xrsb

xrsb (X Root Window Status Bar) can be used with window managers, such as dwm, that display a status bar based on the name property of the X root window. The application consists of a daemon (xrsbd) and a scheduler (xrsbs), and is meant to be efficient and precise, only updating specific parts of the status bar when necessary.

xrsbd

The xrsbd daemon maintains and updates the status bar (root window name). It traps the SIGUSR1 signal that tells it that it's time to update. A client, such as the scheduler, can create action files in a designated action directory to specify which parts of the status bar the daemon should update. When the daemon receives the signal, it looks in the action directory for any actions that is understands, updates the status bar, and removes those files.

xrsbs

The xrsbs scheduler creates action files in the action directory, then sends the SIGUSR1 signal to a daemon. The scheduler can send one signal to perform multiple actions by creating multiple action files, and can create the action file(s) and send the signal immediately, after some delay, or repeatedly at some interval.