Desktop environment
Encyclopedia
In graphical computing, a desktop environment (DE) commonly refers to a style of graphical user interface
(GUI) derived from the desktop metaphor
that is seen on most modern personal computer
s. These GUIs help the user in easily accessing, configuring, and modifying many important and frequently accessed specific operating system
(OS) features. The GUI usually does not afford access to all the many features found in an OS. Instead, the traditional command-line interface
(CLI) is still used when full control over the OS is required in such cases.
A desktop environment typically consists of icon
s, windows
, toolbar
s, folder
s, wallpaper
s and desktop widgets
(see Elements of graphical user interfaces
and WIMP
).
A GUI might also provide drag and drop functionality and other features that make the desktop metaphor
more complete. A desktop environment aims to be an intuitive way for the user to interact with the computer using concepts which are similar to those used when interacting with the physical world, such as buttons and windows.
While the term desktop environment originally described a style of user interfaces following the desktop metaphor, it has also come to
describe the programs that realize the metaphor itself. This usage has been popularized by the Common Desktop Environment
and the K Desktop Environment
.
in conjunction with applications written using a widget toolkit
are generally responsible for most of what the user sees. A windowing system
of some sort generally interfaces directly with the underlying operating system
and libraries. This provides support for graphical hardware, pointing devices, and keyboards. The window manager generally runs on top of this windowing system. While the windowing system may provide some window management functionality, this functionality is still considered to be part of the window manager, which simply happens to have been provided by the windowing system.
Applications that are created with a particular window manager in mind usually make use of a windowing toolkit, generally provided with the operating system or window manager. A windowing toolkit gives applications access to widgets that allow the user to interact graphically with the application in a consistent way.
and was sold with the Xerox Alto
in the 1970s. The Alto was generally considered by Xerox to be a personal office computer; it failed in the marketplace because of poor marketing and a very high price tag. With the Lisa
, Apple introduced a desktop environment on an affordable personal computer
, which also failed in the market.
On personal computer
s the most popular desktop environments are the one included with the Microsoft Windows
operating system followed by the desktop environment of Mac OS X
. When compared with desktop environments for Linux, the ones included with these operating systems are relatively unalterable.
Although, with the exception of Macs
, which are shipped with Mac OS X
, personal computers using Linux
and other Unix-like
OSs are still much less common, in recent years there has been a growing market for low cost Linux
PCs that use the X Window System
. These machines support many X11-based desktop environments.
(typically Unix-like
systems such as Linux
), the desktop environment is much more flexible. In this context, a desktop environment typically consists of a window manager
(such as Metacity
or KWin
), a file manager
(such as Nautilus
or Dolphin
), a set of theme
s, and programs and libraries for managing the desktop. All of these individual modules can be exchanged and individually configured to achieve a unique combination, but most desktop environments provide a default configuration that requires minimal user input.
Some window managers such as IceWM
, Fluxbox
and Window Maker
contain rudimentary desktop environment elements, while others like evilwm and wmii
do not.
Not all of the program code that is part of a desktop environment has effects which are directly visible to the user. Some of it may be low-level code. KDE
, for example, provides so-called KIO
slaves which give the user access to a wide range of virtual devices. These I/O slaves are not available outside the KDE environment.
Initially, CDE
was available as a proprietary solution, but was never popular on Linux systems due to cost and licensing restrictions. In 1996 the KDE
was announced, followed in 1997 by the announcement of GNOME
. Xfce
is a smaller project that was also founded in 1997, and focuses on speed and modularity, just like LXDE
which was started in 2006. A comparison of X Window System desktop environments demonstrates the differences between environments. Today, GNOME
and KDE
are the dominant solutions, and these are often installed by default on GNU/Linux systems. Each of them offers:
In the early 2000s KDE reached maturity, along with GNOME. Still active, the Appeal and ToPaZ projects focus on bringing new advances to the next major releases of both KDE and GNOME respectively. Although striving for broadly similar goals, GNOME and KDE do differ in their approach to user ergonomics. KDE encourages applications to integrate and interoperate, is highly customizable, and contains many complex features, all whilst trying to establish sensible defaults. GNOME on the other hand is more prescriptive, and focuses on the finer details of essential tasks and overall simplification. Accordingly, each one attracts a different user and developer community. Technically, there are numerous technologies common to all Linux desktop environments, most obviously the X Window System
. Accordingly, the freedesktop.org
project was established as an informal collaboration zone with the goal being to reduce duplication of effort.
