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{{shortShort description|Wikimedia list articlenone}}
 
{{more footnotes|date=September 2018}}
A [[desktop environment]] is a collection of software designed to give functionality and a certain [[look and feel]] to an [[operating system]].
 
This article applies to [[operating system]]s which are capable of running the [[X Window System]], mostly [[Unix]] and [[Unix-like]] operating systems such as [[Linux]], [[Minix]], [[Illumos|illumos]], [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]], [[IBM AIX|AIX]], [[FreeBSD]] and [[Mac OS X]].<ref>[http://www.xfree86.org/ XFree86 Official Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031020210433/http://xfree86.org/ |date=2003-10-20 }} line 5</ref> [[Microsoft Windows]] is incapable of natively running X applications; however, third-party X servers like [[Cygwin/X]], [[Hummingbird Ltd.|Exceed]], or [[Xming]] are available.<ref>[http://x.cygwin.com/ Cygwin/X website]</ref><ref>[httphttps://sourceforge.net/projects/xming Xming project homepage on SourceForge]</ref>
 
== Technical elements of a desktop environment ==
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There are some exceptions: Window managers like [[Fluxbox]], [[wmii]] and [[Ratpoison]] operate independently of a desktop environment and were written with this objective in mind. Additional hand-picked applications add functionality such as a panel and volume management which gives them some of the qualities of a full DE. This contrasts the behaviour of WMs like [[Metacity]] and [[KWin]] which were not written with the objective of operating independently of a DE.
 
[[KDE Software Compilation]] and [[GNOME]] are written almost completely on special [[software library|software libraries]] [[Qt (toolkit)|Qt]] and [[GTK+]] respectively.<ref>Official websites of [http://www.gnome.org GNOME] and [http://kde.org KDE]</ref> This usually means that virtually every component of the desktop environment including the [[file manager]] explicitly depends on that library for its functioning.
 
