Linux: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 09:27, 8 November 2009

Revision as of 21:48, 8 November 2009

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Users can control a Linux-based system through a [[command line interface]] (or CLI), a [[graphical user interface]] (or GUI), or through controls attached to the associated hardware (this is common for embedded systems). For desktop systems, the default mode is usually graphical user interface, where the CLI is available through [[terminal emulator]] windows or on a separate [[virtual console (PC)|virtual console]].

On desktop machines, [[KDE]], [[GNOMEgnome]] and [[Xfce]] are the most popular user interfaces,<ref>{{cite web | title = Debian popularity-contest program information | url = http://times.debian.net/1092-30000-popcon-submissions }}</ref> though a variety of additional user interfaces exist. Most popular user interfaces run on top of the [[X Window System]] (often simply called "X"), which provides [[network transparency]], enabling a graphical application running on one machine to be displayed and controlled from another.

Other GUIs include [[X window manager]]s such as [[FVWM]], [[Enlightenment (window manager)|Enlightenment]] and [[Window Maker]]. The window manager provides a means to control the placement and appearance of individual application windows, and interacts with the X Window System. This is a more [[minimalism (computing)|minimalist]] goal than KDE, GNOME et al., which are termed [[desktop environment]]s.