As GNOME and KDE focus on high-performance computers, those users with old slow hardware often use alternative desktop environments specifically created for low-performance systems. The two most common lightweight desktop environments are LXDE
and Xfce
. Both use GTK+
, the same underlying toolkit as GNOME.
' built-in interface. It is titled Luna
in Windows XP
and Aero in Windows Vista
and Windows 7. Also common is Aqua
, included with Apple's Mac OS X
.
Mainstream desktop environments for Unix-like operating systems using the X Window System include KDE
, GNOME
, Xfce
, and LXDE
.
A number of other desktop environments also exist, including (but not limited to) CDE
, EDE
, GEM
, IRIX Interactive Desktop
, Sun's Java Desktop System
, Jesktop
, Mezzo
, Project Looking Glass
, ROX Desktop
, UDE
, Xito
, XFast
.
Moreover, there exists FVWM-Crystal
, which consists of a powerful configuration for the FVWM
window manager, a theme and further adds, altogether forming a "construction kit" for building up a desktop environment.
X window manager
s that are meant to be usable stand-alone—without another desktop environment—also include elements reminiscent of those found in typical desktop environments, most prominently Enlightenment
. Other examples include OpenBox
, Fluxbox
, WindowLab
, Fvwm
, as well as Window Maker
and AfterStep
, which both feature the NeXTSTEP
GUI
look and feel.
The Amiga
approach to desktop environment was noteworthy: the original Workbench
desktop environment in AmigaOS
evolved through time to originate an entire family of descendants and alternative desktop solutions. Some of those descendants are the Scalos, the Ambient desktop of MorphOS
and the Wanderer desktop of the AROS
open source OS. WindowLab also contains features reminiscent of the Amiga UI. Third party Directory Opus
software which was originally just a navigational file manager program then evolved to became to a complete Amiga desktop replacement called Directory Opus Magellan.
There is the Workplace Shell
that runs on IBM OS/2
or eComStation
.
The BumpTop
project is an experimental desktop environment. Its main objective is to replace the 2D paradigm with a "real-world" 3D implementation, where documents can be freely manipulated across a virtual table.
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
(GUI) derived from the desktop metaphor
Desktop metaphor
The desktop metaphor is an interface metaphor which is a set of unifying concepts used by graphical user interfaces to help users more easily interact with the computer. The desktop metaphor treats the monitor of a computer as if it is the user's desktop, upon which objects such as documents and...
that is seen on most modern personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s. These GUIs help the user in easily accessing, configuring, and modifying many important and frequently accessed specific operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
(OS) features. The GUI usually does not afford access to all the many features found in an OS. Instead, the traditional command-line interface
Command-line interface
A command-line interface is a mechanism for interacting with a computer operating system or software by typing commands to perform specific tasks...
(CLI) is still used when full control over the OS is required in such cases.
A desktop environment typically consists of icon
Icon (computing)
A computer icon is a pictogram displayed on a computer screen and used to navigate a computer system or mobile device. The icon itself is a small picture or symbol serving as a quick, intuitive representation of a software tool, function or a data file accessible on the system. It functions as an...
s, windows
Window (computing)
In computing, a window is a visual area containing some kind of user interface. It usually has a rectangular shape that can overlap with the area of other windows...
, toolbar
Toolbar
In a graphical user interface, on a computer monitor, a toolbar is a GUI widget on which on-screen buttons, icons, menus, or other input or output elements are placed. Toolbars are seen in office suites, graphics editors, and web browsers...
s, folder
Directory (file systems)
In computing, a folder, directory, catalog, or drawer, is a virtual container originally derived from an earlier Object-oriented programming concept by the same name within a digital file system, in which groups of computer files and other folders can be kept and organized.A typical file system may...
s, wallpaper
Computer wallpaper
Wallpaper is an image used as a background of a graphical user interface on a computer screen or mobile communications device. On a computer it is usually for the desktop, while for a mobile phone it is usually the background for the 'home' or 'idle' screen...
s and desktop widgets
Widget engine
In computer software, a widget engine is a software service available to users for running and displaying applets on a graphical user interface, such as that of the desktop.The widget model in widget engines is attractive because of ease of development...
