Enlightenment (window manager)
Encyclopedia
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
. Enlightenment is often used as a substitute for a full desktop environment.
) in 1997.
Enlightenment has been under development for over a decade; its latest stable release is version E16 1.0.10.
Version 0.17, also referred to as DR17 or E17, has been in development since December 2000. It is a complete rewrite on DR16 and was designed to be a full-fledged desktop shell, based on the new Enlightenment Foundation Libraries
(EFL).
"...Enlightenment, the original eye-candy window manager...."
One of the aims of the window manager is to be as configurable as possible, and to this end, it includes customization dialogs for focus settings, window movement, resizing, grouping and placement settings, audio, multiple desktop, desktop background, pager, tooltip and autoraise settings. It also includes a special effects dialog, including a desktop 'ripple' effect.
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...
which can be used alone or in conjunction with a desktop environment
Desktop environment
In graphical computing, a desktop environment commonly refers to a style of graphical user interface derived from the desktop metaphor that is seen on most modern personal computers. These GUIs help the user in easily accessing, configuring, and modifying many important and frequently accessed...
such as 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...
or 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...
. Enlightenment is often used as a substitute for a full desktop environment.
History
The first version of Enlightenment was released by Rasterman (Carsten HaitzlerCarsten Haitzler
Carsten Haitzler , known as Raster or Rasterman to the open source community, is an Australian/German software engineer best known for initiating and leading the development of the Enlightenment window manager and its libraries.Carsten Haitzler was born in Nigeria, but soon moved with his family...
) in 1997.
Enlightenment has been under development for over a decade; its latest stable release is version E16 1.0.10.
Version 0.17, also referred to as DR17 or E17, has been in development since December 2000. It is a complete rewrite on DR16 and was designed to be a full-fledged desktop shell, based on the new Enlightenment Foundation Libraries
Enlightenment Foundation Libraries
The Enlightenment Foundation Libraries, or EFL, is a set of open source graphical software libraries that grew out of the Enlightenment window manager project and is developed by Enlightenment.org with some sponsorship from Samsung, Profusion and Free.fr...
(EFL).
"...Enlightenment, the original eye-candy window manager...."
E16
Some of its features include:- Enlightenment allows you to have a grid of workspaces called virtual desktops. Switching between them is achieved by hurling the mouse cursorCursor (computers)In computing, a cursor is an indicator used to show the position on a computer monitor or other display device that will respond to input from a text input or pointing device. The flashing text cursor may be referred to as a caret in some cases...
to the edge of the screen, at which the desktop appears to slide across to reveal the next. The maximum grid size is currently 8 by 8 desktops, and you can have 32 grids (each with a different background), making 2048 total possible desktop spaces. (Users can enable a map of the desktops, in case they get lost, which is called the pager.) - The desktop dragbar allows a desktop to be 'slid back' to reveal the desktop 'underneath'. The E team use the analogy of sheets of paper, stacked on top of each other, where you can slide off a piece partially to reveal what's beneath.
- Window grouping – the ability to put windows into groups so that they can all be moved, resized, closed, etc. together.
- IconificationIcon (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...
– reducing windows to an icon, stored in 'iconboxes' that can be placed about the screen. - Ability to change window borders (or remove borders and title bars completely).
- Users can create keybindings for actions such as maximizing windows, launching programs, moving between desktops and moving the mouse cursorCursor (computers)In computing, a cursor is an indicator used to show the position on a computer monitor or other display device that will respond to input from a text input or pointing device. The flashing text cursor may be referred to as a caret in some cases...
, hence making it possible to use Enlightenment solely with a keyboard. e16keyedit is a graphical program for simplifying keybinding creation. - It contains a command line interface, eesh, which affects the window manager actions, and makes it possible to write powerful shell scripts controlling most features on the desktop - from settings to single window manipulations.
- Newer versions include compositing effects such as fading and transparency.
One of the aims of the window manager is to be as configurable as possible, and to this end, it includes customization dialogs for focus settings, window movement, resizing, grouping and placement settings, audio, multiple desktop, desktop background, pager, tooltip and autoraise settings. It also includes a special effects dialog, including a desktop 'ripple' effect.
