Go to the first, previous, next, last section, table of contents.


Unix Display Names

A display name on Unix has the following syntax:

[hostname]:displayno[.screenno]

If hostname is omitted this refers to a display on the same machine as the client is running on. A Unix socket is used to connect to the display identified by displayno, which must be an integer from 0 and upwards.

If hostname is specified, it gives the network name or IP-number of the machine to contact. A TCP socket is used, connecting to port 6000+displayno on hostname.

If the display contains more than one screen, screenno can be specified to make another screen than 0 the default screen. If the number is larger than the available maximum screen number, it will be set to the maximum.

A few examples:

:0           Display 0 on this host, connects to the Unix socket
             /tmp/.X11-unix/X0
:0.1         Same as above, but specifying a different default screen

myhost:0     Display 0 on myhost, connects to TCP port 6000
myhost:10    Display 10 on myhost, connects to TCP port 6010

localhost:0  Display 0 on localhost, i.e. the same host as the client
             runs on.  Uses a TCP socket, while :0 uses a Unix socket

The default display name is stored in the environmental variable DISPLAY. If that isn't set, error.DisplayNameError is raised.


Go to the first, previous, next, last section, table of contents.