[vox-tech] Pardon me, but...

[Mark K. Kim]

On Mon, 17 Jun 2002, Richard S. Crawford wrote:

> How does the whole windowing thing work?
>
> On my computer, I've got
>
> 	Linux which runs

In Windows terms, Linux kernel would be equivalent to DOS (but more
poweful).

> 	X which powers

X would be equivalent to Windows that runs on top of DOS, kind of like how
things were back in the Windows 3.x days.  The X Server would be
equivalent to the video driver.

> 	GNOME which integrates with

GNOME would be equivalent to the Taskbar on Win32.  It also handles icons
on Desktop.

> 	Sawfish which has something or other to do with

Sawfish would be equivalent to the GUI part of Windows (the thing the
determines how things look and behave), more or less...

Desktop managers like GNOME and window managers like Sawfish can be
combined to form a single desktop environment.  This is how KDE works.
Conversely, you can choose not to run GNOME altogether and run just the
Window manager, which keeps things lite and neat.  I think of GNOME like
an armor to beef-up the Window manager.  In short, window managers are
required, and desktop managers add functionality, but desktop managers
aren't required.

Sometimes the functionalities of the two systems can clash.  For example,
system sounds.  Gnome can have its sounds and the window manager can have
its own.  That's why you'll see such option in both gnome control panel
and sawfish control panel (I think... I don't use gnome/sawfish but you
get the idea).  At that point, you gotta figure out which option overrides
the other or just set the same option in both.  It's a clunky way to
handle things, I think, and the idea of separate desktop managers should
be banished forever.  (Just kidding :P)

> 	Nautilus

Windows Explorer on adrenaline rush.

> ...or something like that.
>
> How do all these pieces fit together?  I've read through my one or two
> Linux books, but this process still remains a mystery to me.

Hope that helps.  Linux is more compartmentized than Windows so the
separations aren't that clear, but hopefully the above comparisons help.

-Mark

--
Mark K. Kim
http://www.cbreak.org/
PGP key available upon request.