(see Elements of graphical user interfaces
Elements of graphical user interfaces
Graphical user interfaces, also known as GUIs, offer a consistent visual language to represent information stored in computers. This makes it easier for people with little computer skills to work with and use computer software....
and WIMP
WIMP (computing)
In human–computer interaction, WIMP stands for "windows, icons, menus and pointers", denoting a style of interaction using these elements. It was coined by Merzouga Wilberts in 1980...
).
A GUI might also provide drag and drop functionality and other features that make the desktop metaphor
Desktop metaphor
The desktop metaphor is an interface metaphor which is a set of unifying concepts used by graphical user interfaces to help users more easily interact with the computer. The desktop metaphor treats the monitor of a computer as if it is the user's desktop, upon which objects such as documents and...
more complete. A desktop environment aims to be an intuitive way for the user to interact with the computer using concepts which are similar to those used when interacting with the physical world, such as buttons and windows.
While the term desktop environment originally described a style of user interfaces following the desktop metaphor, it has also come to
describe the programs that realize the metaphor itself. This usage has been popularized by the Common Desktop Environment
Common Desktop Environment
The Common Desktop Environment is a desktop environment for Unix and OpenVMS, based on the Motif widget toolkit.- Corporate history :...
and the K Desktop Environment
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
.
Implementation
On a system that offers a desktop environment, a window managerWindow manager
A window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment...
in conjunction with applications written using a widget toolkit
Widget toolkit
In computing, a widget toolkit, widget library, or GUI toolkit is a set of widgets for use in designing applications with graphical user interfaces...
are generally responsible for most of what the user sees. A windowing system
Windowing system
A windowing system is a component of a graphical user interface , and more specifically of a desktop environment, which supports the implementation of window managers, and provides basic support for graphics hardware, pointing devices such as mice, and keyboards...
of some sort generally interfaces directly with the underlying operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
and libraries. This provides support for graphical hardware, pointing devices, and keyboards. The window manager generally runs on top of this windowing system. While the windowing system may provide some window management functionality, this functionality is still considered to be part of the window manager, which simply happens to have been provided by the windowing system.
Applications that are created with a particular window manager in mind usually make use of a windowing toolkit, generally provided with the operating system or window manager. A windowing toolkit gives applications access to widgets that allow the user to interact graphically with the application in a consistent way.
History and common use
The first desktop environment was by XeroxXerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
and was sold with the Xerox Alto
Xerox Alto
The Xerox Alto was one of the first computers designed for individual use , making it arguably what is now called a personal computer. It was developed at Xerox PARC in 1973...
in the 1970s. The Alto was generally considered by Xerox to be a personal office computer; it failed in the marketplace because of poor marketing and a very high price tag. With the Lisa
Apple Lisa
The Apple Lisa—also known as the Lisa—is a :personal computer designed by Apple Computer, Inc. during the early 1980s....
, Apple introduced a desktop environment on an affordable personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
, which also failed in the market.
On personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s the most popular desktop environments are the one included with the Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
operating system followed by the desktop environment of Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
. When compared with desktop environments for Linux, the ones included with these operating systems are relatively unalterable.
Although, with the exception of Macs
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
, which are shipped with Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
, personal computers using Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
and other Unix-like
Unix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
OSs are still much less common, in recent years there has been a growing market for low cost Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
PCs that use the X Window System
X Window System
The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
. These machines support many X11-based desktop environments.
Desktop environments for the X Window System
On systems running the X Window SystemX Window System
The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
(typically Unix-like
Unix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
systems such as Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
), the desktop environment is much more flexible. In this context, a desktop environment typically consists of a window manager
Window manager
A window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment...
