Subject: RE: FVWM: kde and gnome compliant?

From: Peter Bismuti <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 16:18:00 -0800

Hi, thanks for the info.  

I have a multi-head system at home, if I'm running FVWM, can I run GNOME or
KDE on top of it?  My understanding is that GNOME and KDE cannot be used
with multiple monitors, can they if FVWM is the underlying window manager?

How does one go about running GNOME and KDE on top of FVWM?  I remember that
in RH there is a file where you place either GNOME, KDE, or AnotherLevel
depending on which you wanted to run.  This seemed to suggest that you had
to run one or the other, this was the source of my confusion 

Thanks again

-----Original Message-----
From: Paul D. Smith
To: Peter Bismuti
Cc: [email-masked]'
Sent: 1/31/01 1:03 PM
Subject: Re: FVWM: kde and gnome compliant?

%% Peter Bismuti <[email-masked]> writes:

  pb> I'm noticing that there are a lot of new clients that
  pb> people are running on KDE and gnome, for example my
  pb> coworkder is using a new mail client that seems to work
  pb> quite nice.  

  pb> Is FVWM KDE and GNOME compliant? Meaning can I run these
  pb> clients under FVWM?  If not, when will they be?  

The 2.3.x betas and forthcoming 2.4.x release of FVWM are GNOME
compliant.

As soon as someone who knows something about KDE implements it or helps
one of us implement it, FVWM will be KDE compliant, too.

Please note that even if the WM is not <desktop>-compliant, you can
still run the applications!

The applications will put up special hints that a compliant WM will use
to allow enhanced behaviors, so they will appear to work better in some
ways (dealing with WM issues like movement, iconification, etc.) with a
compliant WM.  But, they will still fundamentally _work_ with FVWM,
regardless.

  pb> With the big push towards linux (did you read CNN today?,
  pb> IBM has promised 1 billion in developement in the Linux
  pb> environment), it seems that these two WM are getting 
  pb> most of the attention.  Is it possible that there will
  pb> come a day when it is no longer feasible to stay loyal
  pb> to FVWM?  

Please remember that FVWM is a window manager, and KDE and GNOME are
desktop environments.  Not the same thing at all.

Both KDE and GNOME have window managers as components of the complete
desktop.  Both allow you to use a _different_ window manager if you
choose.

So, you can use FVWM with KDE and/or GNOME if you want.  GNOME, in
particular, has a suite of managers that it works with and doesn't seem
to really prefer one over the rest.

Some parts of FVWM overlap with some parts of the desktops; for example,
FVWM has an icon manager/window list module, and KDE/GNOME have their
own.  That's no problem; you pick the one you like and use that, and
don't use the other.

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
 Paul D. Smith <[email-masked]>    HASMAT--HA Software Methods &
Tools
 "Please remain calm...I may be mad, but I am a professional." --Mad
Scientist
------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------
   These are my opinions---Nortel Networks takes no responsibility for
them.
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From: Erik Steffl <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 16:32:18 -0800

note that:

  X server, provides graphics&video services, is the only one that talks
to hw, that's where the support for multiple monitors/video cards is -
it can either provide one screen or few screens (for the physical
'screens')

  window manager: program that connects to X server just like any other
(sort of) X client and offers window management related services - it
provides borders and other window decorations and let's you manipulate
windows, it often provides various desktop level services as well -
menu, launch pad (button panel in fvwm), virtual desktop manger etc...

  kde or gnome: a mess of a desktop related stuff, they offer their own
(or preferred) winddow manager, session manager (replacement for xdm).

  to answer your question - you do not run gnome or kde. you run gnome
or kde preferred window manager if you want and you run various kde or
gnome apps. you can run kde and gnome apps no matter which window
manager you use. there are some hints that gnome apps use (probably kde
apps as well) but in general they are not crucial.

	erik