What's the difference between x-www-browser and gnome-www-browser?

Question

What's the difference between x-www-browser and gnome-www-browser? I came across it here: Setting the default browser when update-alternatives fails.

Answer 1

Both are scripts that, when configured by update-alternatives, call the default application for internet browsing on a GUI environment.

The script x-www-browser calls the application configured to run on any desktop environment that runs under X Server, while gnome-www-browser application configured specifically calls for GNOME. Similarly, www-browser is a script to call the default browser on a TUI (text-based user interface) environment, such as w3m or elinks, for example.

1. You can check which browser they are associated with the commands

   sudo update-alternatives --display x-www-browser
   

   and

   sudo update-alternatives --display gnome-www-browser
   

2. To list all the alternatives to these scripts, use

   sudo update-alternatives --list x-www-browser
   

   and

   sudo update-alternatives --list gnome-www-browser
   

3. To configure a default browser, use the commands

   sudo update-alternatives --config x-www-browser
   

   and

   sudo update-alternatives --config gnome-www-browser
   

Since these scripts can call different browsers, it may happen that a certain program call a browser other than the default browser. This often causes confusion for some users, but this issue can be fixed by running the command sudo update-alternatives --config as explained in item 3, above.

Sources:

• http://www.debian-administration.org/articles/91
• http://www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-faq/ch-customizing.en.html
• http://wiki.debian.org/DebianAlternatives