(such as Metacity
Metacity
Metacity was the window manager used by default in the GNOME desktop environment until GNOME 3, where it was replaced by Mutter. The development of Metacity was started by Havoc Pennington and it is released under the GNU General Public License....
or KWin
KWin
KWin is a window manager for the X Window System. It is an integral part of the KDE Software Compilation, although it can be used on its own or with other desktop environments.- History :- Look and feel :...
), a file manager
File manager
A file manager or file browser is a computer program that provides a user interface to work with file systems. The most common operations performed on files or groups of files are: create, open, edit, view, print, play, rename, move, copy, delete, search/find, and modify file attributes, properties...
(such as Nautilus
Nautilus (file manager)
Nautilus is the official file manager for the GNOME desktop. The name is a play on words, evoking the shell of a nautilus to represent an operating system shell. Nautilus replaced Midnight Commander in GNOME 1.4 and was the default from version 2.0 onwards....
or Dolphin
Dolphin (software)
Dolphin is a free and open source software file manager for and part of the KDE Software Compilation. It is the default file manager in the current version, KDE Software Compilation 4, and can be optionally installed on K Desktop Environment 3...
), a set of theme
Skin (computing)
In computing, a skin is a custom graphical appearance achieved by the use of a graphical user interface that can be applied to specific software and websites to suit the purpose, topic, or tastes of different users....
s, and programs and libraries for managing the desktop. All of these individual modules can be exchanged and individually configured to achieve a unique combination, but most desktop environments provide a default configuration that requires minimal user input.
Some window managers such as IceWM
IceWM
IceWM is a stacking window manager for the X Window System graphical infrastructure, written by Marko Maček. It was coded from scratch in C++ and is released under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License...
, Fluxbox
Fluxbox
Fluxbox is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, which started as a fork of Blackbox 0.61.1, with the same aim to be lightweight. Its user interface has only a taskbar, a pop-up menu accessible by right-clicking on the desktop, and minimal support for graphical icons...
and Window Maker
Window Maker
Window Maker is a free and open source window manager for the X Window System, allowing graphical applications to be run on Unix-like operating-systems...
contain rudimentary desktop environment elements, while others like evilwm and wmii
Wmii
wmii is a tiling window manager for X11. It supports classic and tiling window management with extended keyboard, mouse, and filesystem based remote control...
do not.
Not all of the program code that is part of a desktop environment has effects which are directly visible to the user. Some of it may be low-level code. KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
, for example, provides so-called KIO
KIO
KIO is part of the KDE architecture. It provides access to files, web sites and other resources through a single consistent API. Applications, such as Konqueror which are written using this framework can operate on files stored on remote servers in exactly the same way as they operate on those...
slaves which give the user access to a wide range of virtual devices. These I/O slaves are not available outside the KDE environment.
Initially, CDE
Common Desktop Environment
The Common Desktop Environment is a desktop environment for Unix and OpenVMS, based on the Motif widget toolkit.- Corporate history :...
was available as a proprietary solution, but was never popular on Linux systems due to cost and licensing restrictions. In 1996 the KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
was announced, followed in 1997 by the announcement of GNOME
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
. Xfce
Xfce
Xfce is a free software desktop environment for Unix and other Unix-like platforms, such as Linux, Solaris, and BSD – though recent compatibility issues have arisen with regard to BSD Unix platforms...
is a smaller project that was also founded in 1997, and focuses on speed and modularity, just like LXDE
LXDE
LXDE is a free and open source desktop environment for Unix and other POSIX compliant platforms, such as Linux or BSD. The goal of the project is to provide a desktop environment that is fast and energy efficient...
which was started in 2006. A comparison of X Window System desktop environments demonstrates the differences between environments. Today, GNOME
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
and KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
are the dominant solutions, and these are often installed by default on GNU/Linux systems. Each of them offers:
- To programmers, a set of standard APIs, a programming environment, and human interface guidelinesHuman Interface GuidelinesHuman interface guidelines are software development documents which offer application developers a set of recommendations. Their aim is to improve the experience for the users by making application interfaces more intuitive, learnable, and consistent. Most guides limit themselves to defining a...
