensaver daemon no longer links against Motif
+ or Athena: demo-mode and the preferences panel are no
+ longer built in to the daemon, but are now handled by
+ an external program, `xscreensaver-demo'.
+ (I decided that this, along with the recent addition
+ of the `.xscreensaver' config file, justified bumping
+ the version number to 3.00, since this is a fairly
+ major architectural change.)
+ * Lines in the `*programs' resource may now begin with
+ the character "-", meaning "don't run this hack."
+ In this way, it's possible to disable a hack without
+ throwing away the information about it (making it
+ easier to change your mind later.) Eventually the
+ preferences/demo mode GUI should represent this as a
+ checkbox or something.
+ * Fixed a short race condition where it was possible for
+ xscreensaver to die with a BadWindow error if it was
+ blanking the screen just as another window was being
+ deleted.
+ * Made it possible to disable specific modes in `bsod'.
+Changes since 2.33: * Fixed a bug that was making `pipes' generate way too
+ many valves. Made the viewpoint in `pipes' be selected
+ randomly instead of always being -10 degrees.
+ * Fixed a bug in the XSHM code, in the case where the
+ server supports the XSHM extension but is not the same
+ machine as the client.
+ * Made `rd-bomb' default to taking up the whole screen.
+ * Made it not try to do fading/unfading if no PseudoColor
+ visuals exist.
+ * Initial attempt at supporting VT-locking (doesn't work
+ yet.)
+ * Eliminated the `captureStdout' resource; now
+ `captureStderr' controls both streams.
+ * Added `-capture-stderr' and `-no-capture-stderr'
+ command-line arguments.
+ * Added `glplanet' hack.
+ * When a hack is selected with `xscreensaver-command
+ -select', that hack will be used until further notice
+ (until the saver turns off, or another activation
+ command is issued.)
+Changes since 2.32: * Made `xscreensaver-command' print error messages:
+ the xscreensaver daemon now responds to ClientMessage
+ events by writing a response message on a window
+ property, instead of just writing to its stderr.
+ * Made the ~/.xscreensaver file be automatically reloaded
+ when the file date changes.
+ * The password dialog and splash screen no longer depend
+ on Motif or Athena. This should clear up a number of
+ focus problems, and is the first step on the path
+ toward moving all of the Motif/Athena/whatever code
+ out of the xscreensaver daemon, and into external
+ processes.
+ * Don't complain about LessTif 0.86 any more, since the
+ new password dialog makes that problem go away.
+ * Configure tweaks for Irix 6.5, SunOS 5.something.
+ * New `-reflect' option to `distort'.
+Changes since 2.31: * Added reading and writing of a ~/.xscreensaver file,
+ so that the Preferences panel can save its settings.
+ * New version of `rubik'.
+ * Added `-select N' argument to `xscreensaver-command'.
+ * Oops, left out some of the `bubbles3d' files...
+Changes since 2.30: * The cursor was invisible in the password dialog. Fixed.
+ * Made configure warn against MesaGL 2.6.
+ * Fixed X error at startup when using non-default visual.
+ * New version of `crystal', `ant', and `atlantis' from
+ xlockmore.
+ * New hack, `bubble3d'.
+ * Added some new modes to `bsod'.
+Changes since 2.29: * Changed the order in which -lSM and -lICE are linked
+ to be after Motif instead of before (Lesstif on Irix
+ needs this.)
+Changes since 2.28: * Work around a bash bug in configure.
+ * Tweaked HPUX paths again. FTSOHPUX.
+ * Made configure recommend against LessTif 0.86, due
+ to a bug in that version that causes a security hole
+ in the screen locking code. LessTif 0.87 will fix it.
+ * Made all of the `--with' options to `configure' accept
+ a directory option as well (so that --with-motif=/FOO
+ will add -I/FOO/include -L/FOO/lib). I believe this is
+ the Configure Party Line of how do to such things.
+ * Fixed a bug where the mouse was left un-grabbed
+ after the first time the graphics hack was changed
+ (simplified all of the mouse-grabbing logic.)
+ * Maybe possibly perhaps made `vidwhacker' really not
+ leave stray xv windows around. This time for sure.
+ * Added a new erase mode (random dots fizzling out.)
+ * Added `-prefs' argument to `xscreensaver-command',
+ that brings up the Preferences dialog directly (it
+ seems that nobody ever noticed the `Preferences' button
+ on the Demo Mode dialog, maybe this will help.)
+ * Added a splash screen. Turn it off with *splash:false.
