xboard 4.8 problem after compiling

[matematiko]

After compiling an launching xboard, the resulting windows is just a gray box with no buttons, no menus, no board.

Here is the image:

To some extent my system should be ok because if I compile version 4.7.3 it works great.

The reason I am doing my own compile is because I need zippy and also I like to try gtk and the new and improved ics boxes. Please note that this graphics problem is not related to zippy neither GTK because the problem happens even when compiling with no additional arguments, like you will see in the code bellow.

Note: I am using Kubuntu 14.04 64 bits.

This is the output I get when executing autogen.sh

Code: Select all

matematiko@EX58-UD5:~/xboard-4.8 HG$ ./autogen.sh
configure.ac:79: warning: The 'AM_PROG_MKDIR_P' macro is deprecated, and its use is discouraged.
configure.ac:79: You should use the Autoconf-provided 'AC_PROG_MKDIR_P' macro instead,
configure.ac:79: and use '$(MKDIR_P)' instead of '$(mkdir_p)'in your Makefile.am files.
Makefile.am:70: warning: shell sh -c 'git describe --dirty --always 2>/dev/null': non-POSIX variable name
Makefile.am:70: (probably a GNU make extension)
matematiko@EX58-UD5:~/xboard-4.8 HG$



Then I procede to do ./configure with no arguments

Code: Select all

matematiko@EX58-UD5:~/xboard-4.8 HG$ ./configure
checking for a BSD-compatible install... /usr/bin/install -c
checking whether build environment is sane... yes
checking for a thread-safe mkdir -p... /bin/mkdir -p
checking for gawk... no
checking for mawk... mawk
checking whether make sets $(MAKE)... yes
checking whether make supports nested variables... yes
checking whether make supports nested variables... (cached) yes
checking for gcc... gcc
checking whether the C compiler works... yes
checking for C compiler default output file name... a.out
checking for suffix of executables...
checking whether we are cross compiling... no
checking for suffix of object files... o
checking whether we are using the GNU C compiler... yes
checking whether gcc accepts -g... yes
checking for gcc option to accept ISO C89... none needed
checking whether gcc understands -c and -o together... yes
checking for style of include used by make... GNU
checking dependency style of gcc... gcc3
checking how to run the C preprocessor... gcc -E
checking for library containing strerror... none required
checking whether NLS is requested... yes
checking for msgfmt... /usr/bin/msgfmt
checking for gmsgfmt... /usr/bin/msgfmt
checking for xgettext... /usr/bin/xgettext
checking for msgmerge... /usr/bin/msgmerge
checking build system type... x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
checking host system type... x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu
checking for ld used by GCC... /usr/bin/ld
checking if the linker (/usr/bin/ld) is GNU ld... yes
checking for shared library run path origin... done
checking for CFPreferencesCopyAppValue... no
checking for CFLocaleCopyCurrent... no
checking for GNU gettext in libc... yes
checking whether to use NLS... yes
checking where the gettext function comes from... libc
checking for remsh... no
checking for rsh... rsh
checking for makeinfo... makeinfo
checking for nroff... nroff -man
checking for awk... /usr/bin/awk
checking for perl... /usr/bin/perl
checking for grep that handles long lines and -e... /bin/grep
checking for egrep... /bin/grep -E
checking for ANSI C header files... yes
checking whether time.h and sys/time.h may both be included... yes
checking for sys/wait.h that is POSIX.1 compatible... yes
checking for dirent.h that defines DIR... yes
checking for library containing opendir... none required
checking return type of signal handlers... void
checking for sys/types.h... yes
checking for sys/stat.h... yes
checking for stdlib.h... yes
checking for string.h... yes
checking for memory.h... yes
checking for strings.h... yes
checking for inttypes.h... yes
checking for stdint.h... yes
checking for unistd.h... yes
checking stropts.h usability... yes
checking stropts.h presence... yes
checking for stropts.h... yes
checking sys/time.h usability... yes
checking sys/time.h presence... yes
checking for sys/time.h... yes
checking for string.h... (cached) yes
checking for unistd.h... (cached) yes
checking sys/systeminfo.h usability... no
checking sys/systeminfo.h presence... no
checking for sys/systeminfo.h... no
checking fcntl.h usability... yes
checking fcntl.h presence... yes
checking for fcntl.h... yes
checking sys/socket.h usability... yes
checking sys/socket.h presence... yes
checking for sys/socket.h... yes
checking stddef.h usability... yes
checking stddef.h presence... yes
checking for stddef.h... yes
checking for _getpty... no
checking for grantpt... yes
checking for setitimer... yes
checking for usleep... yes
checking for gettimeofday... yes
checking for random... yes
checking for gethostname... yes
checking for setlocale... yes
checking for getpseudotty in -lseq... no
checking whether compiler understands -Wall -Wno-parentheses... yes
checking for pkg-config... pkg-config
checking for pkg-config... /usr/bin/pkg-config
checking pkg-config is at least version 0.9.0... yes
checking for CAIRO... yes
checking for xdg-mime... /usr/bin/xdg-mime
checking for xdg-desktop-menu... /usr/bin/xdg-desktop-menu
checking for xdg-icon-resource... /usr/bin/xdg-icon-resource
checking for X... libraries , headers
checking for gethostbyname... yes
checking for connect... yes
checking for remove... yes
checking for shmat... yes
checking for IceConnectionNumber in -lICE... yes
checking X11/Intrinsic.h usability... yes
checking X11/Intrinsic.h presence... yes
checking for X11/Intrinsic.h... yes
checking X11/Xaw/Dialog.h usability... yes
checking X11/Xaw/Dialog.h presence... yes
checking for X11/Xaw/Dialog.h... yes
checking whether ptys or pipes should be used... pipes
checking that generated files are newer than configure... done
configure: creating ./config.status
config.status: creating Makefile
config.status: creating cmail
config.status: creating po/Makefile.in
config.status: creating osxapp/Info.plist
config.status: creating config.h
config.status: config.h is unchanged
config.status: executing depfiles commands
config.status: executing po-directories commands
config.status: creating po/POTFILES
config.status: creating po/Makefile
config.status: executing test-stamp-h commands
config.status: executing chmod-cmail commands

