Linux Editorial Learning Linux - Lesson Four: Desktop Environments and Window Managers

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Learning Linux - Lesson Four: Desktop Environments and Window Managers

Learn about various open-source desktop environments

Until now, you've learned about the basics of Linux, the difference between a GNU/Linux operating system and the Linux kernel, as well as how a GNU/Linux operating system compares to other popular OSes.

In the fourth installment of our Learning Linux series of articles, you will learn everything there is to know about those "beautiful" user interfaces often called desktop environments or window managers.

As usual, I'm going to consider the fact that you are an ex-Windows or ex-Mac user, which would mean that you know nothing about desktop environments and window managers for GNU/Linux operating systems.

So the first thing you need to know is that the final component of a GNU/Linux operating system is the graphical user interface (GUI), the desktop. For example, Windows has a single desktop environment, which is popularly known as Metro.

In the beginning, GNU/Linux distributions didn't have a graphical user interface. They were designed mostly for servers and experienced users who knew how to operate a terminal emulator.

Desktop environments

The desktop environments have started to appear and grow strongly in the modern era of GNU/Linux operating systems, and, boy, there are a lot of them on the market, all free and distributed under an open-source license.

Of course, like anything else in this world, only the popular ones remain active even to this day, and you might have heard of some of them, such as KDE, GNOME, Xfce, and LXDE (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment).

When you install a GNU/Linux operating system, chances are it comes with a "pretty interface" a.k.a. the desktop environment. Most distros now ship with a single desktop environment, and their entire development is done mostly around it.

For example, Fedora Linux always tracks the GNOME desktop environment, which means that a new release of the operating system is published two or three months after the debut of a major GNOME version.

Window managers

The window managers were the first to be developed for GNU/Linux operating systems, as they are usually very lightweight and resemble the look and feel of a terminal emulator or the text-mode interface.

There are numerous window managers out there, and some of them can be integrated into a desktop environment, for managing the windows, of course. What you should know about them is that they are usually divided into three categories: stacking, tiling, and dynamic.

Among some of the popular window managers that are still maintained today, we can mention Enlightenment, Fluxbox, Openbox, JWM (Joe's Window Manager), i3, AfterStep, FVWM, IceWM, PekWM, and dwm.

These are the standalone ones, but there are also other types of window managers, which are integrated into the desktop environments mentioned above. For example, GNOME comes with Metacity, KDE features KWin, and Xfce has Xfwm.

The forks

Like everything else in the open-source ecosystems, projects are being forked each day, and the desktop environments and window managers mentioned above are in no way an exception to the rule.

What you need to know is that there are many other desktop environments and window managers out there, but most of them are based (read: forked) on one of the projects mentioned above.

For example, Cinnamon, Pantheon, Unity and MATE are all forked from GNOME, Trinity Desktop Environment (TDE) is forked from KDE3, and LXQt is a port of LXDE to Qt. But these are only the famous ones, as you'll also hear about Budgie, Deepin, or Hawaii.

Which one is for you?

Good question. I can't answer that, as you will have to try them all and see for yourself which one better suits your needs. Most probably, you will end up using a renowned GNU/Linux distribution with a popular desktop environment.

However, you should keep one thing in mind. You can always change the default desktop environment that is pre-installed in a GNU/Linux operating system, something that you can't do on Windows or Mac OS X.

Next month, I'll try to teach you, guys, a thing or two about open-source applications. Where to find them, how to install them, and many other interesting things. In the meantime, do not hesitate to experiment with various distros and desktops.

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