78 Part I . Linux First Steps (Java web server) .
78 Part I . Linux First Steps . GNOME desktop environment (www.gnome.org) GNOME is a more streamlined desktop environment. It includes a smaller feature set than KDE and runs faster in many lower-memory systems. Some think of GNOME as a more business-oriented desktop. It s the default desktop for Red Hat Linux systems such as Fedora and RHEL. The KDE Desktop is based on the Qt 3 graphical toolkit. GNOME is based on GTK+ 2. Although graphical applications are usually written to either QT 3 or GTK+ 2, by installing both desktops you will have the libraries needed to run applications written for both toolkits from either environment. . X and a window manager (X.org or XFree86.org + WM) You don t need a full-blown desktop environment to operate Linux from a GUI. The most basic, reasonable way of using Linux is to simply start the X Window System server and a window manager of your choice (there are dozens to choose from). Many advanced users go this route because it can offer more flexibility in how they set up their desktops. The truth is that most X applications run in any of the desktop environments just described (provided that proper libraries are included with your Linux distribution as noted earlier). So you can choose a Linux desktop based on the performance, customization tools, and controls that best suit you. Each of those three types of desktop environments is described in this chapter. Starting the Desktop Because the way that you start a desktop in Linux is completely configurable, different distributions offer different ways of starting up the desktop. Once your Linux distribution is installed, it may just boot to the desktop, offer a graphical login, or offer a text-based login. Bootable Linux systems (which don t have to be installed at all) typically just boot to the desktop. Boot to the Desktop Some bootable Linux systems boot right to a desktop without requiring you to log in so you can immediately start working with Linux. KNOPPIX is an example of a distribution that boots straight to a Linux desktop from a CD. That desktop system usually runs as a particular username (such as knoppix, in the case of the KNOPPIX distribution). To perform system administration, you have to switch to the administrator s account temporarily (using the su or sudo command). Boot to Graphical Login Most desktop Linux systems that are installed on your hard disk boot up to a graphical login screen. Although the X display manager (xdm) is the basic display manager that comes with the X Window System, KDE and GNOME each have their own graphical display managers that are used as login screens (kdm and gdm, respectively). Note
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