[[File:X window system desktop environments timeline.svg|thumb|X Window System desktop environments timeline.]]
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Some of the differences which can influence the choice of desktop environment are:
* [[Look and feel]] of the desktop environment. The user will be more comfortable with a certain look and feel that they may or may not already be familiar with.
* Flexibility and configurability of the desktop environment. A sophisticated user might want a highly configurable desktop environment to make the desktop environment work the way they want. A beginning userbeginner might just want an easy-to-use environment to which they will adjust.
* Personal preferences for choice of software, which has two aspects:
** Each desktop environment comes packaged with various default software and various "ways things are done" under that desktop. A casual user might like a highly integrated graphical interface to change various settings while a more experienced user might prefer to use individual configuration utilities or even [[Command-line interface|CLI]] tools.
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{| class="wikitable sortable"
! rowspan="2" | Name
! rowspan="2" | Initial release
! colspan="2" | Latest release
! rowspan="2" | Programming language
! rowspan="2" | Graphical toolkit
! rowspan="2" | License
! rowspan="2" | Notes
|-
! Version <!-- stable versions -->
! Name !! First release date
! Date <!-- YYYY-MM-DD / ISO 8601 -->
!Latest stable release!! Latest stable release date !! Programming language !! Graphical toolkit !! License !! Notes
|-
| [[Budgie (desktop environment)|Budgie]]
| [[Cinnamon_(software)|Cinnamon]] || 2011
| 2014-02-07
|4.2|| 2019-07-25 || C, JavaScript, Python || GTK+ || GPL || Forked from GNOME 3 with the intent to create a traditional desktop built on modern technologies.
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q27888813|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q27888813|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C, Vala
| GTK
| GPL
| The intention was to use [[GNOME]] components to create a more lightweight and traditional desktop that still had most of the features that GNOME provided at the time.
|-
| [[Cinnamon (software)|Cinnamon]]
| [[Deepin#DDE|Deepin Desktop Environment]] (DDE) || 2015
| 2011-04
| || 2019-07-19 || C++ || Qt || GPL || The desktop environment of Linux deepin.
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q1092551|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q1092551|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C, JavaScript, Python
| GTK
| GPL
| Forked from GNOME 3 with the intent to create a traditional desktop built on modern technologies.
|-
| [[Common Desktop Environment]] (CDE)
| [[Enlightenment (software)|Enlightenment]] (E) || 1997
| 1993-06-30
|0.22.4<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.enlightenment.org/news/e0.22.4_release|title=Enlightenment DR 0.22.4 Release|website=www.enlightenment.org|access-date=2019-08-05}}</ref>|| 2018-08-28<ref name=":0" />|| C || EFL || BSD license || Complete environment including centralized configuration of most settings.
| 2.5.2
| 2023-11-18
| C, C++
| [[Motif (software)|Motif]]
| [[GNU Lesser General Public License|LGPL-2.0-or-later]]
| Part of the [[UNIX 98|UNIX 98 Workstation Product Standard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.opengroup.org/openbrand/testing/prodstds.htm|title=Testing requirements by Product Standard|publisher=The Open Group|date=January 31, 2013|access-date=September 29, 2013}}</ref> Released in 2012 under a [[Free software|free]] license.
|-
| [[EquinoxDeepin#DDE|Deepin Desktop Environment]] (EDEDDE) || 2003-01-06
| 2015
| || 2014-06-21 || C++ || FLTK || GPL, LGPL || Seldom used environment, has seen little activity in recent years.
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q129145|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q129145|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C++
| Qt
| GPL
| The desktop environment of Deepin.
|-
| [[Enlightenment (software)|Enlightenment]] (E)
| [[Étoilé]] || 2006-02-22
| 1997
| || 2012-04-11 || Objective-C || GNUstep || MIT, BSD license || Has seen little activity for several years, the last journal entry having been in 2014.
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q692045|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q692045|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C
| EFL
| BSD license
| Complete environment including centralized configuration of most settings.
|-
| [[Equinox Desktop Environment]] (EDE)
| [[GNOME]] || 1999-03-03
| 2003-01-06
|3.32<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.gnome.org/news/2019/03/gnome-3-32-released/|title=GNOME 3.32 Released – GNOME|language=en|access-date=2019-08-05}}</ref>|| 2019-03-13<ref name=":1" />|| C, C++, Vala, Python, JavaScript || GTK+ || GPL, LGPL || GNOME is one of the most popular environments. Major design changes with the 3.0 release sparked the creation of Cinnamon (a fork of GNOME 3), Unity (an alternative Gnome Desktop Session to GNOME Shell) and MATE (a fork of GNOME 2).
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q1323918|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q1323918|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C++
| FLTK
| GPL, LGPL
| Seldom used environment, has seen little activity in recent years.
|-
| Étoilé
| [[KDE Plasma 5]] (KDE5, KDE Plasma Workspaces, formerly K Desktop Environment or simply KDE) || 1998-07-12
| 2006-02-22
|5.16<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://kde.org/announcements/plasma-5.16.0.php|title=KDE Plasma 5.16: Now Smoother and More Fun|website=KDE.org|language=en|access-date=2019-08-05}}</ref>|| 2019-06-11<ref name=":2" />|| C++, QML || Qt || LGPL || KDE has a strong and enthusiastic following. The project is largely community-centric, and encompass many other applications and frameworks, many built specifically for KDE.
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q290639|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q290639|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| Objective-C
| GNUstep
| MIT, BSD license
| Has seen little activity for several years, the last sign of activity having been in 2014.
|-
| [[GNOME]]
| [[LXDE]] (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment) || 2006
| 1999-03-03