 Configurations summary:

        prefix:          /usr/local       
        datarootdir:     ${prefix}/share 
        datadir:         ${datarootdir}     
        gamedatadir:     $(datadir)/games/xboard 
        desktopdir:      $(datadir)/applications   
        mimedir:         $(datadir)/mime/packages     
        iconsdir:        $(datadir)/icons/hicolor/48x48/apps     
        svgiconsdir:     $(datadir)/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps 
        infodir:         ${datarootdir}/info   (info files will go here)
        sysconfdir:      ${prefix}/etc   (xboard.conf will go here)

        update mimedb:   yes

        NLS support:     yes

        GTK:             no
        Xaw3d:           no
        Xaw:             yes

        ptys:            pipes
        zippy:           no
        sigint:          yes
matematiko@EX58-UD5:~/xboard-4.8 HG$


Followed by make, due to existing files from previous compilations, the execution of make seems kind of short, please let me know if you want me to clean files and try again

Code: Select all

matematiko@EX58-UD5:~/xboard-4.8 HG$ make
(CDPATH="${ZSH_VERSION+.}:" && cd . && /bin/bash "/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG/missing" autoheader)
rm -f stamp-h1
touch config.h.in
cd . && /bin/bash ./config.status config.h
config.status: creating config.h
config.status: config.h is unchanged
make  all-recursive
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG'
Making all in po
make[2]: Entering directory `/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG/po'
make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG/po'
make[2]: Entering directory `/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG'
make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG'
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG'
matematiko@EX58-UD5:~/xboard-4.8 HG$



And finally, sudo make install:

