Functionality

X-META-X maps arbitrary large virtual display areas - so-called meta screens - on one or more real screens of one or multiple X Window servers or even on X11 windows. The dimensions of the screens do not matter. Screens may overlap or leave gaps. The visible areas may be arbitrarily positioned on the virtual area by moving the mouse pointer. This base functionality can be enhanced by options, each implementing a certain functionality like zooming, rotating, beaming or recording an X11 session or even providing a fail-safe X Window server.

The POSE technology is used for exactly and totally recording and later or simultaneous playback of X11 sessions or individual applications, optionally together with audio, video, or arbitrary binary data streams. The recording may be converted to video formats, too.

X-META-X provides a virtual X Window server for establishing a virtual, invisible X11 session, which can be transferred to a real X Window server.

X Window proxy

X-META-X is neither a stand-alone X Window server nor a specialized window manager. The X-META-X proxy is stacked between the X Window server(s) of the workstation(s) and the X Window clients via inter-process communication. It is executed instead of the X Window server and calls the local server.

Managing the communication between servers and clients, X-META-X breaks the fixed relation between display area and communication port of one X server or multiple X servers simultaneously.

This is totally transparent for any X Window server. X-META-X flawlessly cooperates with workstation or terminal vendor supplied servers as well as with many specialized servers. Furthermore, clients cannot detect any differences to the standard X Window server. Thus, you may use the usual window managers.

X-META-X can combine rather different screens and X Window servers. To the clients, however, X-META-X offers only the subset of common features of the controlled screens of each meta screen.

X11 protocol and protocol extensions

X-META-X is based on the META technology for decoding and encoding of the X11 protocol. The software supports the complete X11R6 protocol.

X-META-X supports the protocol extensions BIG-REQUESTS, DOUBLE-BUFFER, DPMS, GLX (OpenGL, Version 1.2 with some additional requests of version 1.3), MIT-SCREEN-SAVER, MIT-SHM, Multi-Buffering, SCREEN-SAVER, SHAPE, SUN_ALLPLANES, SYNC, XC-MISC, XIE, XPRINT, and XTEST. The protocol extension MIT-SHM is always offered to the X Window clients, even if not all controlled X Window servers support it. In this case the extension requests are translated into the corresponding X11 core protocol requests automatically. The protocol extension XTEST is offered to the X Window clients provided that each controlled X Window server supports at least one of the extensions DEC-XTRAP, XTEST, and XTestExtension1.

The software implements the additional protocol extensions X-SOFTWARE META, X-SOFTWARE POSE, X-SOFTWARE KEYMAP, and X-SOFTWARE TRANSLUCENT, which are used for runtime configuration.

X-META-X supports the X Display Manager Control Protocol (XDMCP) as well as the authorization methods host access control, MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1, and XDM-AUTHORIZATION-1.

Options

The functionality of the X-META-X base product may be enhanced by additional options.

The option CHANNEL increases the maximum number of output channels - screens or POSE connections - supported by the X-META-X proxy by an arbitrary number of channels. Without option the proxy supports not more than three channels.

The option VARIO allows to define horizontal and vertical zoom factors for each individual screen. All X11 requests like fonts are scaled automatically. In addition this option allows to rotate a screen by multiples of 90 degrees.

The option INWINDOW allows to use X11 windows instead of real screens. Thus, a meta screen can be integrated into a running X11 session.

The option DYNAMICSERVER provides for connecting and disconnecting X Window servers during runtime.

The option FAILSAFE provides a highly available X Window server: X-META-X detects the breakdown of one, multiple or even all X Window servers and does not interrupt the X Window clients. A failed X Window server may be substituted by a new one during runtime.

The option POSE integrates the functionality of the product X-POSE-X-RECORD and allows to totally and exactly record an X11 session or individual X Window clients, optionally together with audio, video, or arbitrary binary data streams. For playback and video conversion the separate product X-POSE-X-PLAY is used.

The option MULTIMEDIA allows to capture, transport, store, and replay audio, video, or arbitrary binary data streams simultaneously and synchronously to the POSE data stream.