|0.10.0<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://blog.lxde.org/2019/03/23/lxpanel-0-10-0-and-some-others/|title=LXPanel 0.10.0 and some others…|last=LStranger|date=2019-03-23|website=LXDE Blog|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-05}}</ref>|| 2019-03-23<ref name=":3" />|| C || GTK+ || GPL, LGPL || LXDE, with its low resource footprint, is a favorite among developers of lighter-weight Linux distributions. Development has largely moved to LXQt, but it is still maintained.
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q44316|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q44316|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C, C++, Vala, Python, JavaScript
| GTK
| GPL, LGPL
| GNOME is one of the most popular environments. Major design changes with the 3.0 release sparked the creation of Cinnamon (a fork of GNOME 3), Unity (an alternative Gnome Desktop Session to GNOME Shell) and MATE (a fork of GNOME 2).
|-
| [[KDE Plasma 5]] (KDE5, KDE Plasma Workspaces, formerly K Desktop Environment or simply KDE)
| [[LXQt]] || 2014-05-07
| 1998-07-12
|0.14.1<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://lxqt.org/release/2019/02/26/lxqt-0141/|title=Release LXQt 0.14.1 {{!}} LXQt|website=lxqt.org|access-date=2019-08-05}}</ref>|| 2019-02-26<ref name=":4" />|| C, C++ || Qt || GPL, LGPL || Formed by a merger of LXDE-Qt and Razor-qt, this is a lightweight Qt-based desktop environment.
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q17363870|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q17363870|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C++, QML
| Qt
| LGPL
| KDE has a strong and enthusiastic following. The project is largely community-centric, and encompass many other applications and frameworks, many built specifically for KDE.
|-
| [[LXDE]] (Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment)
| [[MATE_(software)|MATE]] || 2011-08-19
| 2006
|1.22<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|url=https://mate-desktop.org/blog/2019-03-18-mate-1-22-released/|title=MATE 1.22 released|last=Kareh|first=Victor|date=2019-03-18|website=MATE|language=en|access-date=2019-08-05}}</ref>|| 2019-03-18<ref name=":5" />|| C, C++, Python || GTK+ || LGPL, GPL || Revival and continuation of GNOME 2 environment after the release of GNOME 3. In recent releases, it has been ported to GTK+ 3, demonstrating the progress of the project.
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q47123|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q47123|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C
| GTK
| GPL, LGPL
| LXDE, with its low resource footprint, is a favorite among developers of lighter-weight Linux distributions. Development has largely moved to LXQt, but it is still maintained and in 2020 ported to GTK3.
|-
| [[LXQt]]
|[[Elementary OS#Pantheon desktop environment|Pantheon]]|| 2011
| 2014-05-07
| || 2018-10-16 || Vala || GTK+ || GPL
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q18341825|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q18341825|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C, C++
| Qt
| GPL, LGPL
| Formed by a merger of LXDE-Qt and Razor-qt, this is a lightweight Qt-based desktop environment.
|-
| [[MATE (software)|MATE]]
| [[Razor-qt]] || 2010
| 2011-08-19
|0.5.2|| 2013-01-12 || C++ || Qt || GPL || merged into LXQt
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q194090|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q194090|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C, C++, Python
| GTK
| LGPL, GPL
| Revival and continuation of GNOME 2 environment after the release of GNOME 3. In recent releases, it has been ported to GTK 3, demonstrating the progress of the project.
|-
| [[Elementary OS#Pantheon desktop environment|Pantheon]]
| [[ROX Desktop]] || 2000 (?)
| 2011
| || 2011-10-09 || C, Python || GTK+ || GPL
| 8.2.4
| 2025-06-30
| Vala
| GTK
| GPL
| The desktop environment of elementary OS.
|-
| [[Razor-qt]]
| [[Trinity Desktop Environment]] (TDE) || 2010-04-29
| 2010-09-05
| || 2018-08-18 || C++ || Qt || GPL (and other) || forked from KDE 3.x
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q2420670|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q2420670|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C++
| Qt
| GPL
| Merged into LXQt
|-
| [[ROX Desktop]]
| [[Unity_(user_interface)|Unity]] || 2010-06-09
| 2000 (?)
|7.5|| 2016-05-25 || C, C++, Python, Vala, QML || GTK+ || GPL, LGPL || Developed by Canonical for Ubuntu as an alternative graphical shell to GNOME Shell. Designed with "convergence" in mind, it was discontinued by Canonical in early 2017.
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q1417071|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q1417071|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C, Python
| GTK
| GPL
| {{dash}}
|-
| [[Trinity Desktop Environment]] (TDE)
| [[Xfce]] || 1996
| 2010-04-29
|4.14<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|url=https://xfce.org/about/news/?post=1425081600|title=News – Xfce 4.12 released – Xfce 4.10 released – Xfce 4.10pre2 released – Xfce 4.10pre1 released – Xfce 4.8 released – Xfce 4.8pre3 released – Xfce 4.8pre2 released – Xfce 4.8pre1 released – Xfce 4.6.2 released – Xfce 4.6.1 released – Xfce 4.6.0 released – Xfce|website=xfce.org|access-date=2019-08-05}}</ref>|| 2019-08-12<ref name=":6" />|| C || GTK+ || GPL, LGPL, BSD license || XFCE is often used in lightweight distributions targeting lower-end hardware.
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q14301825|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q14301825|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C++
| Qt
| GPL (and other)
| Forked from KDE 3.x
|-
| [[Unity (user interface)|Unity]]
| 2010-06-09
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q381140|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q381140|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C, C++, Python, Vala, QML
| GTK
| GPL, LGPL
| Developed by Canonical for Ubuntu as an alternative graphical shell to GNOME Shell. Designed with "convergence" in mind, it was discontinued by Canonical in early 2017 because Unity 8 had some problems, including Mir and X app support. Was picked up by UBPorts and renamed "[[Lomiri]]."
|-
| [[Xfce]]
| 1997-early
| {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q170821|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| {{wikidata|qualifier|raw|preferred|single|Q170821|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| C
| GTK
| GPL, LGPL, BSD license
| Xfce is often used in lightweight distributions targeting lower-end hardware.
|}
 