+Changes since 2.27: * Better macsbug text in `bsod'.
+ * New version of `distort' with many new modes.
+ * Plugged a leak in `coral'.
+ * Tweaked configure for HPUX.
+ * Removed some compiler warnings.
+ * More consistent usage of stderr versus stdout.
+ * More diagnostics should an X error occur.
+ * Fixed a possible crash in SGI-specific unfading code.
+Changes since 2.26: * Improved version of `distort'.
+ * Made `lament' compile against OpenGL 1.0 (though it
+ still requires 1.1 to work properly.)
+ * Updated my email address and home page.
+Changes since 2.24: * Improved motion in `rd-bomb'.
+ * Added XSHM (shared memory extension) support to the
+ `distort', `interference', `moire', `rd-bomb', and
+ `swirl' hacks, which speeds them up a bit.
+ * Added `lament' hack.
+Changes since 2.23: * Tweaked the order of the -L options again.
+ * Cleaned up configure's `--help' message.
+ * Added `kumppa' hack.
+ * Smarter maze-solving algorithm in `maze'.
+ * Took `xlyap' out of the default list of hacks, since
+ it's just incredibly buggy (and slow.) Maybe someday
+ someone will fix it...
+ * Added `distort' hack, but didn't add it to the default
+ list (yet) because it's still too slow.
+ * Made the Athena demo dialog look more like the Motif
+ version; it has a text-entry field now, too.
+ * Made the Athena password dialog echo asterisks, like
+ Motif does, instead of using a flyspeck font.
+ * Some random configure tweaks.
+ * Added a `timestamp' resource that makes the `-verbose'
+ messages include the time at which they were printed.
+Changes since 2.22: * The fix for SGI's ``scheme'' nonsense broke things, and
+ let the user's "*background" resource show through.
+ Fixed it in a different way.
+Changes since 2.21: * Added support for the DPMS server extension (Display
+ Power Management System.)
+ * Made configure advertize the `--enable-subdir' option a
+ little more, since that seemed to cause some people
+ stress. Also, made that directory be built into the
+ xscreensaver executable, as a hardcoded prefix to
+ $PATH. (Might help, shouldn't hurt.)
+ * Made configure prefer the two-arg gettimeofday to the
+ one-arg version, since AIX doesn't have any prototypes.
+ * Made it work with Xaw3d (the 3D Athena library.)
+ * Made `make install' create directories as necessary.
+ * New version of lmorph from Sverre.
+ * Added `crystal' and `discreet' hacks from xlockmore.
+ * Added a new mode to `bsod'.
+Changes since 2.20: * Made `xscreensaver-command -time' use different words.
(It now describes the two states as "screen blanked
since..." and "screen non-blanked since..." instead of
"active since..." and "inactive since..." which a lot
xscreensaver-command programs more obvious.
* Rewrote (and reorganized) parts of the xscreensaver and
xscreensaver-command manual pages.
- * Renamed xscreensaver's "-lock" command-line option to
- be "-lock-mode", to avoid confusion with the "-lock"
+ * Renamed xscreensaver's `-lock' command-line option to
+ be `-lock-mode', to avoid confusion with the `-lock'
option to xscreensaver-command, which does a totally
different thing.
- * Removed xscreensaver's "-demo" command-line option for
- a similar reason; use "xscreensaver-command -demo"
+ * Removed xscreensaver's `-demo' command-line option for
+ a similar reason; use `xscreensaver-command -demo'
instead.
- * Disabled SGI's "scheme" nonsense in a better way than
+ * Disabled SGI's ``scheme'' nonsense in a better way than
fully-qualifying the background colors in every single
hack.
* Fixed some other minor cosmetic problems when *sgiMode
Changes since 2.11: * Added `README.debugging'.
* Added `puzzle' hack.
* Added `xlyap' hack.
- * Added "default-n" as a visual name, so that one can
+ * Added `default-n' as a visual name, so that one can
have -install on by default, but turn it off for
certain poorly-behaved hacks (like xv.)
* Added support for grabbing frames of external video
* Fixed a bug in the -time option.
* Fixed a bug in configure related to LessTif.
Changes since 2.06: * Minor header tweaks in windows.c and flag.c.
- * Made multi-architecture (VPATH) builds work properly.
+ * Made multi-architecture ($VPATH) builds work properly.
* Merged new GL stuff from xlockmore (rubik, morph3d.)
* Fixed intermittent crashes in `imsmap' and `munch'.
* Added `fadeplot' hack from xlockmore.