. - To translators, a collaboration infrastructure. KDE and GNOME are available in many languages.
- To artists, a workspace to share their talents.
- To ergonomics specialists, the chance to help simplify the working environment.
- To developers of third-party applications, a reference environment for integration. OpenOffice.org is one such application.
- To users, a complete desktop environment and a suite of essential applications. These include a file manager, web browser, multimedia player, email client, address book, PDF reader, photo manager, and system preferences application.
In the early 2000s KDE reached maturity, along with GNOME. Still active, the Appeal and ToPaZ projects focus on bringing new advances to the next major releases of both KDE and GNOME respectively. Although striving for broadly similar goals, GNOME and KDE do differ in their approach to user ergonomics. KDE encourages applications to integrate and interoperate, is highly customizable, and contains many complex features, all whilst trying to establish sensible defaults. GNOME on the other hand is more prescriptive, and focuses on the finer details of essential tasks and overall simplification. Accordingly, each one attracts a different user and developer community. Technically, there are numerous technologies common to all Linux desktop environments, most obviously the X Window System
X Window System
The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
. Accordingly, the freedesktop.org
Freedesktop.org
freedesktop.org is a project to work on interoperability and shared base technology for free software desktop environments for the X Window System on Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. It was founded by Havoc Pennington from Red Hat in March 2000.The organisation focuses on the user....
project was established as an informal collaboration zone with the goal being to reduce duplication of effort.
As GNOME and KDE focus on high-performance computers, those users with old slow hardware often use alternative desktop environments specifically created for low-performance systems. The two most common lightweight desktop environments are LXDE
LXDE
LXDE is a free and open source desktop environment for Unix and other POSIX compliant platforms, such as Linux or BSD. The goal of the project is to provide a desktop environment that is fast and energy efficient...
and Xfce
Xfce
Xfce is a free software desktop environment for Unix and other Unix-like platforms, such as Linux, Solaris, and BSD – though recent compatibility issues have arisen with regard to BSD Unix platforms...
. Both use GTK+
GTK+
GTK+ is a cross-platform widget toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces. It is licensed under the terms of the GNU LGPL, allowing both free and proprietary software to use it. It is one of the most popular toolkits for the X Window System, along with Qt.The name GTK+ originates from GTK;...
, the same underlying toolkit as GNOME.
Examples of desktop environments
The most common desktop environment on personal computers is Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
' built-in interface. It is titled Luna
Luna (theme)
Themes customize the appearance of the Windows operating system without changing its functionality ....
in Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
and Aero in Windows Vista
Windows Vista
Windows Vista is an operating system released in several variations developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
and Windows 7. Also common is Aqua
Aqua (user interface)
Aqua is the GUI and primary visual theme of Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system. It is based around the theme of water, as its name suggests, with droplet-like elements and liberal use of translucency and reflection effects...
, included with Apple's Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
.
Mainstream desktop environments for Unix-like operating systems using the X Window System include KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
, GNOME
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
, Xfce
Xfce
Xfce is a free software desktop environment for Unix and other Unix-like platforms, such as Linux, Solaris, and BSD – though recent compatibility issues have arisen with regard to BSD Unix platforms...
, and LXDE
LXDE
LXDE is a free and open source desktop environment for Unix and other POSIX compliant platforms, such as Linux or BSD. The goal of the project is to provide a desktop environment that is fast and energy efficient...
.
A number of other desktop environments also exist, including (but not limited to) CDE
Common Desktop Environment
The Common Desktop Environment is a desktop environment for Unix and OpenVMS, based on the Motif widget toolkit.- Corporate history :...
, EDE
EDE
EDE or Equinox Desktop Environment is a small desktop environment that is meant to be simple and fast. Previous 1.x versions were based on a modified version of FLTK called eFLTK, while later versions are based on FLTK.-EDE 2:...
, GEM
Graphical Environment Manager
GEM was a windowing system created by Digital Research, Inc. for use with the CP/M operating system on the Intel 8088 and Motorola 68000 microprocessors...