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{| class="wikitable"
!
! !! [[KDE Software Compilation]] !! [[GNOME]] !! [[MATE (software)|Mate]] !! [[Xfce]] !! [[LXDE]] !! [[ROX Desktop]] !! [[Étoilé]] !! [[Equinox Desktop Environment|EDE]] !! [[Enlightenment (software)|Enlightenment]]
! [[KDE]]
! [[GNOME]]
! [[MATE (software)|MATE]]
! [[Cinnamon (desktop environment)|Cinnamon]]
! [[Xfce]]
! [[LXDE]]
! [[ROX Desktop]]
! Étoilé
! [[Equinox Desktop Environment|EDE]]
! [[Enlightenment (software)|Enlightenment]]
![[LXQt]]
|-
! [[X window manager]]
| [[KWin]]
| [[Mutter (window manager)|Mutter]]
| [[MATE (software)#Software componentsComponents|Marco]]
| [[Muffin (software)|Muffin]]
| [[Xfce#Xfwm|Xfwm4]]
| [[Openbox]]
Line 98 ⟶ 231:
| edewm
| Enlightenment
| [[KWin]]
|-
! [[X display manager (program type)|X display manager]]
| [[KDE Display Manager|KDM]], [[Simple Desktop Display Manager|SDDM]]
| [[GNOME Display Manager|GDM]]
|
| [[LightDM]]
|
| LXDM
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| elma
| [[Entrance (display manager)|Entrance]]
|[[SDDM]]
|-
! [[File manager]]
| [[Dolphin (softwarefile manager)|Dolphin]] ([[Konqueror]] before [[KDE Software Compilation 4|SC 4]])
| [[GNOME Files|Files]]
| [[MATE (software)#Software componentsComponents|Caja]]
| [[Nemo (file manager)|Nemo]]
| [[Thunar]]
| [[PCMan File Manager|PCManFM]]
Line 120 ⟶ 257:
| Efiler
| EFM, Entropy
|[[PCMan File Manager|PCManFM-Qt]]
|-
! [[Widget toolkit]]
| [[Qt (framework)|Qt]]
| colspan=3|4 <style="text-align:center>;" | [[GTK+]]</center>
| [[GTK+]](legacy) / [[Qt (framework)|Qt]]
| [[GTK+]]
| [[GNUstep]]
| [[FLTK]] (previously eFLTK)
| Elementary
|[[Qt (framework)|Qt]]
|-
! [[Terminal emulator]]
| [[Konsole]]
| [[GNOME Terminal]]
| [[MATE (software)#Software componentsComponents|MATE Terminal]]
| [[GNOME Terminal]]
| [[Terminal (Xfce)|Terminal]]
| LXTerminal
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|
| Terminology
| Qterminal
|-
! [[Text editor]]
| [[KWrite]] ([[Kate (text editor)|Kate]] before SC 4)
| [[gedit]]
| [[Pluma (text editor)|Pluma]]
| Xed
| [[Xfce#Mousepad|Mousepad]], [[Leafpad]]
| [[Leafpad]]
Line 151 ⟶ 293:
|
| Eyesight, Ecrire
|Mousepad
|-
! [[Video player (software)|Video player]]
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| [[GNOME Videos|Videos]]
|
| Celluloid
| rowspan="2"| Parole
| lxine
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|
| Enna (media center), Eclair
|
|-
! [[Audio player (software)|Audio player]]
| [[JuK]], [[Amarok (software)|Amarok]]
| [[Banshee (media player)|Banshee]], [[Rhythmbox]]
|
|
| LXMusic
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|
| Enjoy
|
|-
! [[Optical disc authoring software|CD burners]]
| [[K3b]]
| [[Brasero (software)|Brasero]]
|
|
| Xfburn
Line 183 ⟶ 331:
|
|
|Xfburn
|-
! [[CD ripper]]
| [[K3b]], KAudioCreator