Code: Select all

matematiko@EX58-UD5:~/xboard-4.8 HG$ sudo make install
[sudo] password for matematiko:
Making install in po
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG/po'
/bin/mkdir -p /usr/local/share
installing da.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/da/LC_MESSAGES/xboard.mo
installing de.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/de/LC_MESSAGES/xboard.mo
installing es.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/es/LC_MESSAGES/xboard.mo
installing it.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/it/LC_MESSAGES/xboard.mo
installing nl.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/nl/LC_MESSAGES/xboard.mo
installing pl.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/pl/LC_MESSAGES/xboard.mo
installing ru.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/ru/LC_MESSAGES/xboard.mo
installing tr.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/tr/LC_MESSAGES/xboard.mo
installing uk.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/uk/LC_MESSAGES/xboard.mo
installing vi.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/vi/LC_MESSAGES/xboard.mo
installing zh_CN.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/zh_CN/LC_MESSAGES/xboard.mo
installing zh_HK.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/zh_HK/LC_MESSAGES/xboard.mo
installing zh_TW.gmo as /usr/local/share/locale/zh_TW/LC_MESSAGES/xboard.mo
if test "xboard" = "gettext-tools"; then \
          /bin/mkdir -p /usr/local/share/gettext/po; \
          for file in Makefile.in.in remove-potcdate.sin quot.sed boldquot.sed en@quot.header en@boldquot.header insert-header.sin Rules-quot   Makevars.template; do \
            /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 ./$file \
                            /usr/local/share/gettext/po/$file; \
          done; \
          for file in Makevars; do \
            rm -f /usr/local/share/gettext/po/$file; \
          done; \
        else \
          : ; \
        fi
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG/po'
make[1]: Entering directory `/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG'
make[2]: Entering directory `/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/bin'
  /usr/bin/install -c xboard '/usr/local/bin'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/etc'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 xboard.conf '/usr/local/etc'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/share/applications'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 xboard.desktop xboard-fen-viewer.desktop xboard-pgn-viewer.desktop xboard-tourney.desktop xboard-config.desktop '/usr/local/share/applications'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/share/icons/hicolor/48x48/apps'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 xboard.png '/usr/local/share/icons/hicolor/48x48/apps'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/pixmaps/textures'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 pixmaps/cross32.png pixmaps/cross48.png pixmaps/board32.png pixmaps/board48.png pixmaps/ini32.png pixmaps/ini48.png '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/pixmaps/textures'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/themes/textures'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 png/hatch.png png/wood_d.png png/wood_l.png png/xqboard.png '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/themes/textures'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/themes/shogi'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 themes/shogi/WhiteGold.svg themes/shogi/WhiteCrownedBishop.svg themes/shogi/WhiteBishop.svg themes/shogi/WhiteKing.svg themes/shogi/WhiteKnight.svg themes/shogi/WhiteGoldKnight.svg themes/shogi/WhiteLance.svg themes/shogi/WhiteGoldLance.svg themes/shogi/WhitePawn.svg themes/shogi/WhiteGoldPawn.svg themes/shogi/WhiteRook.svg themes/shogi/WhiteCrownedRook.svg themes/shogi/WhiteAdvisor.svg themes/shogi/WhiteGoldSilver.svg themes/shogi/BlackGold.svg themes/shogi/BlackCrownedBishop.svg themes/shogi/BlackBishop.svg themes/shogi/BlackKing.svg themes/shogi/BlackKnight.svg themes/shogi/BlackGoldKnight.svg themes/shogi/BlackLance.svg themes/shogi/BlackGoldLance.svg themes/shogi/BlackPawn.svg themes/shogi/BlackGoldPawn.svg themes/shogi/BlackRook.svg themes/shogi/BlackCrownedRook.svg themes/shogi/BlackAdvisor.svg themes/shogi/BlackGoldSilver.svg '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/themes/shogi'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/sounds'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 sounds/cymbal.wav sounds/pop2.wav sounds/slap.wav sounds/ding1.wav sounds/laser.wav sounds/woodthunk.wav sounds/gong.wav sounds/penalty.wav sounds/honkhonk.wav sounds/phone.wav sounds/roar.wav '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/sounds'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/themes/default'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 svg/icon_white.svg svg/icon_black.svg svg/BlackAdvisor.svg svg/WhiteAdvisor.svg svg/BlackArchbishop.svg svg/WhiteArchbishop.svg svg/BlackBishop.svg svg/WhiteBishop.svg svg/BlackCanon.svg svg/WhiteCanon.svg svg/BlackChancellor.svg svg/WhiteChancellor.svg svg/BlackCobra.svg