Opening a GUI from a putty window on Linux

Linux and Unix-Like Linux
1

Hi,
I have a linux which I am accessing using putty.I have written some code in TCL-Tk & developed a GUI based app.I knew that it is difficult to open a GUI based app. from putty,but there must be some way to do that.
If anybody knows any such workarounds kindly let me know.
Shell I am using is bash.
I tried setting display to my local m/c.

Thanks in advance.

2

It's not difficult. You need to run an X-Windows client on your workstation and set the option in putty to forward X11 requests. you can use a free option like cygwin - Cygwin/X

3

UNIX (that includes Linux) (mostly) uses X11 for graphical displays.Windows does not.

You'll need 2 things: an X11 server for Windows, and SSH X11 forwarding. The later is hidden in PuTTYs settings (in the tree on the left, in (I think) Connection -> SSH -> X11 -> Enable X11 forwarding). As for the X11 server: I've had pretty good experiences with the one that ships with Cygwin.

4

Can you give me some more information about X11-server for windows?
How can I check for the availability of this in my system?

Is it mandatory to have X11 or any other ortion is available?

5

Information on X11
Information on Cygwin/X
Information on Xming

Checking for availability is pretty simple:

  • If your workstation runs some kind of UNIX, you probably have it
  • If your workstation runs Windows, and the IT department set it up, you probably don't. Check with them to see if you're allowed to install it.
  • If your workstation runs Windows, and you set it up yourself, you'd know if you have it or not.

It's not mandatory to have X11. You could always install TCL, Tk, and some other dependencies on your local machine in order to have your app run locally.
Or you could install an X11 VNC server on the remote machine.