| [[Sound Juicer]]
|
|
|
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|
| Extrackt
|
|-
! [[Image viewer]]
| [[Gwenview]]
| [[EyeLoupe of(software)|Loupe (GNOME Image Viewer)]]
| [[MATE (software)#Software componentsComponents|Eye of MATE]]
|Xviewer
| Ristretto
| GPicView
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| Eimage
| Ephoto
|
|-
! [[Office suite]]
| [[Calligra Suite]] ([[KOffice]] until 2011)<ref>{{Cite web |last=creator) |first=Aracele Torres, Camila Ayres, Molly White (original wikimedia-timeline |last2=names |first2=Translated by Your |title=A 27 year timeline of KDE events |url=https://kde.org/ |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=kde.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Unmaintained / KOffice · GitLab |url=https://invent.kde.org/unmaintained/koffice |access-date=2023-10-25 |website=GitLab |language=en}}</ref>
| [[Calligra Suite]], [[KOffice]]
| GnomeOffice
|
|
|
|
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| [[Web (web browser)|Web]]
|
|
| [[Midori (web browser)|Midori]]
|
Line 227 ⟶ 383:
|
| Eve
|
|-
! [[E-mail client]]
| [[Kontact#E-Mail|Kmail]]
| rowspan="2"| [[Evolution (software)|Evolution]]
|
|
|
|
| [[GNUMail]]
|
|
|
Line 241 ⟶ 400:
! [[Personal information management#Personal information manager|Personal information manager]]
| [[Kontact]]
|
|
|
|
| Contacts
|
|
|
Line 252 ⟶ 413:
| [[Kopete]], [[KDE Telepathy]]
| [[Empathy (software)|Empathy]]
|
|
|
Line 259 ⟶ 421:
|
| Shotgun
|
|-
! [[File archiver|Archive manager]]
| [[Ark (software)|Ark]]
| [[Archive Manager]]
| [[MATE (software)#Software componentsComponents|Engrampa]]
|[[Archive Manager]]
| [[Xarchiver]], Squeeze
| [[Xarchiver]]
Line 270 ⟶ 434:
|
|
| LXQt-manager
|-
! [[PDF]] viewer
| [[Okular]] ([[KPDF]] before [[KDE Software Compilation 4|SC 4]])
| [[Evince]]
| [[MATE (software)#Software componentsComponents|Atril]]
|Xreader
|
|
Line 281 ⟶ 447:
|
| Epdf
|
|-
! [[Integrated development environment|IDE]]
| [[KDevelop]]
| [[Anjuta]], [[GNOME Builder]]
|
|
|
Line 292 ⟶ 460:
|
| EDI
|
|-
! [[X session manager]]
Line 297 ⟶ 466:
| [[gnome-session]]
| [[mate-session]]
| [[cinnamon-session]]
| [[Xfce4-session]]
| [[LXSession]]
Line 303 ⟶ 473:
|
|
|
|-
! [[Widget engine]]
| built-in – [[KDE Plasma Workspaces|Plasma]] ([[SuperKaramba]] before [[KDE Software Compilation 4|SC 4]])
| [[gDesklets]]
|
|
|
Line 314 ⟶ 486:
|
| Elementary
|
|-
! [[Software license|Licenses]] used
Line 319 ⟶ 492:
| [[GPL]], [[LGPL]]
| [[GPL]], [[LGPL]]
| [[GNU General Public License#Version 2|GPLv2 (or later)]]
| [[GPL]], [[LGPL]], [[BSD licenses|BSD]]
| [[GPL]], [[LGPL]]
Line 325 ⟶ 499:
| [[GPL]], [[LGPL]]
| [[BSD licenses|BSD]], [[LGPL]]
|[[GPL]], [[LGPL]]
|-
! !! KDE Software Compilation !! GNOME !! MATE !! Xfce !! LXDE !! ROX Desktop !! Étoilé !! EDE !! Enlightenment
|}
 
