Knowledge: andLinux Launcher

From andLinux

Jump to: navigation, search

Depending on how you choose to configure the system during the installation process, the andLinux system will either run xfce-panel to provide an X-based start menu, or it will run a custom perl daemon program to listen to launcher requests from Windows.

A set of executables is installed in your C:\Program Files\andLinux\Launcher Windows directory. These programs include applications, like andKarbon.exe and andKWord.exe, as well as a special utility program called andCmd.exe. These launchers are run when you click their icons in the andLinux menu (installed in the system tray, if you permit it); they can also be run directly from Windows Explorer, added to the Start menu (create a shortcut), etc.

Protocol

These launcher programs communicate with the andLinux VM via a socket. By default, the launchers know that the andLinux VM will be listening at IP address 192.168.11.150, on port 2081. When the andLinux system boots up, a perl script is run that listens for input on this socket. That perl script is located at /usr/local/sbin/launcher.pl, and its config file is located at /etc/andlinux/launcher-conf.pl (since Beta 2).

To change the IP address or port, you need to enter your desired values in the Windows registry as 

\\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\andLinux\Launcher\IP
\\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\andLinux\Launcher\Port

where IP is a string (type REG_SZ) and Port is a number (type REG_DWORD). Pay attention that numbers are encoded hexadecimal by default. When changing the port (e.g. to 1234), you'll need to add this line to the top of the launcher config file: 

$localPort = 1234;

The launcher programs send a small packet of data to the perl script, containing a line like cmd=some-linux-app&file=some-file. The perl script decodes this and runs the appropriate command, with the file (or whatever) as command-line arguments.

Default User

The andLinux launcher daemon runs as root by default. In order to change this user, see Howto: change default user. It is doable, but somewhat involved -- you will need about 15 minutes.