XFree86 is a
software distribution from
The XFree86 Project, Inc. XFree86 is a free distribution of the
X Windows System originally devoloped at
MIT. The software runs on a number of
Unix-like
operating systems such as
Linux. It was originally developed for the
Intel x86 series of processors but is being
ported to other
platforms. The XFree86 code and related
X servers is primarily responsible for providing an
interface to the
graphics hardware of the
system. Other software such as
window managers (like
Sawfish and
tvm) and
desktop environments (such as
Gnome and
KDE) is uses to provide a complete
graphical user interface.
Though most installations will have an automated process for setting up XFree86, sometimes getting X to work is a real pain.