glfs/shareddeps/checkpoint/whatnow.xml

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<sect1 id="whatnow" xreflabel="What Now?">
  <?dbhtml filename="whatnow.html"?>


  <title>What Now?</title>

  <para>
    By now, you should have most of the packages needed to compile the following
    packages after this section. The good news is you are now done with the
    hardest part of this book. Congrats!
  </para>

  <para>
    Well, how do you go from here? You could continue straight to the following
    chapters if you wish. You can even now follow BLFS. But to run graphical
    software you compile like <xref linkend="steam"/> and
    <xref linkend="wine"/>, you will need a graphical environment. There are a
    few components you will need in order to get a graphical environment
    working and not accidently lock yourself inside of it without a hard reboot.
    The installation of those components are not covered in this book and which
    components you will need will depend on if you are going to use
    <application>X11</application>, <application>Wayland</application>, or
    both. This page acts as a simple nudge to help point you in the right
    direction, and when you are done, can come back and continue on with the
    next chapters.
  </para>

  <sect2>
    <title>X11</title>

    <para>
      It is recommended to read up on the BLFS page
      <ulink url="&blfs-svn;/x/xorg-config.html">Xorg-7 Testing and
      Configuration</ulink>. It is pretty comprehensive. However, using
      <xref linkend="nvidia"/> with <application>X11</application> requires
      a slightly different setup.
    </para>

    <sect3>
      <title>X11 With NVIDIA</title>

      <para>
        Using a conventional <filename>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</filename>
        can lead to issues, if <application>X11</application> manages to
        even start. In order to use the <application>NVIDIA</application>
        driver when starting <application>X11</application>, run the following
        command as the <systemitem class="username">root</systemitem> user:
      </para>

      <screen><userinput>nvidia-xconfig</userinput></screen>

      <important>
        <para>
          The above command will overwrite the current <filename>
          /etc/X11/xorg.conf</filename> configuration file. If you wish to
          preserve it, move it out of the way or rename it.
        </para>
      </important>

      <para>
        If you desire to use a high refresh rate, using <command>cvt</command>
        as the method will result in failure. When you start the server, launch
        <command>nvidia-settings</command> as the <systemitem class="username">
        root</systemitem> user and navigate to the
        <quote>X Server Display Configuration</quote> section on the left sidebar
        and change the Hz to the right of the screen size. Click
        <quote>Apply</quote> if you are done, accept the changes, then click
        <quote>Save to X Configuration File</quote> and if it gives the option,
        choose to merge the file. Note that this method requires
        <ulink url="&blfs-svn;/x/gtk3.html">GTK3</ulink>.
      </para>

      <para>
        You should now be good to go.
      </para>

    </sect3>

    <sect3>
      <title>X11 Components</title>

      <para>
        There are typically three important components of an X11 environment:
      </para>

      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>a window manager or desktop environment</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>a terminal and/or launcher</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>and optionally a compositor</para>
        </listitem>
      </itemizedlist>

      <sect4>
        <title>Window Manager or Desktop Environment</title>

        <para>
          A window manager is an application that manages windows, their placement,
          how they move, and more. It is a minimal option for a graphical environment,
          not requiring a ton of packages and takes less disk and RAM usage. Good
          window managers include <ulink url="https://awesomewm.org/">AwesomeWM</ulink>,
          <ulink url="https://dwm.suckless.org/">DWM</ulink>, and
          <ulink url="https://github.com/baskerville/bspwm">BSPWM</ulink>. In order
          to start these window managers, add a line to <filename>~/.xinitrc
          </filename>:
        </para>

<screen><userinput>echo "exec <replaceable>&lt;WINDOW-MANAGER&gt;</replaceable>" &gt;&gt; ~/.xinitrc</userinput></screen>

        <para>
          Then launch it:
        </para>

        <screen><userinput>startx</userinput></screen>

        <para>
          A desktop environment is a more user friendly graphical environment and
          provides much more than a standard window manager. It is also worth
          noting that a desktop environment also includes a window manager. Good
          desktop environments include
          <ulink url="https://projects.linuxmint.com/cinnamon/">Cinnamon</ulink>,
          <ulink url="&blfs-svn;/gnome/gnome.html">GNOME</ulink>, and
          <ulink url="&blfs-svn;/kde/kde.html">KDE Plasma</ulink>. These can
          require a lot of setup and uses more disk space and RAM. These should
          be loaded by a display manager, like <ulink url="&blfs-svn;/x/sddm.html">
          SDDM</ulink>. A display manager is often loaded by a service or daemon.
        </para>

      </sect4>

      <sect4>
        <title>Terminal or Launcher</title>

        <para>
          By this point, you should know what a terminal is, whether it be a TTY
          or a graphical terminal. Terminals are almost a necessity and help
          when you are in a pinch. You can launch most applications with a terminal.
          This is useful when you have no other way to launch an application. There
          are a wide variety of terminals and some integrate better with the system
          depending on if you went with a window manager or desktop environment.
          Check the Arch Wiki page
          <ulink url="https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Category:Terminal_emulators">
          Category:Terminal emulators</ulink> for a comprehensive list on some
          terminals you can go for and some on the page are in BLFS. If you decided
          to go with a window manager, make sure to add a keybind for your chosen
          terminal.
        </para>

