Desktop environment

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Linux Basics
Desktop environment


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A desktop environment is a GUI that runs on top of a window manager. It provides the layout and end user look and feel to the desktop. The desktop environment provides things such as panels and menus, as well as overriding much of the default window behavior.

For those most familiar with Windows, elements such as such as the task bar, start menu, alt-tab task switcher, and even Explorer would generally be considered part of a desktop environment in Linux.

In reality, a desktop environment consists of many different but cohesive pieces of software which can include:

  • Window manager
  • Panels and menus
  • Application launchers and switchers
  • Global hotkeys
  • Control panels
  • Configuration (think Windows registry, but easier)
  • Accessories (calculators, clocks, monitors, search tools)
  • File manager

There are two main desktop environments for Linux, but that is not to say that others don't exist. The two main ones are GNOME and KDE. KDE is the older of the two, and is based off of the QT widget set produced by TrollTech. GNOME uses the GTK+ widget set originally developed for use with the The GIMP (a popular open source image editing application.)

While these are the two most popular desktop environments, there are other available, such as CDE and Xfce. A user can even install multiple desktop environments side by side and choose to log in to one or the other, or many at the same time. Furthermore, a user's choice of software is not limited to their choice of desktop environment. For example, an application written using QT widgets will run just fine under GNOME, and an application written using GTK+ widgets will run just as well under KDE. As long as the system has the required libraries to run the widget set the program uses, there will be no limitations.

[edit] See Also:

Desktop environments
EDE | FVWM-Crystal | Athene Desktop | Metisse | JD4X | 3D-Desktop | XD640 | XPde | ROX Desktop | foXdesktop | Enlightenment | UDE | GREAT Desktop | KDE | GNOME | Xfce
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