Window Management

From Sfvlug

Revision as of 16:14, 14 September 2010

SFVLUG Window Management Project

This project is still at a very early stage so nothing is yet written in stone and your input is welcome no matter what your experience level.

Q: Why a project on window managers, aren't there already a whole lot of window managers already available?

A: While there are already many window managers already available we have found all of them lacking in one way or another. Finding the right window manager for your needs is a little like the story, Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Some are too big and some are too small. This project is an attempt to find the right balance between the two. The opening between the two extremes provides an opportunity for exploration in an interesting area where the ways that people do things meets the capabilities and limitations of the machine.

Here are some initial guidelines currently under consideration:

The project is to be primarily written in Python 2.x but with future use of Python 3.x to be used in the future.

It is currently proposed to be based initially on the PyWM window manager.

It is to be positioned somewhere between the huge KDE and Gnome desktop environments and the extremely light weight window managers like wm2 or ratpoison.

It should be easy to use with input from both a keyboard and/or a mouse.

It should have easy and intuitive defaults that can be customized by the user without the need to reprogram any source code.

Here are some resources with information on existing window managers and desktop environments:

Comparison of X Window System desktop environments a Wikipedia article

Comparison of X window managers a chart comparing features

Window Managers for X an independent guide by Matt Chapman with help from the community

Ubuntu Forum a 4 year old Ubuntu forum thread with community discussion

Arch Linux wiki article chart and text comparing just the tiling window managers