thumb|A [[Network Computing Devices NCD-88k X terminal]]
thumb|An X server runs on the X terminal, connecting to a central computer running an X display manager. In this example, client programs ( and ) are running on the same computer.
In computing, an X terminal is a display/input terminal or thin client built to run an X server for the X Window System and display graphical applications whose programs normally execute on one or more remote host computers. Unlike a text-only terminal, an X terminal can show multiple applications in separate windows and accept keyboard and mouse input while communicating with several hosts over a network, typically Ethernet. X terminals enjoyed a period of popularity in the early 1990s when they offered a lower total cost of ownership alternative to a full Unix workstation.
Thin clients have somewhat supplanted X terminals in that they are equipped with added flash memory and software for communication with remote desktop protocols.
Design
In the X Window model, the terminal itself runs the X server that controls the display, keyboard and pointing device, while application programs run as X clients on a host system and send drawing commands over the network. Purpose-built units also tended to have little or no persistent local storage, keeping only firmware or small amounts of non-volatile memory for configuration data. Oracle's documentation for the Solaris Common Desktop Environment also notes that older X terminals without XDMCP support could still be managed by listing them in the file on the login server.
History
A 1991 Datapro survey described X terminals as a new class of graphics terminal that first appeared in 1988. The same survey reported that NCD held more than half of the world market by September 1990 and had shipped more than 29,000 X terminals to over 900 customers. Tektronix, and Visual Technology.
See also
- Blit (computer terminal)
- Thin client