, IRIX Interactive Desktop
IRIX Interactive Desktop
IRIX Interactive Desktop is a desktop environment normally used as the default desktop on Silicon Graphics workstations running IRIX. The IRIX Interactive Desktop uses the Motif widget toolkit on top of the X Window System found on most Unix systems. The default window manager on the IRIX...
, Sun's Java Desktop System
Java Desktop System
OpenSolaris Desktop, formerly Java Desktop System , is a desktop environment now developed by Oracle Corporation available for Solaris, and formerly Linux....
, Jesktop
Jesktop
Jesktop is a desktop environment programmed in the Java programming language.The Jesktop project is a desktop system written in Java that can have GUI applications installed into it. Its look and feel is customizable and shared between all applications, and it is built upon a container framework. A...
, Mezzo
Mezzo (desktop environment)
Mezzo is the desktop environment created by Ryan Quinn. Added to Symphony OS, it follows Jason Spisak's Laws of Interface Design and poses a new way of presenting data to the user...
, Project Looking Glass
Project Looking Glass
Project Looking Glass is a now inactive free software project under the GPL to create an innovative 3D desktop environment for Linux, Solaris, and Windows. It was sponsored by Sun Microsystems....
, ROX Desktop
ROX Desktop
The ROX Desktop is a graphical desktop environment for the X Window System. It is based on the ROX-Filer which is a drag and drop spatial file manager. It is free software released under the GNU General Public License. The environment was inspired by the user interface of RISC OS...
, UDE
UDE
In computing, UDE, the Unix Desktop Environment, is a desktop environment for the X Window System. Given its efficient and lightweight design it can be used on almost any Unix-like operating system, mostly without any porting effort....
, Xito
Xito
Xito is a Java based portable desktop environment. It claims to be committed to creating and developing an open source desktop that will "introduce a new level of functionality and usability to internet based software applications." Since Java has large performance and space requirements the Xito...
, XFast
XFast
XFast is a lightweight desktop environment that incorporates a display manager and a window manager within the same process. It is portable and works on many devices...
.
Moreover, there exists FVWM-Crystal
FVWM-Crystal
FVWM-Crystal is a theme for the FVWM window manager. It uses GUI tools to edit the look of windows, instead of the use of editing a text file in FVWM. It creates an easy to use desktop environment using FVWM as its window manager and main core...
, which consists of a powerful configuration for the FVWM
FVWM
The F Virtual Window Manager is a virtual window manager for the X Window System. Originally a twm derivative, FVWM has evolved into a powerful and highly configurable environment for Unix-like systems.- History:...
window manager, a theme and further adds, altogether forming a "construction kit" for building up a desktop environment.
X window manager
X window manager
An X window manager is a window manager which runs on top of the X Window System, a windowing system mainly used on Unix-like systems.Unlike the Mac OS and Microsoft Windows platforms which have historically provided a vendor-controlled, fixed set of ways to control how windows and panes display...
s that are meant to be usable stand-alone—without another desktop environment—also include elements reminiscent of those found in typical desktop environments, most prominently Enlightenment
Enlightenment (window manager)
Enlightenment, also known simply as E, is a stacking window manager for the X Window System which can be used alone or in conjunction with a desktop environment such as GNOME or KDE...
. Other examples include OpenBox
Openbox
Openbox is a free window manager for the X Window System, licensed under the GNU General Public License. Originally derived from Blackbox 0.65.0 , Openbox has now been totally rewritten in the C programming language and since version 3.0 is not based upon any code from Blackbox.Openbox is designed...
, Fluxbox
Fluxbox
Fluxbox is a stacking window manager for the X Window System, which started as a fork of Blackbox 0.61.1, with the same aim to be lightweight. Its user interface has only a taskbar, a pop-up menu accessible by right-clicking on the desktop, and minimal support for graphical icons...
, WindowLab
WindowLab
WindowLab is an X window manager for Unix-like systems. It is based on aewm and retains that window manager's small and lightweight nature. In many aspects, WindowLab has looked to the Amiga's user interface for inspiration without cloning it completely...
, Fvwm
FVWM
The F Virtual Window Manager is a virtual window manager for the X Window System. Originally a twm derivative, FVWM has evolved into a powerful and highly configurable environment for Unix-like systems.- History:...
