Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!ucsd!ucbvax!SABER.COM!oj
From: oj@SABER.COM
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x.motif
Subject: Re: Resources & Forking
Message-ID: <9011301435.AA03980@test4>
Date: 30 Nov 90 14:35:30 GMT
References: <3673@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Distribution: inet
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 32


   In article <1990Nov28.191838.4990@arnor.uucp> 
   gah@ibm.com (Gary Hoffman) writes:
   > 1)  Is it possible to use X to read an X resource files without 
   >     being connected to a server?
Dan Heller responded...
   No.  You must be connected to the server in order for the Xlib routines
   to access the database associated with it (you can have a resource file
   unique to every server).

Wait a bit.  XrmGetFileDatabase will read a single 
resource FILE without requiring a connection to a server.  

There's just one thing a program can't do without
a display connection: retrieve a RESOURCE_MANAGER 
property from a server (presumably written there at the beginning
of the user's session with xrdb).

You could write a routine to replicate what happens (resource-wise)
during XtInitialize for a user who had not run xrdb.  This
routine would read and merge a series of resource files, including
$HOME/.Xdefaults.  You would need to look at the Xt sources to be sure
you're duplicating the functionality precisely.

You might find such a thing useful.  However, many users exploit
the fact that xrdb defines symbols like WIDTH, HEIGHT, and COLOR,
then runs the C preprocessor over its input.  This means that
resource files designed to be read by xrdb can't necessarily be
read correctly by XrmGetFileDatabase.

Ollie Jones
Saber Software, Inc.