User Interfaces

One can choose amongst many user-interfaces on Linux. One can simply choose a window manager, or choose a whole "environment" including window manager, supporting applets, and even office suites. The two leading contenders in the latter category are KDE and GNOME...

Alternatively one can use less resource-hungry or simpler alternatives, such as FVWM or TWM (the former a flexible, very configurable, multiple virtual desktop window manager for the X Window system; the latter a minimalist window manager).

X Windows

X Windows was developed at MIT in 1984; it provides a graphical-windowing environment for computer networks. Each window represents an application, for example an editor or a web-browser. Applications may be running on a user's workstation or remote computers: all are viewed in windows on the user's workstation as if they are running locally.

Most (all?) current windowing environments which are used with Linux are built in the X Window system

For more see:

• The chapter the X Window System in the Rute User's Tutorial and Exposition
• The chapter on The X Window System in the Linux Installation and Getting Started Guide (or MCC mirror).

XFree (86)

All the popular Linux distributions come with XFree86, a free, open-source version of X.

Window Managers

There are many window-managers available for X Windows. The most popular are (probably): AfterStep; Enlightenment; FVWM; IceWM; Sawfish; TWM; WindowMaker... They are all very different; some work with GNOME, some don't; some are lightweight, others not.

Environments

The most commonly used user-interfaces/environments on Linux platforms are KDE and GNOME.

KDE

From the web site: KDE is a powerful Open Source graphical desktop environment for Unix workstations. It combines ease of use, contemporary functionality, and outstanding graphical design... KDE is an Internet project that is truly open in every sense... KDE is a mature desktop suite providing a solid basis to an ever growing number of applications for Unix workstations. KDE has developed a high quality development framework for Unix, which allows for the rapid and efficient creation of applications.

KDE is based on the Qt widget set.

KDE includes the KOffice suite.

GNOME

From the web site: The GNOME project has built a complete free and easy-to-use desktop environment for the user, as well as a powerful application framework for the software developer. GNOME is part of the GNU project, and is free software (some times referred to as open source software.) GNOME is included in pretty much every BSD and GNU/Linux distribution and works on many other Unix systems.

GNOME is based on the GTK+ widget set.

GnuStep

From the web site: GNUstep provides an Object-Oriented application development framework and tool set for use on a wide variety of computer platforms. GNUstep is based on the original OpenStep specification provided by NeXT, Inc. (now Apple).

• GNUstep is significantly less resource-hungry than some environments, KDE in particular --- it happily runs on a 120 MHz Pentium 1 I own, whereas KDE 2 is unusably slow on that machine.
  
  
• The window-managers AfterStep and WindowMaker (see links above) are both designed to work with GNUstep.

XFce

From the web site: XFce is a lightweight desktop environment for various UNIX systems. The XFce project was first started because I needed a simple, light and efficient environment for my Linux System. There are now a lot of good environments and interfaces for UNIX based systems, but most are too heavy, or too expensive, or even both ! I wanted something easy to use and configure, stable, fast, and, at last but not least, visually appealing...