        <para>
          A launcher is what it sounds like: an application that launches the one
          you ask it to. Some launch applications by the binary name in the
          <envar>PATH</envar> variable, while others launch applications according
          to desktop file entries. Desktop files are often located in <filename>
          /usr/share/applications</filename> and <filename>
          ~/.local/share/applications</filename>. Don't be afraid to create your
          own! It's okay to be creative sometimes. Check the Arch Wiki page
          <ulink url="https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Category:Application_launchers">
          Category:Application launchers</ulink> for a comprehensive list on some
          launchers you can go for. Desktop environments include their own
          launcher and are often accessed via the <quote>start menu</quote>.
          If you went with a window manager, make sure to add the keybind for the launcher.
        </para>

      </sect4>

      <sect4>
        <title>Compositor</title>

        <para>
          A compositor talks with <xref linkend="xorg-server"/> and can change
          what is seen on screen. The changes compositors make on <application>
          X11</application> can range from doing vsync, adding window animations
          which helps with presentation, and opacity. They can be taxing for the
          GPU if it is weak or the graphics driver isn't that performant. When
          gaming, it might be a good idea to temporary kill the compositor.
          These compositors aren't needed on <application>X11</application>;
          however, they make the graphical environment look nicer. The choice
          to have one is up to you. Check the Arch Wiki page
          <ulink url="https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Xorg#Composite">
          Xorg Composite</ulink> for a list of compositors. In order to enable
          them when starting a window manager, add the following line <emphasis>
          BEFORE</emphasis> the <userinput><literal>exec ...</literal></userinput>
          line:
        </para>

<screen><userinput><literal><replaceable>&lt;compositor&gt;</replaceable> &amp;</literal></userinput></screen>

        <para>
          Desktop environments include their own and are started when the
          desktop environment loads up.
        </para>

      </sect4>

    </sect3>

  </sect2>

  <sect2>
    <title>Wayland</title>

    <para>
      Wayland is much more simple to set up than <application>X11</application>.
      Please read the X11 section above as much of the information is also
      relevant to <application>Wayland</application>. There are a few changes,
      however.
    </para>

    <sect3>
      <title>NVIDIA</title>

      <para>
        Unlike X11, Wayland requires that the nvidia_drm module has the modeset
        option set to true, which is not by default. Do so by creating the
        following folder and file, then reboot:
      </para>

<screen><userinput>mkdir -pv /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia.conf
cat &gt; /etc/modprobe.d/nvidia.conf &lt;&lt; "EOF"
<literal>options nvidia_drm modeset=1</literal></userinput></screen>

      <para>
        Then you will only need to worry about the refresh rate if it's applicable to
        you. You won't need to worry about making sure the <application>NVIDIA
        </application> driver is used when starting
        <application>Wayland</application>. However, read through the
        installation instructions for compositors as they will likely have
        information regarding <application>NVIDIA</application>. Results can be
        shotty, sometimes the compositor won't be able to start. Be diligent.
      </para>

    </sect3>

    <sect3>
      <title>Window Managers, Desktop Environments, and Compositors</title>

      <para>
        Unlike <application>X11</application> where components were more
	seperated, especially when using a window manager, this is not the
	case for <application>Wayland</application>. The window manager
	and compositor will always be combined. Desktop environments will
	combine both. This leaves the only things that need to be installed are
	a terminal and perhaps a launcher. The minimal graphical environments
	are called compositors instead of window managers, but desktop
	environments are still called desktop environments.
      </para>

      <sect4>
        <title>Compositors</title>
	
	<para>
          Many <application>X11</application> window managers do not have
	  <application>Wayland</application> support. There are some
	  unofficial ports that use certain reusable frameworks which would
	  be called an <application>X11</application> compositor, like
	  <ulink url="https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/wlroots/wlroots/">
          wlroots</ulink> (these are called compositor libraries). You can
          try some ports if you wish but some of them do their own thing
	  which you may not agree with.
        </para>

	<para>
          Native <application>Wayland</application> compositors include
	  <ulink url="https://hyprland.org/">Hyprland</ulink>,
	  <ulink url="https://github.com/swaywm/sway">Sway</ulink>, and
	  <ulink url="https://github.com/WayfireWM/wayfire">Wayfire</ulink>.
	  In order to start these compositors, you can start them by using
	  a display manager or simply run the binary that is of the compositor
	  name. The choice is up to you how you wish to approach it.
	</para>

      </sect4>

      <sect4>
        <title>Desktop Environments</title>

	<para>
          Go with <ulink url="&blfs-svn;/gnome/gnome.html">GNOME</ulink> or
          <ulink url="&blfs-svn;/kde/kde.html">KDE Plasma</ulink>. They have
	  good <application>Wayland</application> support. Like with <application>
          X11</application>, you can launch these using a display manager.
	</para>

      </sect4>

    </sect3>

  </sect2>

</sect1>