| 1 | FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
1 | FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS |
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2 | Isn't rxvt supposed to be small? Don't all those features bloat? |
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3 | I often get asked about this, and I think, no, they didn't cause |
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4 | extra bloat. If you compare a minimal rxvt and a minimal urxvt, you |
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5 | can see that the urxvt binary is larger (due to some encoding tables |
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6 | always being compiled in), but it actually uses less memory (RSS) |
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7 | after startup. Even with "--disable-everything", this comparison is |
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8 | a bit unfair, as many features unique to urxvt (locale, encoding |
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9 | conversion, iso14755 etc.) are already in use in this mode. |
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10 | |
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11 | text data bss drs rss filename |
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12 | 98398 1664 24 15695 1824 rxvt --disable-everything |
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13 | 188985 9048 66616 18222 1788 urxvt --disable-everything |
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14 | |
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15 | When you "--enable-everything" (which _is_ unfair, as this involves |
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16 | xft and full locale/XIM support which are quite bloaty inside libX11 |
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17 | and my libc), the two diverge, but not unreasnobaly so. |
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18 | |
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19 | text data bss drs rss filename |
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20 | 163431 2152 24 20123 2060 rxvt --enable-everything |
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21 | 1035683 49680 66648 29096 3680 urxvt --enable-everything |
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22 | |
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23 | The very large size of the text section is explained by the |
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24 | east-asian encoding tables, which, if unused, take up disk space but |
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25 | nothing else and can be compiled out unless you rely on X11 core |
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26 | fonts that use those encodings. The BSS size comes from the 64k |
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27 | emergency buffer that my c++ compiler allocates (but of course |
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28 | doesn't use unless you are out of memory). Also, using an xft font |
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29 | instead of a core font immediately adds a few megabytes of RSS. Xft |
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30 | indeed is responsible for a lot of RSS even when not used. |
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31 | |
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32 | Of course, due to every character using two or four bytes instead of |
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33 | one, a large scrollback buffer will ultimately make rxvt-unicode use |
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34 | more memory. |
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35 | |
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36 | Compared to e.g. Eterm (5112k), aterm (3132k) and xterm (4680k), |
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37 | this still fares rather well. And compared to some monsters like |
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38 | gnome-terminal (21152k + extra 4204k in separate processes) or |
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39 | konsole (22200k + extra 43180k in daemons that stay around after |
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40 | exit, plus half aminute of startup time, including the hundreds of |
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41 | warnings it spits out), it fares extremely well *g*. |
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42 | |
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43 | Why C++, isn't that unportable/bloated/uncool? |
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44 | Is this a question? :) It comes up very often. The simple answer is: |
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45 | I had to write it, and C++ allowed me to write and maintain it in a |
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46 | fraction of the time and effort (which is a scarce resource for me). |
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47 | Put even shorter: It simply wouldn't exist without C++. |
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48 | |
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49 | My personal stance on this is that C++ is less portable than C, but |
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50 | in the case of rxvt-unicode this hardly matters, as its portability |
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51 | limits are defined by things like X11, pseudo terminals, locale |
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52 | support and unix domain sockets, which are all less portable than |
