[lug] another newbie HOWTO suggestion

[Michael J. Hammel]

Thus spoke Ralf Mattes
> I'm not so shure about the usefullness of .Xdefaults. Newer 
> applications (esp. those for Linux) tend to use toolkits that
> come with their own set of resource files (.gtkrc for example).
> To me it seems like Themes will be the future way to customizing
> your desktops look and feel. As far as i remember there is a decent
> chapter on the X-resource database in Ousterhouts TCL/TK book.

.Xdefaults doesn't just provide themeing, it provides a mechanism for
providing state information - initial files to load, default directories,
email addresses, all sorts of internal information.  The X resource
database is used to parse an applications defaults file to get this info
into a program.  Themes, as they stand now, don't do this.  They just
provide an interface to the visual display mechanisms.  

Many applications, my own included, use their own configuration files
instead of xdefaults in order to provide cross platform support.  But I
still prefer to use xrdb (x resource database) tools where possible.
-- 
Michael J. Hammel                               The Graphics Muse 
mjhammel at graphics-muse.org                      http://www.graphics-muse.com
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I respect only those who both plan and accomplish.  Success is both direction 
  and achievement.  Everything else is an accident.  --  Michael J. Hammel