, as well as Window Maker
Window Maker
Window Maker is a free and open source window manager for the X Window System, allowing graphical applications to be run on Unix-like operating-systems...
and AfterStep
AfterStep
AfterStep is a stacking window manager for the X Window System. The goal of AfterStep's development is to provide for flexibility of desktop configuration, improved aesthetics and efficient use of system resources, and was used in such distributions as MachTen...
, which both feature the NeXTSTEP
NEXTSTEP
NeXTSTEP was the object-oriented, multitasking operating system developed by NeXT Computer to run on its range of proprietary workstation computers, such as the NeXTcube...
GUI
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
look and feel.
The Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
approach to desktop environment was noteworthy: the original Workbench
Workbench (AmigaOS)
-Overview:Commodore named their Amiga computer's first operating system Workbench 1.0 and continued with the Workbench name until version 3.1, when it was changed to AmigaOS, prompted by Apple renaming their propriety OS from "System" to "MacOS"...
desktop environment in AmigaOS
AmigaOS
AmigaOS is the default native operating system of the Amiga personal computer. It was developed first by Commodore International, and initially introduced in 1985 with the Amiga 1000...
evolved through time to originate an entire family of descendants and alternative desktop solutions. Some of those descendants are the Scalos, the Ambient desktop of MorphOS
MorphOS
MorphOS is an Amiga-compatible computer operating system. It is a mixed proprietary and open source OS produced for the Pegasos PowerPC processor based computer, PowerUP accelerator equipped Amiga computers, and a series of Freescale development boards that use the Genesi firmware, including the...
and the Wanderer desktop of the AROS
Aros
Aros may refer to:*Aros , a river in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium*AROS Research Operating System, a free software implementation of AmigaOS* Aros, the original Viking name of Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark...
open source OS. WindowLab also contains features reminiscent of the Amiga UI. Third party Directory Opus
Directory Opus
Directory Opus is a popular file manager program, originally written for the Amiga computer system in the early to mid 1990s...
software which was originally just a navigational file manager program then evolved to became to a complete Amiga desktop replacement called Directory Opus Magellan.
There is the Workplace Shell
Workplace Shell
The Workplace Shell is a object-oriented desktop shell produced by IBM's Boca Raton development lab for OS/2 2.0. It is based on Common User Access and made a radical shift away from the Program Manager type interface that earlier versions of OS/2 shared with Windows 3.x or the...
that runs on IBM OS/2
OS/2
OS/2 is a computer operating system, initially created by Microsoft and IBM, then later developed by IBM exclusively. The name stands for "Operating System/2," because it was introduced as part of the same generation change release as IBM's "Personal System/2 " line of second-generation personal...
or eComStation
EComStation
eComStation or eCS is a PC operating system based on OS/2, published by Serenity Systems. It includes several additions and accompanying software not present in the IBM version of the system.-Differences between eComStation and OS/2:...
.
The BumpTop
BumpTop
In computing, BumpTop is a desktop environment that simulates the normal behavior and physical properties of a real world desk, and enhances it with automatic tools to organize its contents. It is aimed at stylus interaction, making it more suitable for tablet computers and handheld PCs. It was...
project is an experimental desktop environment. Its main objective is to replace the 2D paradigm with a "real-world" 3D implementation, where documents can be freely manipulated across a virtual table.
See also
- Comparison of X Window System desktop environments
- History of the graphical user interfaceHistory of the graphical user interfaceThe graphical user interface, understood as the use of graphic icons and a pointing device to control a computer, has a four decade history of incremental refinements built on some constant core principles...
- Shell (computing)Shell (computing)A shell is a piece of software that provides an interface for users of an operating system which provides access to the services of a kernel. However, the term is also applied very loosely to applications and may include any software that is "built around" a particular component, such as web...
- Window managerWindow managerA window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment...
- Y Window SystemY Window SystemThe Y Window System is a windowing system, consisting of a window server and a client library for writing applications. It was written by Mark Thomas as the subject of his Master's thesis at Imperial College, London. It is intended to be a successor to the X Window System, hence the name...