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53 | C++ itself. |
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54 | |
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55 | Regarding the bloat, see the above question: It's easy to write |
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56 | programs in C that use gobs of memory, an certainly possible to |
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57 | write programs in C++ that don't. C++ also often comes with large |
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58 | libraries, but this is not necessarily the case with GCC. Here is |
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59 | what rxvt links against on my system with a minimal config: |
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60 | |
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61 | libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00002aaaaabc3000) |
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62 | libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x00002aaaaadde000) |
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63 | libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00002aaaab01d000) |
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64 | /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000) |
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65 | |
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66 | And here is rxvt-unicode: |
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67 | |
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68 | libX11.so.6 => /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6 (0x00002aaaaabc3000) |
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69 | libgcc_s.so.1 => /lib/libgcc_s.so.1 (0x00002aaaaada2000) |
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70 | libc.so.6 => /lib/libc.so.6 (0x00002aaaaaeb0000) |
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71 | libdl.so.2 => /lib/libdl.so.2 (0x00002aaaab0ee000) |
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72 | /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00002aaaaaaab000) |
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73 | |
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74 | No large bloated libraries (of course, none were linked in |
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75 | statically), except maybe libX11 :) |
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76 | |
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77 | Does it support tabs, can I have a tabbed rxvt-unicode? |
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78 | rxvt-unicode does not directly support tabs. It will work fine with |
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79 | tabbing functionality of many window managers or similar tabbing |
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80 | programs, and its embedding-features allow it to be embedded into |
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81 | other programs, as witnessed by doc/rxvt-tabbed or the upcoming |
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82 | "Gtk2::URxvt" perl module, which features a tabbed urxvt (murxvt) |
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83 | terminal as an example embedding application. |
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84 | |
| 2 | How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using? |
85 | How do I know which rxvt-unicode version I'm using? |
| 3 | The version number is displayed with the usage (-h). Also the escape |
86 | The version number is displayed with the usage (-h). Also the escape |
| 4 | sequence "ESC [ 8 n" sets the window title to the version number. |
87 | sequence "ESC [ 8 n" sets the window title to the version number. |
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88 | When using the rxvtc client, the version displayed is that of the |
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89 | daemon. |
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90 | |
| 6 | I am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem... |
91 | I am using Debian GNU/Linux and have a problem... |
| 7 | The Debian GNU/Linux package of rxvt-unicode contains large patches |
92 | The Debian GNU/Linux package of rxvt-unicode in sarge contains large |
| 8 | that considerably change the behaviour of rxvt-unicode. Before |
93 | patches that considerably change the behaviour of rxvt-unicode. |
| 9 | reporting a bug to the original rxvt-unicode author please download |
94 | Before reporting a bug to the original rxvt-unicode author please |
| 10 | and install the genuine version |
95 | download and install the genuine version |
| 11 | (<http://software.schmorp.de#rxvt-unicode>) and try to reproduce the |
96 | (<http://software.schmorp.de#rxvt-unicode>) and try to reproduce the |
| 12 | problem. If you cannot, chances are that the problems are specific |
97 | problem. If you cannot, chances are that the problems are specific |
| 13 | to Debian GNU/Linux, in which case it should be reported via the |
98 | to Debian GNU/Linux, in which case it should be reported via the |
| 14 | Debian Bug Tracking System (use "reportbug" to report the bug). |
99 | Debian Bug Tracking System (use "reportbug" to report the bug). |
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100 | |
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| 44 | |
129 | |
| 45 | URxvt.termName: rxvt |
130 | URxvt.termName: rxvt |
| 46 | |
131 | |
| 47 | If you don't plan to use rxvt (quite common...) you could also |
132 | If you don't plan to use rxvt (quite common...) you could also |
| 48 | replace the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one. |
