On 2024-06-03 08:33, Mark J. Reed wrote:

> In X11 setups back in the day, it wasn't uncommon for the *.xinitrc* 
> or whatever startup file you use to end with something like *exec 
> xterm*, so if /that particular instance/ of *xterm* exited, then the 
> whole window system went away with it. But that's not typical of 
> modern systems. And even then the computer wouldn't shut down. You'd 
> just be dropped back at your original shell on the console, or if 
> you'd also *exec*'ed *xinit*, at a login prompt.
Exactly.  My point was rhetorical -- obviously control resumes 
'somewhere' in the stack of all these GUI functions.  But it isn't easy 
to figure out where.  I even tried this:

   # start xfce4-session normally
touch /aMisc/"$(date +%F--%T)-starting xfce"
#    exec xfce4-session
     xfce4-session
touch /aMisc/"$(date +%F--%T)-stopping xfce"

... just to see if I could get some sense of flow control, but it 
doesn't work.  I never get to 'stopping'.  It feels wrong.