Skip to main content

Desktop Environments

In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphical shell. 

A desktop environment bundles together a variety of components to provide common graphical user interface elements such as icons, toolbars, wallpapers, and desktop widgets. Additionally, most desktop environments include a set of integrated applications and utilities. Most importantly, desktop environments provide their own window manager, which can however usually be replaced with another compatible one.

The user is free to configure their GUI environment in any number of ways. Desktop environments simply provide a complete and convenient means of accomplishing this task. Note that users are free to mix-and-match applications from multiple desktop environments. For example, a KDE user may install and run GNOME applications such as the Epiphany web browser, should he/she prefer it over KDE's Konqueror web browser. One drawback of this approach is that many applications provided by desktop environment projects rely heavily upon their DE's respective underlying libraries. As a result, installing applications from a range of desktop environments will require installation of a larger number of dependencies. Users seeking to conserve disk space often avoid such mixed environments, or chose alternatives which do depend on only few external libraries.

Furthermore, DE-provided applications tend to integrate better with their native environments. Superficially, mixing environments with different widget toolkits will result in visual discrepancies (that is, interfaces will use different icons and widget styles). In terms of usability, mixed environments may not behave similarly (e.g. single-clicking versus double-clicking icons; drag-and-drop functionality) potentially causing confusion or unexpected behavior.

Prior to installing a desktop environment, a functional X server installation is required. See Xorg for detailed information. Some desktop environments may also support Wayland as an alternative to X, but most of these are still experimental.

 

What is GNOME

GNOME is a free and open source software that runs on Linux and most BSD derivatives. It is the default desktop environments on many Linux distributions such as Fedora, Debian, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, Oracle Linux, Solaris and Kali Linux. It was developed as part of the GNU Project by The GNOME Project. This project has a large number of contributors. The main contributor among them is Red Hat.

 

What is KDE

KDE is a desktop environment that allows carrying out daily tasks without relying on the Command Line Interface. Two common products of KDE are Plasma Desktop and KDE frameworks. They are designed to run on Microsoft Windows, Android, Unix Desktops, etc. It provides tools and documents for the developers to write applications.

 


What is MATE

GNOME became obsolete with GNOME 3 update. So, on April 16,2012 MATE was released. MATE Desktop Environment is based on GNOME 2. MATE was initially developed for the users who were disappointed with the latest iteration of GNOME shell — GNOME 3.

 

 

Difference Between GNOME, MATE and KDE

Definition

GNOME is a desktop environment composed of free and open source software that runs on Linux and most BDC derivatives. KDE is a desktop working platform with a GUI released in the form of an open source package.

Founders

Migual De Icaza and Federico Mena are the founders of GNOME while Matthias Ettrich is the founder of KDE.

Development

The GNOME project developed GNOME while KDE community developed KDE

Initial Release

GNOME was released on 1999 while KDE was initially released on 1996.

Minimum System Requirements

Furthermore, the GNOME requires 700 MHz CPU and 768 MB RAM. KDE requires 1GHz CPU and 615MB RAM.

Written Programming Languages

While GNOME is written in C, C++, Python, and JavaScript, KDE is mainly written in C++.

Usage

Although the GNOME provides simplicity, accessibility, and ease of internationalization and localization, KDE provides basic desktop functions and its applications to perform daily tasks. It also provides tools and documents for the programmers to stand along applications.

Tool Kit

Tool kit GTK+ is used by GNOME while tool kit Qt is used by KDE

Complexity

GNOME is simpler than KDE.

User-friendliness

KDE is not very user-friendly as compared to GNOME.


 

Conclusion

Both GNOME and KDE are desktop environments. The difference between GNOME and KDE is that the GNOME is a desktop environment that provides simplicity, accessibility, and ease of internationalization and localization while KDE is a desktop environment that provides basic functions and applications to perform daily tasks.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Complete Guide for changing name in Republic of India

Recently completed the Gender Change Therapy or you're simply not loving your name, then probably a name change is what you seeking for. It's always better to seek advice from someone experienced rather than anyone who have just knowledge of it.  So, here is mine, how i got it done all myself with a little help. Let me navigate you through a quick demonstrations on how to get it done in the quickest & precise way. Broadly classified, the procedure for name change involves only three steps: Make an affidavit for change of name Newspaper Advertisement Gazette Notification Note : To change name by oneself, the first and foremost criteria to be met by a name change applicant is that he/she should be over 18 years age. The procedure is different for the name change of a minor. Here goes the detailed information about what one needs to do in order to change name. Create An Affidavit For Change Of Name An affidavit is required explaining why the nam...
Post a Comment
Read more

Intel CPUs Explained: What Are E-Cores and P-Cores?

  Intel's new Alder Lake chips come with two sets of CPU cores: E-Cores and P-Cores. But why have two types of core in a single CPU? Readers like you help support MUO. When you make a purchase using links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Read More. The cores in your computer's CPU have evolved at a steady rate over the years. We first had single-core CPUs, but that quickly evolved to multithreading, and from there, multi-core setups, starting with dual-core designs before launching into quad-core, octa-core, and further. Intel's 12th Gen CPUs treated us to an unexpected yet pleasing twist: two different kinds of cores in one CPU package: E-Cores and P-Cores. But what's an Intel E-Core and a P-Core anyway? And more importantly, why should you care? Why Do Intel CPUs Come With Different Cores Now? Up until this point, x86 computers have used core layouts comprised of cores that are, for ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Best Regards vs. Kind Regards: How to Use Them Each in an Email

You write a masterful email. The subject line is uber-clickable. Your greeting is friendly without being overly familiar. And then you get to your sign-off. " Thanks"  is too generic, " Sincerely"  is too formal, and " Cheers"  seems tired. " Best regards"  and " kind regards"  are two of your best options for business email signatures, but it can be difficult to know how to use each correctly. Create a new, on-brand email signature in just a few clicks. Get started here. (It's free.) To avoid bad first impressions or email faux pas, I've created a quick-and-easy guide for when and how to use each one, so your emails are always appropriate and grammatically correct. When to Use "Best Regards" "Best regards"  is the less formal version of the two. It's a safe, friendly, and respectful sign-off to clients you're familiar with but not yet well-acquainted. It's a neutral se...
Post a Comment
Read more