X.Org Server

From Freepedia

X.Org Server
Image:XOrg swoosh.jpg X.Org Server
Maintainer:	The X.Org Foundation
Stable release:	6.8.2 (February 10, 2005) _[+/-]
Preview release:	6.9-rc1 (October 18, 2005) 7.0-rc1 (October 18, 2005) _[+/-]
OS:	multiple
Genre:	windowing system
License:	MIT License
Website:	X.Org

The XOrg Foundation Open Source Public Implementation of X11 (the XOrg Server) is the official reference implementation of the X Window System. The current release is X11R6.8.2, released 10 February 2005. It is open source and free software.

The project is run by the X.Org Foundation and is hosted by freedesktop.org.

The modern Xorg Foundation came into being when the body that oversaw X standards and published the official reference implementation joined forces with former XFree86 developers.

X11R6.7.0, the first version of the Xorg Server, was forked from XFree86 4.4 RC2, owing to disagreement with the new license for XFree86 4.4 final, with other changes folded in from X11R6.6. Many of the previous XFree86 developers have joined the project, which is run in a more open manner than XFree86. (See The Cathedral and the Bazaar.)

The XOrg Server is increasingly popular with the open-source Unix-like operating systems, with most Linux distributions and BSD variants having adopted it in place of XFree86. (NetBSD still uses XFree86, having heavily modified it for the wide range of platforms they support.) It is also being used in Sun Microsystems' OpenSolaris, although the proprietary version of the Solaris Operating Environment still uses their proprietary Xsun server.