Slackware Linux Essentials
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6.4 -`xwmconfig`

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For years, Unix was used almost exclusively as the operating system for servers, with -the exception of high-powered professional workstations. Only the technically inclined -were likely to use a Unix-like operating system, and the user interface reflected this -fact. GUIs tended to be fairly bare-bones, designed to run a few necessarily graphical -applications like CAD programs and image renderers. Most file and system management was -conducted at the command line. Various vendors (Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, etc) -were selling workstations with an attempt to provide a cohesive “look and -feel”, but the wide variety of GUI toolkits in use by developers led inevitably to -the dissolution of the desktop's uniformity. A scrollbar might not look the same in two -different applications. Menus might appear in different places. Programs would have -different buttons and checkboxes. Colors ranged widely, and were generally hard-coded in -each toolkit. As long as the users were primarily technical professionals, none of this -mattered much.

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With the advent of free Unix-like operating systems and the growing number and variety -of graphical applications, X has recently gained a wide desktop user base. Most users, of -course, are accustomed to the consistent look and feel provided by Microsoft's Windows or -Apple's MacOS; the lack of such consistency in X-based applications became a barrier to -its wider acceptance. In response, two open source projects have been undertaken: The K -Desktop Environment, or KDE, and the GNU Network Object Model Environment, known as -GNOME. Each has a wide variety of applications, from taskbars and file managers to games -and office suites, written with the same GUI toolkit and tightly integrated to provide a -uniform, consistent desktop.

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The differences in KDE and GNOME are generally fairly subtle. They each look different -from the other, because each uses a different GUI toolkit. KDE is based on the Qt library -from Troll Tech AS, while GNOME uses GTK, a toolkit originally developed for The GNU -Image Manipulation Program (or The GIMP, for short). As separate projects, KDE and GNOME -each have their own designers and programmers, with different development styles and -philosophies. The result in each case, however, has been fundamentally the same: a -consistent, tightly integrated desktop environment and application collection. The -functionality, usability, and sheer prettiness of both KDE and GNOME rival anything -available on other operating systems.

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The best part, though, is that these advanced desktops are free. This means you can -have either or both (yes, at the same time). The choice is yours.

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In addition to the GNOME and KDE desktops, Slackware includes a large collection of -window managers. Some are designed to emulate other operating systems, some for -customization, others for speed. There's quite a variety. Of course you can install as -many as you want, play with them all, and decide which you like the most.

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To make desktop selection easy, Slackware also includes a program called xwmconfig that can be used to select a desktop or window manager. It -is run like so:

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-% xwmconfig
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Figure 6-5. Desktop Configuration with xorgconfig

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You'll be given a list of all the desktops and window managers installed. Just select -the one you want from the list. Each user on your system will need to run this program, -since different users can use different desktops, and not everyone will want the default -one you selected at installation.

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Then just start up X, and you're good to go.

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6.4 -xwmconfig

6.4 -`xwmconfig`