The X Windows System: X GUI vs. MS-Windows GUI
-- Dean Parsons
Years ago an OS mainly supported just a text based terminal, there was no real
graphical interface for the user to interact with the system. The extent of a graphical
interface was a text prompt that waited for commands to be thrown at it. Today everyone
uses a GUI (Graphical User Interface) to get their work done. We use a mouse more then
ever now to "point and click" our way around the screen. We execute commands by
altering menus, radio buttons, scroll bars, dropdown combo boxes and clicking intuitive
icons.
Hackers and users both have there own personal preferences, but sometimes hackers want
more from their OS. With X this is possible to every extent under the sun. With MS-Windows
there are some limitations on the GUI compared to that of the world of X Windows. (Bad
GUI, good GUI, sometimes it's just personal preference)
The X Windows System, like most other window based systems, divides the screen into
various parts that control input and output. Each part is called a window. A window can be
used to display graphics, edit documents, receive input data from a mouse, act as a
standard terminal (e.g.: Xterm -- a standard text based terminal emulation window in X
Windows something like the DOS-shell in MS-Windows) etc.
MS - Windows: ( Win95 / Win 98 / NT )
A nice feature of MS-Windows is that all applications have the same "look"
and "feel". In the Microsoft world there is no time spent getting used to the
way an application looks, and virtually no time spent getting used to the way you use the
GUI. The user of a MS-Windows OS always knows where the max/min/iconify buttons are,
always knows that Alt-F4 will close a window and that Alt will activate the menu system of
the current active window. So with each new application that is installed there are no
worries about how to use the basic user interface of that application. Microsoft Windows
GUIs are very easy to use because of it's nice user friendly GUI.
X Windows System
An Intro To X: X by itself is not a GUI, instead it provides an API that can be used to
create a GUI. X provides a set of window widgets ( GUI components ) which is in the form
of Xlib (an X library of C functions) that makes up GUI of the X Windows System. The X
Windows, better known as "X" can be said to be a windowing API for most UNIX
systems which provides a stable environment for running a GUI. The information displayed
in X is bit-mapped which means that every pixel on screen is individually controllable.
Bit-mapped graphics means that high quality monitors is a requirement for X. Nowadays,
most computer systems come equipped with this type of a monitor. Compared to MS-Windows,
the world of X Windows System can change its "look" and "feel" in a
number of different ways. One of the most common ways to change the GUI of X is to use
different window managers.
Window Managers
A window manager (wm) controls GUI aspects such as appearance of windows and
interaction with the user. Window managers are responsible for manipulating windows on the
screen and performing such operations as:
Window position and movement on screen. Window resizing. Iconification of
active/inactive windows (appearances of window minimized). Input / Output to and from
windows. Switching from one window to another.
Various Windows Managers
KDE - - KDE is another window manager for X and Unix workstations. It has a
"Start" button where most of the programs and applications can be executed from
with ease. KDE comes with it's own file manager, a control/configuration panel for
tweaking your desktop environment. KDE is a pretty good wm ( window manager ) but it's a
huge install compared to other window managers overviewed in this article. KDE screen-shot
FVWM-95 - - From earlier versions of FVWM comes FVWM-95. This particular window manager
has a very familiar look and feel to it. FVWM-95 sports the same looking desktop
environment as that of Windows 95, for people who want to run X on a Linux/Unix OS and
have the same Microsoft Windows 95/98/NT GUI - this is for you! FVWM95 screen-shot
Enlightenment ( E ) - - also known as "E" was originally based on FVWM2, but
was completely rewritten and shares no code with any other window manager. "E"
makes heavy use of Shape extension and pixmaps, although due to it's complete rewrite it
is slightly unstable on lower-end systems. "E" versions are currently in a
development release-stage. E screen-shot 1 E screenshot 2
Window Maker - - Window Maker has a dock like AfterStep's Wharf, and
provides drag and drop functions. Window Maker supports pinnable menus, desktop themes,
multiple working screens called workspaces, and more... Window Maker screen-shot
In closing...
Microsoft Windows OS's are very easy to use because of it's nice user friendly GUI. X
in the same respect can be just as easy to use, it only takes a few moments of your time
to get used to a window manager and have that fast flexible GUI that gives you a great
amount of control over your desktop.
(editor's comment: After seeing that "E" screen-shot KDE is flying out
through the window <smile>)
The FVWM95 window manager is very, very similar to that of Win95/98 and NT's GUI, if
you want to run a Linux system and still have memories of MS-Windows FVWM95 is for you.
For other powerful X managers --see links below
Links
Window Managers:
Linux info:
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