Linux Window Manager Vs Desktop Environment

When using Windows, your desktop is just that: your desktop. Information technology'due south the virtual surface you apply to interact with your computer. When moving to Linux, though, you run across two terms that ascertain the desktop feel. At that place are Window Managers and Desktop Environments. While they are functionally similar, they are non the same. Learn the differences betwixt window managers and desktop environments.

What Is a Window Manager?

The window manager is responsible for the placement of the windows, how they are arranged on the screen, how they interact with each other, and, upwardly to a point, their appearance.

It'southward easier to understand what window managers are if you look at their two different subcategories: stacking and tiling.

Tiling window managers display the full contents of all active windows next to each other. They split the screen into many smaller parts and place each awarding in them. Some popular tiling window managers are i3, crawly, bspwm, and Ratpoison.

Stacking window managers are the prototype most people are familiar with and permit windows to float and comprehend each other. They let yous to move a window around the screen freely, change its size, identify two of them next to or over each other, etc.

However, the distinction between them isn't ever straightforward. Some tiling window managers may as well allow some windows to float freely, move effectually, and resize. Similarly, mod stacking window managers may also offer functions that help tile windows side by side to each other.

What Is a Desktop Environment?

Building on the window director, the desktop environs adds the final graphic touches to the visual desktop experience.

At its base, the desktop environment is responsible for the toolbars, panels, and all the piddling tools we accept for granted when using our desktop. Among them is the clipboard manager, the applets that allow u.s. to control our network connections or movement between virtual desktops, etc.

Some of the nigh popular full-blown desktop environments in Linux are Gnome, KDE, and XFCE.

A desktop surroundings also (usually) comes with a suite of apps. A text editor, calendars, procedure viewers, and, of course, a file manager are amongst the essential tools that come with most desktop environments.

When you lot realize that a window managing director doesn't come with all of this, the distinction between them and a desktop environment becomes more apparent.

Which Should Yous Choose?

Equally you have learned, desktop environments aren't an alternative to window managers and vice versa. However, since you can use Linux even from a terminal, you can actually choose to use either a window manager or a desktop environs. Information technology'due south all a matter of personal preference, and your choice will depend on what you consider too little or also much.

Window Managers

If yous don't intendance nearly everything a desktop environment brings to the table and are willing to put in the work to acquire how to use them, their quirks, and customize them to your liking, you lot may notice yous don't need anything else to use your estimator.

Pros

• Less retentivity/CPU usage than most desktop environments
• Highly configurable

Cons

• Not as convenient every bit a full-blown desktop surround
• Spartan looks, not visually appealing
• No arranged programs, nor useful tools
• Heavy learning curve

Desktop Environments

If you are looking for something that simply works, yous should choose a desktop environment. It volition come with everything preconfigured, and y'all also won't accept to hunt down individual applications for actions such every bit taking a screenshot.

Pros

• More than eye candy than window managers
• Arranged tools and applications
• More user-friendly
• Easier to customize to your liking

Cons

• Requires more resources
• Certain desktop environments can feel irksome and bloated – peculiarly on underpowered and older hardware

Do yous prefer to invest the time and energy to customize a window manager, salvage resource, and have the quickest and "purest" user experience? Or is that too limiting or too enervating and time-consuming, and you prefer the ready-to-go experience a desktop surroundings offers? If you prefer the latter, don't forget to check out our desktop environment reviews to see which one is suitable for you.

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