svg/WhiteCobra.svg svg/BlackCommoner.svg svg/WhiteCommoner.svg svg/BlackCrownedBishop.svg svg/WhiteCrownedBishop.svg svg/BlackCrownedRook.svg svg/WhiteCrownedRook.svg svg/BlackElephant.svg svg/WhiteElephant.svg svg/BlackGoldKnight.svg svg/WhiteGoldKnight.svg svg/BlackGoldLance.svg svg/WhiteGoldLance.svg svg/BlackGoldPawn.svg svg/WhiteGoldPawn.svg svg/BlackGoldSilver.svg svg/WhiteGoldSilver.svg svg/BlackGold.svg svg/WhiteGold.svg svg/BlackHawk.svg svg/WhiteHawk.svg svg/BlackKing.svg svg/WhiteKing.svg svg/BlackKnight.svg svg/WhiteKnight.svg svg/BlackLance.svg svg/WhiteLance.svg '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/themes/default'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 svg/BlackMarshall.svg svg/WhiteMarshall.svg svg/BlackNightrider.svg svg/WhiteNightrider.svg svg/BlackPawn.svg svg/WhitePawn.svg svg/BlackPrincess.svg svg/WhitePrincess.svg svg/BlackQueen.svg svg/WhiteQueen.svg svg/BlackRook.svg svg/WhiteRook.svg svg/BlackUnicorn.svg svg/WhiteUnicorn.svg svg/BlackSword.svg svg/WhiteSword.svg svg/BlackHSword.svg svg/WhiteHSword.svg svg/BlackLeopard.svg svg/WhiteLeopard.svg svg/BlackLion.svg svg/WhiteLion.svg svg/BlackPromoBishop.svg svg/WhitePromoBishop.svg svg/BlackPromoRook.svg svg/WhitePromoRook.svg svg/BlackPromoHorse.svg svg/WhitePromoHorse.svg svg/BlackPromoDragon.svg svg/WhitePromoDragon.svg svg/BlackPromoSword.svg svg/WhitePromoSword.svg svg/BlackPromoHSword.svg svg/WhitePromoHSword.svg svg/BlackHCrown.svg svg/WhiteHCrown.svg svg/BlackDolphin.svg svg/WhiteDolphin.svg svg/BlackClaw.svg svg/WhiteClaw.svg '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/themes/default'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 svg/eo_Analyzing.svg svg/eo_Black.svg svg/eo_Clear.svg svg/eo_Ponder.svg svg/eo_Thinking.svg svg/eo_Unknown.svg svg/eo_White.svg '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/themes/default'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 xboard.svg '/usr/local/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/themes/conf'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 conf/shogi conf/xq conf/chu conf/ics conf/mini conf/mini.fen conf/sho conf/sho.fen '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/themes/conf'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/themes/xiangqi'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 themes/xiangqi/BlackAdvisor.svg themes/xiangqi/WhiteAdvisor.svg themes/xiangqi/BlackCanon.svg themes/xiangqi/WhiteCanon.svg themes/xiangqi/BlackElephant.svg themes/xiangqi/WhiteElephant.svg themes/xiangqi/BlackKnight.svg themes/xiangqi/WhiteKnight.svg themes/xiangqi/BlackGold.svg themes/xiangqi/WhiteGold.svg themes/xiangqi/BlackPawn.svg themes/xiangqi/WhitePawn.svg themes/xiangqi/BlackRook.svg themes/xiangqi/WhiteRook.svg '/usr/local/share/games/xboard/themes/xiangqi'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/share/info'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 ./xboard.info '/usr/local/share/info'
 install-info --info-dir='/usr/local/share/info' '/usr/local/share/info/xboard.info'
This is not dpkg install-info anymore, but GNU install-info
See the man page for ginstall-info for command line arguments
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/share/man/man6'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 'xboard.man' '/usr/local/share/man/man6/xboard.6'
 /bin/mkdir -p '/usr/local/share/mime/packages'
 /usr/bin/install -c -m 644 xboard.xml '/usr/local/share/mime/packages'
make  install-data-hook
make[3]: Entering directory `/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG'
if test -z "" -a -n "/usr/bin/xdg-mime" -a -n "/usr/bin/xdg-desktop-menu" -a -n "/usr/bin/xdg-icon-resource" ; then \
                /usr/bin/xdg-mime install --mode system --novendor xboard.xml ;\
                /usr/bin/xdg-desktop-menu install --mode system --novendor xboard-pgn-viewer.desktop;\
                /usr/bin/xdg-desktop-menu install --mode system --novendor xboard-fen-viewer.desktop;\
                /usr/bin/xdg-desktop-menu install --mode system --novendor xboard-tourney.desktop;\
                /usr/bin/xdg-desktop-menu install --mode system --novendor xboard-config.desktop;\
                /usr/bin/xdg-icon-resource install --context mimetypes --size 32 pixmaps/board32.png application-x-chess-pgn;\
                /usr/bin/xdg-icon-resource install --context mimetypes --size 32 pixmaps/cross32.png application-x-xboard-trn;\
                /usr/bin/xdg-icon-resource install --context mimetypes --size 32 pixmaps/ini32.png application-x-xboard-opt;\
                /usr/bin/xdg-icon-resource install --context mimetypes --size 48 pixmaps/board48.png application-x-chess-pgn;\
                /usr/bin/xdg-icon-resource install --context mimetypes --size 48 pixmaps/cross48.png application-x-xboard-trn;\
                /usr/bin/xdg-icon-resource install --context mimetypes --size 48 pixmaps/ini48.png application-x-xboard-opt;\
        fi
make[3]: Leaving directory `/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG'
make[2]: Leaving directory `/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG'
make[1]: Leaving directory `/home/matematiko/xboard-4.8 HG'
matematiko@EX58-UD5:~/xboard-4.8 HG$



