queens(6x)

📦
version 6.17 · 10 versions
, in fedora 44

✨ NAME ✨

queens — the n queens screensaver, bestie 💖

okay so real quick, let's set the scene: this is a page from the XScreenSaver manual, and it's all about a lil program called queens. Sounds cute, right? It is. Sit down, hydrate, let's go 🫶

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

queens [--display host:display.screen] [--window] [--root] [--window-id
number] [--install] [--visual visual] [--delay microseconds]
[--wireframe] [--fps]

look at that flag lineup. gorgeous. iconic. no notes 💅

👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

So queens solves the n-queens problem. And in this particular program, N is between 5 and 10 queens. Periodt. It uses a straightforward backtracking algorithm — which, if you know, you know 😌

and the problem itself? here's the vibe:

how may one place N queens on an NxN chessboard such that no queen can attack a sister?

THAT'S the whole game. no queen can touch another queen. they're all gagged, all separated, all thriving independently. main character energy only ✨♟️

💖 OPTIONS 💖

queens accepts the following options:

  • --window — draw on a newly-created window. This is the default, so if you're just vibing, this is what you're getting 🪟
  • --root — draw on the root window. desktop takeover, lowkey iconic 🌈
  • --window-id number — draw on the specified window. pick your fave, bestie 🎀
  • --install — install a private colormap for the window 🎨
  • --visual visual — specify which visual to use. Legal values are the name of a visual class, or the id number (decimal or hex) of a specific visual 👀
  • --wireframe — render in wireframe instead of solid 🕸️
  • --fps — display the current frame rate, CPU load, and polygon count 📊
tiny little thing: in the original page, --fps came squished onto the end of the --wireframe entry like a lil tag-along. no idea, but both are very real options, and now you know 💀

also peep the synopsis up there — --display and --delay show up in the usage line, so they're part of the whole queens moment too 🌟

🦋 ENVIRONMENT 🦋

the vibes are influenced by these beauties:

  • DISPLAY — to get the default host and display number 🖥️
  • XENVIRONMENT — to get the name of a resource file that overrides the global resources stored in the RESOURCE_MANAGER property 📂
  • XSCREENSAVER_WINDOW — the window ID to use with --root 🔑

💀 BUGS 💀

okay so we gotta be honest here, bestie, this is the disclaimer section:

It's not unknown for this and other OpenGL hacks to fail under hardware accelaration (UtahGLX) and take the X server with them.

yikes. not just failing politely — it's taking the whole X server down with it. dramatic much?? 😭 (and yes, that's spelled accelaration in the original, I'm just reporting the news)

and one more rule to keep in your pocket:

Texture images must be 16x16 or 32x32 or 64x64 etc.

do not test her. she has a type. 📐

💜 SEE ALSO 💜

go read these next, they're all in the family:

Copyright © 2002 by Blair Tennessy. Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. No representations are made about the suitability of this software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

(the legal girlies ate with this one, and yes you still have to include the notice, that's the deal 🫶)

⭐ AUTHOR ⭐

Blair Tennessy <tennessb@unbc.ca>, 20-April-2002.

and that's the whole page, bestie! 💖 this one came from the XScreenSaver manual, X Version 11, and the version tag on this cut is 6.17-1.fc44, dated 13-Oct-2026. slay, go solve some queens 👑✨🦋

📦 where this page comes from