XFree86

XFree86
Developer(s)The XFree86 Project, Inc.
Initial release1991; 33 years ago (1991) (as X386)
Final release
4.8.0 / December 15, 2008; 15 years ago (2008-12-15)
Repository
Written inC
Operating systemCross-platform
Available inVarious
TypeDisplay server
LicenseXFree86 License 1.1
Websitewww.xfree86.org

XFree86 is an implementation of the X Window System. It was originally written for Unix-like operating systems on IBM PC compatibles and was available for many other operating systems and platforms. It is free and open source software under the XFree86 License version 1.1. It was developed by the XFree86 Project, Inc. The lead developer was David Dawes. The last released version was 4.8.0, released December 2008. The last XFree86 CVS commit was made on May 18, 2009;[1] the project was confirmed dormant in December 2011.[2]

For most of the 1990s and early 2000s, the project was the source of most innovation in X and was the de facto steward of X development. Until early 2004, it was almost universal on Linux and the BSDs.

In February 2004, with version 4.4.0, The XFree86 Project began distributing new code with a copyright license that the Free Software Foundation considered GPL incompatible. Most open source operating systems using XFree86 found this unacceptable and moved to a fork from before the license change.[3] The first fork was the abortive Xouvert, but X.Org Server soon became dominant. Most XFree86 developers also moved to X.Org.

  1. ^ cvs-commit Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine. Mail-archive.com. Retrieved on 2013-09-07.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference tsi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference wheeler was invoked but never defined (see the help page).