E17
DR17 is in active development, but core features are in place:- Fully themeable, with both a menu-based and command-line theme-changing interface
- A built-in file manager
- Icons on the desktop
- Virtual desktop grid feature
- Modular design – can dynamically load external modules. Currently available modules include:
- PagerPager (GUI)A pager is a graphical user interface feature provided by some desktop environments, mostly on the Unix and Linux platforms. It takes the form of an onscreen window or a gadget in the taskbar or panel displaying the user's virtual desktop and providing a way to switch among desktop areas or...
– Switching between different virtual desktops - iBar – Launching applications
- iBox - Holding minimized applications
- Engage (formerly known as iTask NG) – A dockDock (computing)The Dock is a prominent feature of the graphical user interface of the Mac OS X operating system. It is used to launch applications and switch between running applications...
similar to the Mac OS XMac OS XMac 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...
dock - Dropshadow – Provides a drop-shadowDrop shadowIn computer graphics, a drop shadow is a visual effect consisting of drawing that looks like the shadow of an object, giving the impression that the object is raised above the objects behind it. The drop shadow is often used for elements of a graphical user interface such as windows or menus, and...
for every window - Clock – Analog clock
- Battery – Monitoring a laptopLaptopA laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
battery - CPUFreq – Monitoring a laptop CPU
- Temperature – Monitoring laptop temperature
- Illume - Modifies the user interface of enlightenment to work cleanly on a mobile device
- Pager
- One or more shelves to manage the gadget placement and appearance on the screen
- Animated, interactive desktop backgrounds, menu items, iBar items and desktop widgets are all possible
- Window shading, iconification, maximising and sticky settings
- Customizable key bindings
- Support for internationalization
- Standardized – supports all needed standards (NetWM, ICCCM, XDGFreedesktop.orgfreedesktop.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....
and so on)
Principal
- Carsten "Rasterman" HaitzlerCarsten HaitzlerCarsten Haitzler , known as Raster or Rasterman to the open source community, is an Australian/German software engineer best known for initiating and leading the development of the Enlightenment window manager and its libraries.Carsten Haitzler was born in Nigeria, but soon moved with his family...
– lead developer - Kim "kwo" Woelders – E16 maintainer
- Hisham "CodeWarrior" Mardam Bey
- Christopher "devilhorns" Michael
See also
- List of terminal emulators
- Comparison of X window managersComparison of X window managersThis article compares variety of different X window managers. For an introduction to the topic, see X Window System.- See also :* Comparison of X Window System desktop environments* Window manager...
- Enlightenment Foundation LibrariesEnlightenment Foundation LibrariesThe Enlightenment Foundation Libraries, or EFL, is a set of open source graphical software libraries that grew out of the Enlightenment window manager project and is developed by Enlightenment.org with some sponsorship from Samsung, Profusion and Free.fr...
- OpenGEUOpenGEUOpenGEU is a free computer operating system based upon the popular GNU/Linux distribution, Ubuntu, which in turn is based on Debian Linux.OpenGEU's aim is to successfully combine the power and ease of use of GNOME desktop environment with the lightweight, and graphical eye candy features of the...
– Ubuntu-based distribution using Enlightenment (no longer an active project) - EliveEliveElive is a GNU/Linux distribution based on Debian for legacy and commodity hardware with Intel processors. Elive uses the Enlightenment X window manager instead of GNOME or KDE...
– an installable Live CD of DebianDebianDebian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
built to showcase Enlightenment - Unite17 – a UnityUnity LinuxUnity Linux is a rolling release GNU/Linux distribution maintained by a group of volunteers and is meant to be a base on which other distributions can build. Its default desktop environment is Openbox...
based distribution using Enlightenment - Moon OSMoon OSmoonOS is a fully functional Linux distribution, which uses the Gnome window manager.The Enlightenment project is still under active development.. The file system in moonOS is different from other Linux distors. It is easy and clutter-free compared to the usual Linux file system...
– a lightweight distribution based on Ubuntu and uses the Enlightenment window manager - Bodhi LinuxBodhi LinuxBodhi Linux is a small Linux distribution using the Enlightenment window manager and based upon Ubuntu. Its philosophy is to provide a base system with a minimal desktop, file browser, web browser, terminal emulator and leave the exact choice of applications to the user...
- lightweight Ubuntu based distribution using Enlightenment E17