Running an application with root privileges at Linux

[prykHetQuo]

Is there any standard way (that applies to all Linux distributions), a GUI application (X.Org/Gnome/KDE) to ask for the root password so as to execute with root privileges?


Software examples that do this:

Synaptic at Ubuntu.

Yumex at Fedora.


I am writing a free and open source program (http://www.cpp-software.net/software.html), and I call Ubuntu's "gksudo" from within the program, but I prefer a portable way, that applies to all Linux with X.Org distributions.


Thanks.

[boudie]

As far as I know, on KDE you have kdesu and under Gnome you have gksudo.
At program start you could check which one is available.

To be 100% portable you have to implement it yourself.
I think you could do that by asking in a form for the root password. After that you start your own subprocess using QProcess and do something like:
su <process_needing_root_access>

Read the QProcess docs to learn how to cummunicate with the subprocess so you can enter the root password to satisfy the su-command.

[prykHetQuo]

Thanks for your reply.

However "su" does not work in Ubuntu.

Edit: And gksudo does not exist in Fedora 10, with GNOME installed as the default window manager.

[rexi]

Try "sudo" then.

[prykHetQuo]

sudo does not work by default, in some Linux distributions too, like Fedora 10, where su works.

[boudie]

sudo is a more or less standard Linux tool, so it should be configurable on every Linux-box. When it isn't, then maybe the environment is not worth writing software for at all...?;)
Anyway, your problem has been reduced to something that is not a Qt-problem.
Maybe you should try distro-specific forums?
But be sure to post your solution here, too! :D