Metacity
Encyclopedia
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
.
Before the introduction of Metacity in GNOME 2.2, GNOME used Enlightenment
and then Sawfish
as its window manager. Although Metacity is part of the GNOME project and designed to integrate into the GNOME desktop, it does not require GNOME to run, and GNOME can be used with different window managers provided that they support the part of the ICCCM specification that GNOME requires.
Metacity uses the GTK+
graphical widget toolkit
to create its user interface components, which makes it themeable and makes it blend in with other GTK+ applications.
; Metacity is like Cheerios
." People in favour of Metacity say that it is aimed at new computer users who do not need the abundant options and functionality of Sawfish
or Enlightenment
. Havoc Pennington wrote an essay explaining why he wrote Metacity and simplified the GNOME desktop. Devil's Pie
and Brightside are among the packages that enable increased control over windows, however these applications cannot override Metacity's key bindings.
, which has been GNOME's default since version 2.12.
was the 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...
used by default in the 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...
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...
until GNOME 3, where it was replaced by Mutter
Mutter (window manager)
Mutter is the window manager for which GNOME Shell is a plugin in GNOME 3, replacing Metacity....
. The development of Metacity was started by Havoc Pennington
Havoc Pennington
Robert Sanford Havoc Pennington is an American computer engineer and entrepreneur.He is known in the free software community due to his work on HAL , GNOME, Metacity, GConf, and D-BUS.- Career :...
and it is released under the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
.
Before the introduction of Metacity in GNOME 2.2, GNOME used 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...
and then Sawfish
Sawfish (window manager)
Sawfish is an extensible window manager for the X Window System. Its aim is simply to manage windows in the most flexible and attractive manner possible. Formerly known as Sawmill, the name was changed because another software program had the same name....
as its window manager. Although Metacity is part of the GNOME project and designed to integrate into the GNOME desktop, it does not require GNOME to run, and GNOME can be used with different window managers provided that they support the part of the ICCCM specification that GNOME requires.
Metacity uses the 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;...
graphical 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...
to create its user interface components, which makes it themeable and makes it blend in with other GTK+ applications.
Aim
Metacity's focus is on simplicity and usability rather than novelties. Its author has characterized it as a "Boring window manager for the adult in you. Many window managers are like Marshmallow Froot LoopsFroot Loops
Froot Loops is a brand of breakfast cereal produced by Kellogg's and sold in Hungary, Mexico, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, South Korea, Philippines, Thailand, Germany, The Middle East, The Caribbean, South Africa, Latin America, Sweden and Finland...
; Metacity is like Cheerios
Cheerios
Cheerios is a brand of breakfast cereal by General Mills introduced on May 1, 1941 as the first oat-based, ready-to-eat cold cereal. Originally named CheeriOats, the name was changed to Cheerios in 1945 because of a trade name dispute with Quaker Oats. The name fit the "O" shape of the cereal pieces...
." People in favour of Metacity say that it is aimed at new computer users who do not need the abundant options and functionality of Sawfish
Sawfish (window manager)
Sawfish is an extensible window manager for the X Window System. Its aim is simply to manage windows in the most flexible and attractive manner possible. Formerly known as Sawmill, the name was changed because another software program had the same name....
or 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...
. Havoc Pennington wrote an essay explaining why he wrote Metacity and simplified the GNOME desktop. Devil's Pie
Devil's Pie (software)
Devil's Pie is a window-matching utility that gives great control over the placement and properties over windows in the X Window System. Although it manages windows, it is not a window manager as it does not have any key bindings. It is usually used along with Metacity, as that window manager lacks...
and Brightside are among the packages that enable increased control over windows, however these applications cannot override Metacity's key bindings.
Themes
Despite the incomplete state of Metacity theme development documentation, many themes have been written for Metacity. A huge number of such themes can be downloaded from GNOME's art site, art.gnome.org. A popular theme engine is ClearlooksClearlooks
Clearlooks is a theme engine for GTK+, the main widget toolkit used by the GNOME desktop environment. It is based on Red Hat's Bluecurve theme. The theme engine draws the actual widgets, and can be configured with 'themes' that invoke the theme engine with different configurations. It is the...
, which has been GNOME's default since version 2.12.