My original question was how to run an X program as a CRON job, with no
local X server running. I received several replies, summarized recently,
suggesting to use "setenv DISPLAY remote-host:0.0" to use a remote
X server that would be available.
Well, Darren Evans replied to my first summary, and suggested using Xvfb,
an X virtual frame buffer; it's like an X /dev/null so you can run X apps
from the command line (it's used mostly for testing X clients at strange
resolutions and pixel-depths).
You can find information on Xvfb at:
http://tmap.pmel.noaa.gov/home/ferret/FAQ/graphics/Xvfb.html
Select the link for Solaris and this takes you to:
http://tmap.pmel.noaa.gov/home/ferret/FAQ/graphics/Solaris_Xvfb.html
This contains installation instructions, including where to download from.
Here are the steps:
1. Download from ferret.wrc.noaa.gov, in special_request/xvfb/solaris
2. Decompress and extract into /usr/X11R6 (must be here; create a link
if you need to put it somewhere else...it's pretty big!).
3. Start the virtual frame buffer:
/usr/X11R6/bin/Xvfb :1 -screen 0 1152x900x8 &
4. To set the current display to use the virtual frame buffer for graphics
display, type:
setenv DISPLAY :1.0
I just put this last command at the beginning of my script, and I am happily
running DBMSCOPY conversions as CRON jobs.
Thanks Darren! <darren@onlinemagic.com>
Dave
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David S. Foster Univ. of California, San Diego
Programmer/Analyst Brain Image Analysis Laboratory
foster@bial1.ucsd.edu Department of Psychiatry
(619) 622-5892 8950 Via La Jolla Drive, Suite 2240
La Jolla, CA 92037
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