hi guys,

can anyone describe me the difference between a window manager and a desktop environment pls?

isn't that the same thing?

thx

A window manager is a toolkit that software can use to draw a graphical user interface, such as fluxbox, swordfish, ROX, tk, openstep, etc.

A desktop enviroment comes with many more applications and utilities, such a KOffice, the Gimp, media players, games, and administration tools. The only desktop enviroments I know of are KDE and Gnome.

Desktop enviroments are larger and take up more resources, but also have more abilities out of the box. Most native linux software uses either gtk or qt/kde, so unless your machine is too slow to handle the (arguably) bloadted state of KDE and Gnome, it is sensible to have the libraries core installed, even if you are a minimalist and don't want all of their features in your day-to-day computer use.

as i am the noob in da block

could you spead the word about "core libraries"?

how to do it and where to get started


thx

See the Minimal install HOWTO's at www.amigolinux.org

>>sensible to have the libraries core installed

Gah, I hate being dyslexic! What I meant was core libraries, which just means very the minimum amount of stuff you need to get an application running. For example, if I want to run a KDE app, but don't want to install all of KDE (eg, if my machine were too slow or my hard disc too small) the only of RPMs I would need to install would be qt3, kdebase*, kde-libs, and a few others.

If your machine is relatively recent, and partiularly if you are new to linux, then I'd recommend installing your distribution's versions of both KDE and Gnome, and seeing which you prefer. KDE tries to copy the look and feel of Windows, and has the most apps, but Gnome focuses on ease of use, and many people prefer it.

I personally use KDE, but since I still want to use Gnome apps like the Gimp I've also installed everything needed to compile and run Gnome apps, dispite never actually logging into gnome.

marlor: You can go to the package broswer and install any packages that you need. There is probably an easier way than doing it by hand, but I'm a bit out of my depth having never used Slackware. I should check what forum I'm in before replying to posts. Sorry.