Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!brunix!cs.brown.edu!jsb
From: jsb@cs.brown.edu (John Bazik)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Summary: Detecting which window system
Message-ID: <73109@brunix.UUCP>
Date: 22 Apr 91 20:51:30 GMT
References: <1015@epiwrl.UUCP>
Sender: news@brunix.UUCP
Organization: Brown Computer Science Dept.
Lines: 20

In article <1015@epiwrl.UUCP>, nelson@wrl.epi.com (Ken Nelson) writes:
|> 
|> Here's a common algorithm based on environment variables:
|> 
|> if $DISPLAY is defined
|> 	then you're running X windows.
|> elif $WINDOW_PARENT is defined
|> 	then you're running sunview.
|> elif $NEWS_SERVER is defined
|> 	then you're running Sun NeWS.
|> else You're not using a window system I'm familiar with.
|> 
|> I don't know how to distinguish Sun's xnews vs. MIT's X server, but
|> I'm sure a similar mechanism exists.

We check for $OPENWINHOME to differentiate X/NeWS from X11R4.  It's
defined for the former.  Useful for setting font paths.

John Bazik
jsb@cs.brown.edu