Linux 101 Essentials

[jabr at blu.org (John Abreau)]

On Fri, 30 Jun 2000, Kevin M. Gleason wrote:

> Let me try these definitions on y'all:
> 
> X, X11, X windows establishes a graphical interface between the user and
> Linux. Was written at MIT as part of project Athena. X deals with
> definition of mouse type and screen resolution(s) during setup and
> operation.

First, "X" and "X11" are correct; "X windows" isn't. The proper names are
"X" and "The X Window System". In the MIT documentation, they state 

    It's not "A system called X-Windows";
    it's "A window system called X".

Other than that, your definition is okay.
 
> Gnome, KDE, FailSafe, and AnotherLevel are graphical environments that
> use X to 'draw' their icons on the desktops.

Gnome and KDE are "desktop managers", and are supposed to handle
communications between different X applications, such as drag-and-drop.
This is separate from the functions of a "window manager", which manages
the layout of windows. For example, when you click on netscape's File
menu, that's handled by netscape; but when you click on netscape's title
bar to move the window, or the resize widget to change the size of the
window, that's handled by the window manager.

--
John Abreau / Executive Director, Boston Linux & Unix 
Email: jabr at blu.org / URL: http://www.blu.org
ICQ#28611923 / AIM abreauj
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