Please let me know what tests I can do to try to resolve the issue.

Regards,

[H.G.Muller]

This is pretty weird. It seems that the rendering functions of your X-server are defective. It does print the borders of the buttons and message bar, however.

For one, your "make" doesn't seem to do anything, most likely because it is still using the object files and xboard binary left by a previous attempt. Try to remove all the object files with "rm *.o gtk/*.o xaw/*.o" before running "make". Make is pretty smart in deciding which files have to be re-created, based on their date and the date of the latest modification in the files they depend on. But when you change the compiler flags (like switching on zippy), I don't think it is smart enough to realize that the *.o files now should be different even when there has been no change in the corresponding *.c files, just because the compiler switch enebled different code sections in the *.c files. So you really have to delete the now obsolete *.o files by hand, to force them to be re-made under the new flag settings.

[matematiko]

Mr. HGM,

I will be delighted to do it again the way you suggest so "make" can be more verbose.

I repeat thou, that compiling and executing version 4.7.3 with zippy and gtk (and without gtk) works very good without graphics problems. Then what is affecting 4.8 ?

[matematiko]

I did install a virtual machine of OpenSuSE as a guest with Kubuntu as the host.

Compilation and execution of xboard 4.8 worked OK. So yes, looks like there is something broken on my end.

Thanks.

[F. Bluemers]

Hello
I have the same problem on a Mint 17.n system.
With or without gtk makes no difference.
However xboard runs fine from superuser (atleast the display,not fully tested).
So it seems that some file is not installed with the correct properties?
Any suggestions?
Best
Fonzy

[F. Bluemers]

I just remembered that before I did 'make install', xboard was ok,if you gave it a path to the pieceimages.
So I figured it might be a xboard.conf problem.
After renaming '/usr/local/etc/xboard.conf' to '/usr/local/etc/xboard1.conf'
xboard starts up normally (except there is no engine list).
Hope this helps
Best Fonzy

[F. Bluemers]

Here the contents of said xboard.conf file:

