Xming is an
implementationIn computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
of the
X Window SystemThe X Window System is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a graphical user interface for networked computers, and was initially developed as part of Project Athena...
for
Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces...
operating systems, including
Windows XPWindows XP is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, and media centers. The name "XP" is short for "eXPerience"...
,
Windows Server 2003Windows Server 2003 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft. Introduced on 24 April 2003 as the successor to Windows 2000 Server, it is considered by Microsoft to be the cornerstone of its Windows Server System line of business server products. An updated version, Windows Server 2003...
and
Windows VistaWindows Vista is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
.
Xming provides the X Window System display server, a set of traditional sample X applications and tools, and a set of fonts. It features support of several languages and has
Mesa 3DMesa 3D is an open source 3D computer graphics library that provides a generic OpenGL implementation for rendering three-dimensional graphics on multiple platforms. It was initially developed by Brian Paul in August 1993....
,
OpenGLOpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
, and
GLXGLX provides the binding connecting OpenGL and the X Window System: it enables programs wishing to use OpenGL to do so within a window provided by the X Window System.-History:...
3D graphics extensions3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
capabilities.
The Xming X server is based on the
X.Org ServerThe X.Org Server is the X server in the official reference implementation of the X Window System. The current stable release is 1.7, which is part of X11R7.5, and was released on 2 October 2009...
. It is cross-compiled on
LinuxLinux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed,...
with the
MinGWMinGW , formerly mingw32, is a native software port of the GNU Compiler Collection to Microsoft Windows, along with a set of freely distributable import libraries and header files for the Windows API. MinGW allows developers to create native Microsoft Windows applications...
compiler suite and the Pthreads-Win32 multi-threading library.
Discussion
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Xming is an
implementationIn computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
of the
X Window SystemThe X Window System is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a graphical user interface for networked computers, and was initially developed as part of Project Athena...
for
Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of software operating systems and graphical user interfaces produced by Microsoft. Microsoft first introduced an operating environment named Windows in November 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces...
operating systems, including
Windows XPWindows XP is a line of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, and media centers. The name "XP" is short for "eXPerience"...
,
Windows Server 2003Windows Server 2003 is a server operating system produced by Microsoft. Introduced on 24 April 2003 as the successor to Windows 2000 Server, it is considered by Microsoft to be the cornerstone of its Windows Server System line of business server products. An updated version, Windows Server 2003...
and
Windows VistaWindows Vista is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
.
Features
Xming provides the X Window System display server, a set of traditional sample X applications and tools, and a set of fonts. It features support of several languages and has
Mesa 3DMesa 3D is an open source 3D computer graphics library that provides a generic OpenGL implementation for rendering three-dimensional graphics on multiple platforms. It was initially developed by Brian Paul in August 1993....
,
OpenGLOpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
, and
GLXGLX provides the binding connecting OpenGL and the X Window System: it enables programs wishing to use OpenGL to do so within a window provided by the X Window System.-History:...
3D graphics extensions3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
capabilities.
The Xming X server is based on the
X.Org ServerThe X.Org Server is the X server in the official reference implementation of the X Window System. The current stable release is 1.7, which is part of X11R7.5, and was released on 2 October 2009...
. It is cross-compiled on
LinuxLinux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed,...
with the
MinGWMinGW , formerly mingw32, is a native software port of the GNU Compiler Collection to Microsoft Windows, along with a set of freely distributable import libraries and header files for the Windows API. MinGW allows developers to create native Microsoft Windows applications...
compiler suite and the Pthreads-Win32 multi-threading library. XMing runs natively on Windows and does not need any third-party emulation software.
Xming may be used with implementations of
Secure ShellSecure Shell or SSH is a network protocol that allows data to be exchanged using a secure channel between two networked devices. Used primarily on Linux and Unix based systems to access shell accounts, SSH was designed as a replacement for Telnet and other insecure remote shells, which send...
(SSH) to securely forward X11 sessions from other computers. It supports
PuTTYPuTTY is a terminal emulator application which can act as a client for the SSH, Telnet, rlogin, and raw TCP computing protocols. The name "PuTTY" has no definitive meaning, though 'tty' is the name for a terminal in the Unix tradition, usually held to be short for teletype.PuTTY was originally...
and
ssh.exe, and comes with a version of PuTTY's plink.exe. The Xming project also offers a portable version of PuTTY.
The software has been recommended by authors of books on free software when a free X server is needed, and described as simple and easier to install though less configurable than other popular free choices like
Cygwin/XCygwin/X is an implementation of the X Window System that runs under Microsoft Windows. It is part of the Cygwin project, and is installed using Cygwin's standard setup system...
.
Licensing
Xming was previously distributed with a series of software licenses which included statements construed by reviewers as indicating that distribution was permitted under the terms of the GNU Public License (GPL), but which set further restrictions. The
Free Software FoundationThe Free Software Foundation is a non-profit corporation founded by Richard Stallman on 4 October 1985 to support the free software movement, a copyleft-based movement which aims to promote the universal freedom to distribute and modify computer software...
stated to one such reviewer that such distribution was a violation of the terms of the GPL. The Xming license was later altered to remove the reference to the GPL.
Newer Releases
Donations can be made to download new releases (less than 2 years old). Making a donation will allow the user access to new downloads for one year.
External links