Last 12 months, I introduced you 19 days of recent (to you) productiveness instruments for 2019. This 12 months, I am taking a unique strategy: constructing an surroundings that may let you be extra productive within the new 12 months, utilizing instruments chances are you’ll or could not already be utilizing.
Overcome “one screen, one app” limits with twin
Who remembers DESQview? It allowed for issues in DOS we take as a right now in Windows, Linux, and MacOS—particularly the power to run and have a number of packages operating onscreen directly. In my early days operating a dial-up BBS, DESQview was a necessity—it enabled me to have the BBS operating within the background whereas doing different issues within the foreground. For instance, I may very well be engaged on new options or organising new exterior packages whereas somebody was dialed in with out impacting their expertise. Later, in my early days in help, I may have my work e-mail (DaVinci email on MHS), the help ticket system, and different DOS packages operating abruptly. It was wonderful!
Running a number of console functions has come a great distance since then. But functions like tmux and Screen nonetheless observe the “one screen, one app” sort of show. OK, sure, tmux has display splitting and panes, however not like DESQview, with the power to “float” home windows over others, and I, for one, miss that.
Enter twin, the text-mode window surroundings. This comparatively younger undertaking is, for my part, a non secular successor to DESQview. It helps console and graphical environments, in addition to the power to detach from and reattach to classes. It’s not as straightforward to arrange as some issues, however it is going to run on most fashionable working techniques.
Twin is put in from supply (for now). But first, you should set up the required improvement libraries. The library names will differ by working system. The following instance exhibits it for my Ubuntu 19.10 set up. Once the libraries are put in, take a look at the dual supply from Git and run ./configure and make, which ought to auto-detect the whole lot and construct twin:
sudo apt set up libx11-dev libxpm-dev libncurses-dev zlib1g-dev libgpm-dev
git clone git@github.com:cosmos72/twin.git
cd twin
./configure
make
sudo make set up
Note: If you’re compiling this on MacOS or BSD, you’ll need to remark out #outline socklen_t int within the information embody/Tw/autoconf.h and embody/twautoconf.h earlier than operating make. This ought to be addressed by twin issue number 57.
Invoking twin for the primary time could be a little bit of a problem. You want to inform it what sort of show it’s utilizing with the –hw parameter. For instance, to launch a text-mode model of dual, you’ll enter twin –hw=tty,TERM=linux. The TERM variable specifies an override to the present terminal variable in your shell. To launch a graphical model, run twin –hw=X@$DISPLAY. On Linux, twin principally “just works,” and on MacOS, it principally solely works in terminals.
The actual enjoyable comes with the power to connect to operating classes with the twattach and twdisplay instructions. They let you connect to a operating twin session some other place. For instance, on my Mac, I can run the next command to hook up with the dual session operating on my demo field:
twdisplay --twin@20days2020.native:zero --hw=tty,TERM=linuxWith some further work, you can too use it as a login shell rather than getty on consoles. This requires the gdm mouse daemon, the twdm software (included), and slightly further configuration. On techniques that use systemd, begin by putting in and enabling gdm (if it is not already put in). Then use systemctl to create an override for a console (I used tty6). The instructions have to be run as the basis person; on Ubuntu, they appear one thing like this:
apt set up gdm
systemctl allow gdm
systemctl begin gdm
systemctl edit getty@tty6
The systemctl edit getty@tty6 command will open an empty file named override.conf. This defines systemd service settings to override the default for console 6. Update the contents to:
[service]
ExecStart=
ExecStart=-/usr/native/sbin/twdm --hw=tty@/dev/tty6,TERM=linux
CommonplaceInput=tty
StandardOutput=tty
Now, reload systemd and restart tty6 to get a twin login immediate:
systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl restart getty@tty6
This will launch a twin session for the person who logs in. I don’t suggest this for a multi-user system, however it’s fairly cool for a private desktop. And, by utilizing twattach and twdisplay, you may entry that session from the native GUI or distant desktops.
I feel twin is fairly darn cool. It has some tough edges, however the fundamental performance is there, and it has some fairly good documentation. Also, it scratches the itch I’ve for a DESQview-like expertise on fashionable working techniques. I stay up for enhancements over time, and I hope you prefer it as a lot as I do.