The option KEYMAP allows to assign different keyboard mappings to single or groups of X Window applications. Thus, multilingual applications can be used with one X Window server and one keyboard simultaneously.

The option TRANSLUCENT allows to make a single or a group of X11 windows transparent. This transparency is effective for output as well as for input (so you can click through the transparent background of a window). This option requires very powerful X Window servers. Windows rendered by OpenGL cannot be made transparent. The used X Window server must support the SHAPE protocol extension.

The X-META-X base product already implements all options. An individual option is enabled by a suitable license key and activated by the configuration.

Configuration

X-META-X is highly configurable from the command line and through configuration files. In spite of the great number of configuration statements the software is configured very easily, starting with reasonable default values.

X-META-X includes the configuration tool X-META-X-TOOL, which is used to create configuration files or to configure the X-META-X proxy during runtime - through the graphical user interface or scriptable from the command line.

X-META-X includes the configuration tool X-POSE-X-TOOL, which is used to create configuration files or to configure and control recording, playback, and conversion - through the graphical user interface or scriptable from the command line.

Improvements and enhancements of version 7.0

The overall performance of the X-META-X proxy and of the X-POSE-X-TOOL program was further improved.

The number of supported protocol extensions were increased and the version levels were updated.

The proxy now interprets the XINERAMA center hints.

X-META-X supports up to three screens and POSE connections. Additional screens or connections can be licensed using the option CHANNEL. This allowed to lower the price of the base product significantly.

The statement keepWindowsVisible always keeps all windows totally or partly visible.

The statement workarounds glx13 implements a few important requests of version 1.3 of the GLX protocol extension.

The display of the moving pointer on a rotated screen now is less jerky if not absolutely smooth.

The screen tag probeOnly makes configuration easier in cases when the initial configuration does not yet contain all screens to be controlled.

The graphical user interfaces of the configuration tools X-META-X-TOOL and X-POSE-X-TOOL are completely new.

The tracing of state changes - besides the improved signal control - allows direct monitoring of the xposextool program by other programs or scripts.

Introducing snapshots together with new hot keys makes positioning during playback more comfortable.

The option MULTIMEDIA of X-META-X and X-POSE-X-PLAY allows to capture, transport, store, and replay audio, video, or arbitrary binary data streams simultaneously and synchronously to the POSE data stream. This option may also be used to convert a POSE recording into any video format by use of an external video codec.

The option SECURE allows to protect the communication between the X-META-X proxy and the recording or displaying program xposextool by an efficient encryption.

Improvements and enhancements of version 7.1

The overall performance of the X-META-X proxy and of the X-POSE-X-TOOL program was further improved.

The number of supported protocol extensions were increased and the version levels were updated.

X-META-X now provides a virtual X Window server for establishing a virtual, invisible X11 session, which can be transferred to a real X Window server.

Supported architectures

X-META-X is available for the following operating systems:

• Hewlett-Packard HP-UX (PA-RISC) 11,
• Hewlett-Packard Tru64 UNIX (Digital UNIX, DEC OSF/1, Compaq Tru64, Alpha) from 3.2 on,
• IBM AIX (PowerPC) from 4.3 on,
• Linux (x86 from Pentium Pro on),
• SGI IRIX (Mips) from 6.2 on,
• Sun Solaris 7, 8, 9, 10 (SPARC from V7+ on),
• Sun Solaris 7, 8, 9, 10 (x86 from Pentium Pro on).

Order Information

The software can be downloaded from the SMART ALEC DOWNLOAD TRAY server.

A license key allows to use the software either on one individual computer (node-locked) or overall in a local network (floating). It unlocks the base functionality and possibly additional options. License keys can be requested by e-mail, fax, or phone.

Without a license key the X-META-X proxy runs in evaluation mode with full functionality and all options enabled. However, it terminates after 30 minutes at least with a warning message. Data recorded by the POSE option of X-META-X in evaluation mode can be replayed within one day only.

There are two ways for updating to the current version. With the update product you get the license key for the current version once, whereas the maintenance plan entitles you to receive the license key for the then current version during one year.

Please address your orders to <xmetax-sales@x-software.com>.