133 | replace the rxvt terminfo file with the rxvt-unicode one. |
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134 | |
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135 | "tic" outputs some error when compiling the terminfo entry. |
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136 | Most likely it's the empty definition for "enacs=". Just replace it |
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137 | by "enacs=\E[0@" and try again. |
| 49 | |
138 | |
| 50 | "bash"'s readline does not work correctly under rxvt. |
139 | "bash"'s readline does not work correctly under rxvt. |
| 51 | I need a termcap file entry. |
140 | I need a termcap file entry. |
| 52 | One reason you might want this is that some distributions or |
141 | One reason you might want this is that some distributions or |
| 53 | operating systems still compile some programs using the |
142 | operating systems still compile some programs using the |
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| 226 | that doesn't work, you might be forced to use a different font. |
315 | that doesn't work, you might be forced to use a different font. |
| 227 | |
316 | |
| 228 | All of this is not a problem when using X11 core fonts, as their |
317 | All of this is not a problem when using X11 core fonts, as their |
| 229 | bounding box data is correct. |
318 | bounding box data is correct. |
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319 | |
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320 | On Solaris 9, many line-drawing characters are too wide. |
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321 | Seems to be a known bug, read |
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322 | <http://nixdoc.net/files/forum/about34198.html>. Some people use the |
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323 | following ugly workaround to get non-double-wide-characters working: |
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324 | |
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325 | #define wcwidth(x) wcwidth(x) > 1 ? 1 : wcwidth(x) |
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326 | |
| 231 | My Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working. |
327 | My Compose (Multi_key) key is no longer working. |
| 232 | The most common causes for this are that either your locale is not |
328 | The most common causes for this are that either your locale is not |
| 233 | set correctly, or you specified a preeditStyle that is not supported |
329 | set correctly, or you specified a preeditStyle that is not supported |
| 234 | by your input method. For example, if you specified OverTheSpot and |
330 | by your input method. For example, if you specified OverTheSpot and |
| 235 | your input method (e.g. the default input method handling Compose |
331 | your input method (e.g. the default input method handling Compose |
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| 279 | As you might have guessed, FreeBSD does neither define this symobl |
375 | As you might have guessed, FreeBSD does neither define this symobl |
| 280 | nor does it support it. Instead, it uses it's own internal |
376 | nor does it support it. Instead, it uses it's own internal |
| 281 | representation of wchar_t. This is, of course, completely fine with |
377 | representation of wchar_t. This is, of course, completely fine with |
| 282 | respect to standards. |
378 | respect to standards. |
| 283 | |
379 | |
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380 | However, that means rxvt-unicode only works in "POSIX", "ISO-8859-1" |
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381 | and "UTF-8" locales under FreeBSD (which all use Unicode as wchar_t. |
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382 | |
| 284 | However, "__STDC_ISO_10646__" is the only sane way to support |
383 | "__STDC_ISO_10646__" is the only sane way to support multi-language |
| 285 | multi-language apps in an OS, as using a locale-dependent (and |
384 | apps in an OS, as using a locale-dependent (and non-standardized) |
| 286 | non-standardized) representation of wchar_t makes it impossible to |
385 | representation of wchar_t makes it impossible to convert between |
| 287 | convert between wchar_t (as used by X11 and your applications) and |
386 | wchar_t (as used by X11 and your applications) and any other |
| 288 | any other encoding without implementing OS-specific-wrappers for |
387 | encoding without implementing OS-specific-wrappers for each and |
| 289 | each and every locale. There simply are no APIs to convert wchar_t |
388 | every locale. There simply are no APIs to convert wchar_t into |
| 290 | into anything except the current locale encoding. |
389 | anything except the current locale encoding. |
| 291 | |
390 | |
| 292 | Some applications (such as the formidable mlterm) work around this |
391 | Some applications (such as the formidable mlterm) work around this |
| 293 | by carrying their own replacement functions for character set |
392 | by carrying their own replacement functions for character set |
| 294 | handling with them, and either implementing OS-dependent hacks or |
393 | handling with them, and either implementing OS-dependent hacks or |
| 295 | doing multiple conversions (which is slow and unreliable in case the |
394 | doing multiple conversions (which is slow and unreliable in case the |
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| 297 | emulator). |
396 | emulator). |
| 298 | |
397 | |
| 299 | The rxvt-unicode author insists that the right way to fix this is in |
398 | The rxvt-unicode author insists that the right way to fix this is in |
| 300 | the system libraries once and for all, instead of forcing every app |
