X Window System
The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems.
twm, the default X11 window manager | |
| Original author(s) | Project Athena |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | X.Org Foundation |
| Initial release | June 1984 |
| Stable release | |
| Operating system | Unix, Unix-like, MVS OpenVMS, DOS |
| Platform | Cross-platform |
| Predecessor | W Window System |
| Type | Windowing system |
| License | MIT License |
| Website | www |
X provides the basic framework for a GUI environment: drawing and moving windows on the display device and interacting with a mouse and keyboard. X does not mandate the user interface – this is handled by individual programs. As such, the visual styling of X-based environments varies greatly; different programs may present radically different interfaces.
X originated as part of Project Athena at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1984. The X protocol has been at version 11 (hence "X11") since September 1987. The X.Org Foundation leads the X project, with the current reference implementation, X.Org Server, available as free and open-source software under the MIT License and similar permissive licenses.