XQuartz

X11

Developer(s)	Apple Inc.
Stable release	2.3.4 / August 28, 2009
Repository	github.com/XQuartz/XQuartz
Operating system	Mac OS X
Type	X11 Window Server/compatibility layer
License	Apple Public Source License MIT License
Website	http://xquartz.macosforge.org/trac/wiki

XQuartz (commonly referred to as X11.app) is Apple Inc.'s version of the X server, a component of the X Window System, for Mac OS X. The current version of XQuartz is a DDX included in the X.Org Server and implements support for hardware-accelerated 2D graphics (in versions prior to 2.1), hardware OpenGL acceleration and integration with Aqua, the Mac OS X graphical user interface (GUI). X11 was initially available as a downloadable public beta for Mac OS X v10.2 and later included as a standard package in Mac OS X v10.3, which can be downloaded from Apple's website. In Mac OS X v10.4, X11 was an optional install included on the install DVD. Since Mac OS X v10.5, X11 is installed by default.

In Mac OS X v10.4, Apple's X11 implemented X11 protocol release 6.6 (X11R6.6). This implementation includes an XFree86 4.4 based X11 window server, Quartz rootless window manager, libraries, and basic utilities such as xterm. "Rootless" means that X window applications show up on the Quartz desktop, appearing like any other windowed Quartz application (that is, not in a virtual desktop contained within another window). In Mac OS X v10.5, X11 was rewritten to use the more popular X.Org Server (X11R7.2) rather than XFree86.

The source code for X11 is available from Apple. Some source code is available under the Apple Public Source License while the bulk is licensed under the MIT License.

See also

• XDarwin- implementation of X for Mac OS X that preceded X11.app, and supports versions of Mac OS X before 10.3 unlike X11.app

External links

• X11 at Apple Developer Connection
• Apple Download Website - X11 for Mac OS X 10.3
• X11 packages for Mac OS X 10.4 (packages so you can install X11 without the DVD)