Friends,

Please, I'd like to know some opinions and arguments from you, experts on Linux.

I see people saying it's not good to use KDE programs on Gnome (and vice-versa), but I also see the opposite, people saying there's no problem at all. So, I want to know your opinions.

I'm using Ubuntu 11.10 and Unity (no graphics acceleration, so I can't use Gnome Shell). Is it recommended to install a KDE program on Gnome or not? And why?

Thank you very much for your attention.

brunces

There is no problem at all with it, except these two:

• You will have to install the other desktop's libraries.
• The applications might look different because they use a different toolkit.

MTK358, that was neat.

Unity 2D eh? Well, if you like it use it, but you dont have to. You can use Xfce/lxde etc, or even gnome 3 in 'fallback' mode.

BTW, unity 2D is written in QT, not GTK, so its probably closer to KDE than to gnome.

Guys, thanks for the answers.

MTK358, don't those libraries you mentioned cause a mess on Gnome? (Sorry, just a newbie thought.)

cascade9, isn't the fallback mode less featured? I've read that the fallback mode is not "complete", so to say. That's why I don't use it. Isn't that true?

Thanks again.

brunces

I have used a lot of KDE programs in Gnome and never been bothered by either of the two issues that I have heard about (I think these are the same issues MTK358 described a little differently):

1) Memory usage. KDE programs use different .so files than Gnome and its programs. When you use KDE programs in Gnome, you end up with both sets of .so files in memory at once. On a small memory system that can have a big impact on performance. I've never tried it on a small memory system.

2) "Theme issues": Consistent look and color scheme etc. Personally I'm so oblivious to this sort of thing I can't competently discuss it. I totally don't care about this issue. I want functionality, not beauty, from all UI's. But some people really care about "theme" issues and if I understand correctly, you can't get everything to look just right when mixing environments.

What's a "mess"? There is no inherent conflict nor interference. The extra .so files just use a little extra ram, so similar user activities need slightly less total ram if all done with the same GUI toolkit than if mixed.

If you don't have hardware accel, you are already using the fallback mode. Is it less featured? Yes, but it's also faster.

This isn't a matter of opinions, it is a matter of technical facts. Gnome and KDE are based on different toolkits (GTK and QT) and they store their settings in different locations and even in different formats. So they don't interfere at all. The only "problem" you will see, as already mentioned, is that they look different.

This is a common misconception from Windows users which went to dll-hell. In Ubuntu it is normally not possible to overwrite system files that are installed by one package with files from other packages, if you use the repositories for installing. You would have to force the package manager (which is of course possible)to do something like that.

Long answer short: Use as many applications from one DE on the other, you will be fine.

I also have used many KDE programs on Gnome (and sometimes Gnome programs on KDE) and some some of each under Fluxbox. I have never had an issue.

Each environment offers some programs that are superior to those offered by the other.

If you are comparing gnome 3 'fallback' to gnome 3 and listen to the gnome devs, or comapring unity 2D to gnome 3 fallback and listen to canonical/ubuntu propaganda, then fallback is not as 'complete' (or however they choose to put it). That is just gnome 'pushing' people to its new interface, same with canonical and unity/unity 2D.

Lots of people who dont like gnome 3/unity/unity 2D have moved desktop enviroment (eg to Lxde, Xfce, etc.) but quite a few have choosen gnome 3 'fallback' mode.....because its closer to the 'classic gnome' (gnome 2.X interface) than gnome 3/unity/unity 2D, and they dont want to move to Lxde/Xfce/etc. (for whatever reason).

Nope, Ubuntu 11.10 doesnt use gnome 3 'fallback' mode in stock form. 11.10 will give you unity 2D instead.