Line 332 ⟶ 505:
 
=== Comparison of ease of use and stability ===
GNOME's graphical file manager Files (Nautilus) is intended to be very easy to use and has many features.<ref>[http://www.gnome.org/projects/nautilus/screenshots.html Official Nautilus screenshots page]</ref> KDE's file manager Dolphin is described as focused on usability.<ref>[{{Cite web |url=http://dolphin.kde.org/ |title=Official Dolphin file manager page on KDE project site] |access-date=2020-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110324033008/http://dolphin.kde.org/ |archive-date=2011-03-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Prior to KDE version 4, the KDE project's standard file manager was Konqueror, which was also designed for ease of use.
 
Both GNOME and KDE come with many graphical configuration tools, reducing the need to manually edit configuration files for new users. They have extensive bundled software such as graphical menu editors, text editors, audio players, and software for doing administrative work. All applications installed in most distributions are automatically added to the GNOME and KDE menus. No major configuration changes are necessary to begin working. However, by using graphical tools, the extent to which the desktops can be configured is determined by the power provided by those tools.
Line 340 ⟶ 513:
 
== Compatibility and interoperability issues ==
Some desktop environments and window managers claim that they support applications made for other desktop environments explicitly. For example, Fluxbox states KDE support in its feature list.<ref>[http://fluxbox.org/ Fluxbox official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514023032/http://fluxbox.org/ |date=2008-05-14 }} line 15</ref> Using software made specifically for the desktop environment in use or window manager agnostic software is a way to avoid issues. For software developers, the [[Portland Project]] has released a set of common interfaces that allows applications to integrate across many desktop environments.<ref>[http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7768863113.html Linux leaps toward KDE/GNOME compatibility] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226050357/http://www.desktoplinux.com/news/NS7768863113.html |date=2008-02-26 }}</ref>
 
==System resources utilization==
{{update|date=June 2016}}
A 2011 test by [[Phoronix]] with the default installation of [[Ubuntu Linux|Ubuntu]] 10.04 showed that [[LXDE]] 0.5's memory utilization was lower than that of [[Xfce]] 4.6, which in turn was lower than that of [[GNOME]] 2.29, with [[KDE Software Compilation|KDE]] 4.4 using the most RAM compared to the aforementioned desktops.<ref>{{cite web|last=Larabel|first=Michael|title=Phoronix: Power & Memory Usage Of GNOME, KDE, LXDE & Xfce|url=https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=linux_desktop_vitals&num=1|publisher=Phoronix|accessdateaccess-date=30 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903042338/https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=linux_desktop_vitals&num=1|archive-date=3 September 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://www.porteus.org/info/features.html RAM use of LXDE vs Xfce in Porteus again confirms that LXDE is about 1/2 of that of Xfce]</ref>
 
In 20162015, it was demonstrated in benchmarks that LXDE performed slightly faster than Xfce overall (in the average of all tests), using the Fedora Linux operating system.<ref>[https://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=article&item=fedora-23-desktops&num=2 Phoronix]</ref>
 
== See also ==
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* [https://www.linux.com/news/best-linux-desktop-environments-2016 Best Linux Desktop Environments for 2016] [[linux.com]]
* [https://lifehacker.com/5762081/wtf-desktop-environments-gnome-kde-and-more-explained WTF Desktop Environments: GNOME, KDE, and More Explained] ''[[Lifehacker]]''
* [https://www.networkworld.com/article/2359355/software/156246-A-visual-history-of-OS-desktop-environments.html A visual history of OS desktop environments] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180203181034/https://www.networkworld.com/article/2359355/software/156246-A-visual-history-of-OS-desktop-environments.html |date=2018-02-03 }} [[NetworkWorld]]
 
{{X desktop environments and window managers}}
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