I have recently installed Slackware 14.2 and am trying to get more familiar with bash and generally how the system works. I have realized that the programs I use like dolphin and firefox etc can be started from the command line and I would (for a while) like to use the computer without the desktop as a way of learning more about Linux.

When I turn the computer on I have to log in either as root or a different user and then I type startx which starts KDE. Is there a way of stopping startx from starting KDE or closing KDE down after it has started so that I can control the computer from the command line?

If you're wanting to launch programs from command line, you will have to run X with at least a window manager (wm) as it draw the programs windows for you and allow to be controlled with mouse.
I use both KDE and herbstluftwm, as well as i3 wm in the past. i3 and herbstluftwm helped me greatly become more adept with my command line fu.
Fluxbox, already installed would also be a good option as it doesn't hold your hand for everything

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Try Ctrl-Alt-F2 (or F3, F4, F5...) and this will drop you to console. You can now log in and use command line. If you want to go back to KDE (or any DE you are using), press Alt-F8.

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If you don't want X at all, provided you have enabled the framebuffer mode, there are a certain
number of console-based alternatives to a web browser, a pdf reader, image viewer:
links (installed by default in slackware) for browsing the web
fim for viewing pictures
(I had installed/used it in the past, current url is http://www.nongnu.org/fbi-improved/)
I've also used in the past a couple of pdf readers but I can't recall their names right now
(perhaps fbpdf, green ...)
There are also tools to take screenshots (and save as png): fbshot
You can watch videos with mplayer
You can also listen to audio files
...

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As Livestradamus said, if you want to run graphical applications like Dolphin and Firefox, you will still need to use a window manager. You can't launch them from a console session, because X needs to be running. The window manager's job is what it sounds like -- it displays windows and lets the user interact with them (moving, closing, minimizing, changing focus, etc.). KDE has its own window manager built in, called kwin. Slackware also comes with a number of other window managers that you can use instead of the a full desktop environments KDE and Xfce. To get a list and change which one is used by default, use the xwmconfig command. The most basic one is twm, so you can try that if you really want something barebones. A lot of people like fluxbox, and there are also some other good ones on SBo, like Openbox and awesome (my personal favorite).

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The command line interface and the graphical interface are not mutually exclusive. Of course if you already launched startx, but you don't want to use the X system at all for a while, you can switch from there to a console, as previously suggested. However, please note that before launching startx you are already there, so you could simply avoid launching startx until you actually need the X system.

In order to have the best from both worlds, you can access the command line interface at any time from any window manager / desptop environment, KDE included, by launching a terminal emulator, like xterm, konsole or xfce4-terminal (all included in Slackware). In this way, you can work with the command line while being in a graphical environment. Then you can run any graphical program you need directly from the command line, instead of using graphical launchers. From this point of view, it doesn't matter if you are running KDE or a more lightweight window manager, like Window Maker or Fluxbox.

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If you want to get a feel for X11 at its rawest, put this in your $HOME/.xinitrc file:

You may find that a little too raw though. However, that's what X11 used to be like long before "Desktops" became a thing.

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I just run XFCE (as shipped) and open a terminal (emulator) from within, on occasions i run programs from that terminal so they s\can "spew their guts" to me for troubleshooting.

Lately i don't even bother install KDE (sorry BOB :-J).

Just open KDE's Konsole and shoot away?

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I never got into the whole "desktop" thing, and use fvwm as my window manager, invoking applications from the command line (in xterm or mrxvt) rather than through the GUI.

I've found it handy to keep a sticky terminal window across the bottom few inches of my display, so it's there in every view and I can start applications from it.

Also, instead of startx (which also starts dbus, which I never want) I've been using this script to start X11:

The xv command just sets my background wallpaper (a picture of my cat Azathoth lounging in the garden).

You also might want to set an alias or make a script for starting xterm the way you want it to be. I call mine "xt" for brevity:

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If you open up a terminal prompt and run the command xwmconfig you will be able to change to a lighter graphical interface. I suggest that you try XFCE as it has nice features without as much system overhead.

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Everybody is telling you need a Window Manager to run X applications. Not true. You can run X apps directly on X. You will get full screen of course and no windows. For instance, put exec firefox into your ~/.xinitrc and that's what you get, Firefox running on X, no WM.

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I'm surprised that no has mentioned this, but just don't startx. Use a text browser (Slackware includes links and lynx; I recommend w3m because it allows tabs and can display pictures), a command line email client (Slackware includes Mutt and Pine, and a command line text editor (Slackware includes vim and nano and probably a few others), and a command line file manager (Slackware includes mc). You can run audio and video files using mplayer (also included).

I use Fluxbox for my window manager and recommend that, if you are tired of desktop environments and their bells and whistles, you give it a look.

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I think it's true in the plural.

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You could probably get away with using multiple single window apps concurently such as an xterm and mplayer but as soon as you get a multi-window app things are going to go pear-shaped without a WM (unless that app was written with this in mind and manages its own focus/window layout). You can use an X app without a WM, but it really needs to be written with that possibility in mind, and I suspect most aren't.

Running without an WM is an interesting exercise if you ever teach yourself to code with xlib. But even if you forgo all the window decorations, launchers and other fancy-stuff, you really want a WM that at the least does alt-tabbing and manages focus to be practical.

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Thanks for so many thoughts on this. I have had an interesting time exploring some of the suggestions. I have ended up changing to xfce and resolved to spend a bit more time using the terminal emulator to do mundane tasks so that when I come to do configuration etc. I am not new to both the configuration procedure and the environment I am working in.

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