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Re: displaying Windows program on Linux via ssh / X?


Tomasz Chmielewski wrote:

I couldn't find it on Google and I feel it's a different thing than running Linux X applications (like xterm etc.), which is done by Cygwin/X.

Is it possible to "display" Windows program on Linux via ssh / X?

What I mean, normally we do something like that:

windows_cygwin$ ssh -l user linuxbox -X
linuxbox$ xterm

and we start xterm on Linux, but it is displayed by a Windows X server.

I want to do something in an opposite direction: start Windows apps on Linux display:

linuxbox$ ssh -l user windows_cygwin -X
windows_cygwin$ notepad

or

windows_cygwin$ iexplore.exe

And these Windows applications would be displayed on my Linux.

Is it possible with Cygwin?

You are making an assumption that MS Windows was designed as a networked windowing system. It's not. It's not Cygwin's fault nor X windows fault rather it is MS' fault in that their concept of GUI windowed apps is not cleanly divided into the client/server paradigm. I believe that Windows apps are built with an assumption that they are running locally and have access to the local heap including data structures that are unique to Windows. In X parlance I believe that such structures would normally be stored in the X server.


Indeed Windows apps have no concept of the DISPLAY environment variable and assume that DISPLAY is always localhost.

That said there are ways....

The only way that I've seen, aside from an application specifically written to display on another system, is Remote Desktop. There are Remote Desktop clients for Linux that "play" RDP protocol to a Windows box that is running, effectively, the server component of RDP. By default Windows XP (Pro that is) has this software and allows 1 (count 'em 1!) remote desktop connection. Additionally when you RDP to a Window XP box you'll notice the following: 1) The local desktop is gone! It is taken back to the "Welcome screen" or login screen. IOW, "Sorry, still not multiuser - graphically at least - only one person or desktop can be active". If the local user attempts to login again the RDP session is disconnected. And 2) it's all or nothing! When you RDP the whole desktop gets displayed at the workstation that's running the RDP client. You cannot, for example, simply run notepad through RDP. You instead get notepad, the Taskbar, all other running apps, etc. all displayed in a window representing the remote desktop.

The server component, RDP server, comes with XP Pro with one "license" or the ability to RDP only once. Windows Server (2000 and up) comes with a whopping 2 "licenses" though more can be purchased. Additionally on Windows Server the local desktop is still active. You can effectively have up to 3 people logged in graphically as even 3 different users before you need to start purchasing additional licenses...

For Linux there are various rdesktop clients.

Now what if you don't XP Pro or Windows Server? Well there's always VNC (and other products such as PCAnywhere). These products provide both the server and client portions necessary to do this. They do not, however, use RDP protocol but something else. As a result they are much slower but give the interesting effect of not changing the local desktop. You can sit there and watch somebody else moving your mouse cursor and typing in stuff. As a result both the remote party and the local party can control the same desktop at the same time.

--
Why do overlook and oversee mean opposite things?


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