399 | the system libraries once and for all, instead of forcing every app |
| 301 | to carry complete replacements for them :) |
400 | to carry complete replacements for them :) |
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401 | |
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402 | I use Solaris 9 and it doesn't compile/work/etc. |
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403 | Try the diff in doc/solaris9.patch as a base. It fixes the worst |
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404 | problems with "wcwidth" and a compile problem. |
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405 | |
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406 | How can I use rxvt-unicode under cygwin? |
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407 | rxvt-unicode should compile and run out of the box on cygwin, using |
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408 | the X11 libraries that come with cygwin. libW11 emulation is no |
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409 | longer supported (and makes no sense, either, as it only supported a |
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410 | single font). I recommend starting the X-server in "-multiwindow" or |
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411 | "-rootless" mode instead, which will result in similar look&feel as |
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412 | the old libW11 emulation. |
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413 | |
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414 | At the time of this writing, cygwin didn't seem to support any |
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415 | multi-byte encodings (you might try "LC_CTYPE=C-UTF-8"), so you are |
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416 | likely limited to 8-bit encodings. |
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417 | |
| 303 | How does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use? |
418 | How does rxvt-unicode determine the encoding to use? |
| 304 | Is there an option to switch encodings? |
419 | Is there an option to switch encodings? |
| 305 | Unlike some other terminals, rxvt-unicode has no encoding switch, |
420 | Unlike some other terminals, rxvt-unicode has no encoding switch, |
| 306 | and no specific "utf-8" mode, such as xterm. In fact, it doesn't |
421 | and no specific "utf-8" mode, such as xterm. In fact, it doesn't |
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| 418 | it gets worse, as rxvt-unicode then uses 8 bytes per screen cell. |
533 | it gets worse, as rxvt-unicode then uses 8 bytes per screen cell. |
| 419 | |
534 | |
| 420 | Can I speed up Xft rendering somehow? |
535 | Can I speed up Xft rendering somehow? |
| 421 | Yes, the most obvious way to speed it up is to avoid Xft entirely, |
536 | Yes, the most obvious way to speed it up is to avoid Xft entirely, |
| 422 | as it is simply slow. If you still want Xft fonts you might try to |
537 | as it is simply slow. If you still want Xft fonts you might try to |
| 423 | disable antialiasing (by appending ":antialiasing=false"), which |
538 | disable antialiasing (by appending ":antialias=false"), which saves |
| 424 | saves lots of memory and also speeds up rendering considerably. |
539 | lots of memory and also speeds up rendering considerably. |
| 425 | |
540 | |
| 426 | Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong? |
541 | Rxvt-unicode doesn't seem to anti-alias its fonts, what is wrong? |
| 427 | Rxvt-unicode will use whatever you specify as a font. If it needs to |
542 | Rxvt-unicode will use whatever you specify as a font. If it needs to |
| 428 | fall back to it's default font search list it will prefer X11 core |
543 | fall back to it's default font search list it will prefer X11 core |
| 429 | fonts, because they are small and fast, and then use Xft fonts. It |
544 | fonts, because they are small and fast, and then use Xft fonts. It |
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| 501 | URxvt.color14: #73f7ff |
616 | URxvt.color14: #73f7ff |
| 502 | URxvt.color7: #e1dddd |
617 | URxvt.color7: #e1dddd |
| 503 | URxvt.color15: #e1dddd |
618 | URxvt.color15: #e1dddd |
| 504 | |
619 | |
| 505 | How can I start rxvtd in a race-free way? |
620 | How can I start rxvtd in a race-free way? |
| 506 | Despite it's name, rxvtd is not a real daemon, but more like a |
621 | Try "rxvtd -f -o", which tells rxvtd to open the display, create the |
| 507 | server that answers rxvtc's requests, so it doesn't background |
622 | listening socket and then fork. |
| 508 | itself. |
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| 509 | |
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| 510 | To ensure rxvtd is listening on it's socket, you can use the |
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| 511 | following method to wait for the startup message before continuing: |
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| 512 | |
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| 513 | { rxvtd & } | read |
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| 514 | |
623 | |
| 515 | What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour? |
624 | What's with the strange Backspace/Delete key behaviour? |
| 516 | Assuming that the physical Backspace key corresponds to the |
625 | Assuming that the physical Backspace key corresponds to the |
| 517 | BackSpace keysym (not likely for Linux ... see the following |
626 | BackSpace keysym (not likely for Linux ... see the following |
| 518 | question) there are two standard values that can be used for |
627 | question) there are two standard values that can be used for |