Code: Select all

;
; xboard 4.8 Save Settings file
;
; This file contains the system-wide settings of XBoard, in so far they
; deviate from the compiled-in defaults, and are not settable through menus,
; to comfort users that have no history of xboard usage.
; You can edit the values of options that are already set in this file,
; or add other options that you think are convenient as defaults for all users.
; This file is not automatically overwritten, because it redefines the
; -saveSettingsFile to .xboardrc in the user's home directory, so that
; user settings will be saved in a place the user has write access to.
;
; Looks
;
-size 49
-internetChessServerInputBox false
-titleInWindow false
-showButtonBar true
-moveHistoryUp false
-evalGraphUp false
-engineOutputUp false
-monoMode false
-flashCount 0
-flashRate 5
-fontSizeTolerance 4
-useBoardTexture true
-liteBackTextureFile  "~~/themes/textures/wood_l.png"
-darkBackTextureFile  "~~/themes/textures/wood_d.png"
-overrideLineGap 1
-highlightMoveWithArrow true
-recentEngines 4
-gameListW 500
-gameListH 300
-evalGraphW 300
-evalGraphH 150
-stickyWindows false
;
; Behavior
;
-sweepPromotions true
-pieceMenu false
-showTargetSquares true
-seekGraph true
-soundProgram "aplay -q"
-soundDirectory "~~/sounds"
-soundTell phone.wav
-soundChallenge gong.wav
-soundMove woodthunk.wav
-soundRoar roar.wav
-soundIcsAlarm penalty.wav
-pasteSelection false
-keepLineBreaksICS false
-timeDelay 1
-autoDisplayComment true
-autoDisplayTags true
-lowTimeWarning false
-icsAlarm false
-icsAlarmTime 5000
-msLoginDelay 0
-delayBeforeQuit 0
-delayAfterQuit 0
-defaultTourneyName "Tourney_%y%M%d_%h%m.trn"
-variations true
-appendPV true
-memoHeaders true
-autoInstall "ALL"
;
; PGN format & Game List
;
-pgnExtendedInfo true
-saveOutOfBookInfo true
-gameListTags "eprd"
;
; Engines & adjudicatons in engine-engine games
;
-firstChessProgram fairymax
-firstChessProgramNames {fairymax
"Fruit 2.1" -fcp fruit -fUCI
"Crafty" -fcp crafty
"GNU Chess" -fcp gnuchess
}
-niceEngines 0
-polyglotDir ""
-adapterCommand 'polyglot -noini -ec "%fcp" -ed "%fd" -uci NalimovCache=%defaultCacheSizeEGTB -pg ShowTbHits=true'
-defaultPathEGTB "/egtb"
-egtFormats ""
-testClaims true
-checkMates true
-materialDraws true
-trivialDraws false
;
; preconfigure some ICS nams, for use with -is option
;
-icsNames {"fics" -icshost freechess.org -icshelper timeseal
"icc" -icshost chessclub.com -icshelper timestamp
"kc" -icshost alanimus.com -icshelper timeseal
}
;
; Configure the ICS text menu
;
-icsMenu {Give me;ptell Please give me $input;
Avoid;ptell Please don't let him get $input;
Q;$add a Queen $input;
R;$add a Rook $input;
B;$add a Bishop $input;
N;$add a Knight $input;
P;$add a Pawn $input;
Dead;ptell I will be checkmated;
MultiLine;
set open 0
set seek 0
set tell 1;
Kill;ptell I will checkmate him!;
Who;who;
Finger (name);finger $name;
Players;players;
Vars (name);vars $name;
Games;games;
Observe (name);observe $name;
Sought;sought;
Match (name);match $name;
Tell (name);tell $name $input;
Play (name);play $name;
Message (name);message $name $input;
Copy;$copy;
Open Chat Box (name);$chat;
}
;
; pre-define some themes
;
-themeNames {"native" -ubt false -pid "" -trueColors false -flipBlack false -overrideLineGap -1
"classic" -ubt false -lsc #c8c365 -dsc #77a26d -pid "" -wpc #ffffcc -bpc #202020 -hsc #ffff00 -phc #ff0000 -overrideLineGap -1 -flipBlack false
"wood" -ubt true -lbtf ~~/themes/textures/wood_l.png -dbtf ~~/themes/textures/wood_d.png -pid ""  -hsc #ffff00 -phc #ff0000 -overrideLineGap 1
"diagram" -ubt true -lbtf "" -dbtf ~~/themes/textures/hatch.png -lsc #ffffff -wpc #ffffff -bpc #000000 -pid "" -hsc #808080 -phc #808080 -trueColors false -overrideLineGap 1
"icy" -ubt false -lsc #ffffff -dsc #80ffff -pid "" -wpc #f1f8f8 -bpc #202020 -hsc #0000ff -phc #ff0000
# ORIENTAL THEMES
"shogi" -ubt true  -lbtf ~~/themes/textures/wood_d.png -dbtf ~~/themes/textures/wood_d.png -pid ~~/themes/shogi -trueColors true -hsc #ffff00 -phc #0080ff -overrideLineGap 1
"xiangqi" -ubt true  -lbtf ~~/themes/textures/xqboard.png -dbtf ~~/themes/textures/xqboard.png -pid ~~/themes/xiangqi -trueColors true -hsc #ffff00 -phc #ff0000 -overrideLineGap 0
"chu shogi" -ubt false -lsc #ff8040 -dsc #ff8040 -pid ~~/themes/chu -trueColors true -hsc #0000ff -phc #00ff00
# end
}
;
; Save user settings.
; Must be last in file to make user options prevail over system-wide settings!
;
-saveSettingsOnExit true
-saveSettingsFile "~/.xboardrc"
-settingsFile "~/.xboardrc"




[H.G.Muller]

However xboard runs fine from superuser (atleast the display,not fully tested).
So it seems that some file is not installed with the correct properties?

XBoard's piece graphics are normally stored in /usr/(local/)share/games/xboard/themes/default/*.svg . That it runs when you are super user indeed suggest that it does use the correct path, but that somehow one of the directories along the path does not have 'x' permission (or the .svg files themselves do not have 'r' permission) for the 'world'.

Without the pre-installed /etc/xboard.conf XBoard would start unconfigured (but the path to the default piece graphics is hard-coded and does not need any configuration), and would try to save its settings in /etc/xboard.conf. (Which doesn't fly if you are not super user.) The supplied xboard.conf redirects the saving of settings to ~/.xboardrc, i.e. in the user's home directory.