Re: Window managers

[Michael ROGERS <M Rogers cs ucl ac uk>]

>There is one thing that really bugs me about gnome - the fact that it
>doesn't have its own window manager, by which I mean, there is no Window
>Manager with the gnome/gtk look and feel.
>
>I use Window Maker, and I have tried E.  If I were a new user looking at
>gnome, I would want to know why I had two completely different
>look & feels on my desktop.  (eg. right click, then middle click in E -
>two completely different menu styles).

 I'm thinking about using GTK for my gnomified version of wm2, because it
seems that the most sensible way of communicating with gnome-session is via
GTK. Therefore I might as well use pretty GTK menus, GTK-themeable window
borders, etc. I think this will have a negligible impact on the memory
footprint of the window manager because all the GTK code will be shared. Can
anyone confirm this before I start?

>New users are not interested in the difference between a Window Manager
>and Gnome, and are not going to be grateful for the "choice".  I am not
>suggesting that Gnome should tie itself to a single window manager, but
>that there should be a "gwm" to fill a similar role as kwm does to kde.

As long as it's not called gwm or wmg. :>

>So are there any plans to write such a window manager? I have been
>considering doing it myself, but I don't think my gtk knowledge is up to
>it.  gtkwm on www.gnome.org seems to be abandoned vapourware AFAICT.

I'd love some help hacking apart wm2/wmx if you're interested.

>On a related point, for a project that claims "No religion - pick any
>window manager", gnome appears to be becoming increasingly tied to
>Enlightenment.  I see that the RPMs now have E as a requirement.  I see
>this as a bad thing.  E is not a requirement of Gnome.  I shouldn't have
>to rpm --nodeps a standard Gnome installation should I?

 Requiring a Gnome-compliant wm to be installed makes Gnome installation 
easier. E is the only wm that fits that shoe at the moment, although there
are a clutch of gnomified wms in the pipeline. Hopefully new users will soon
have the option of installing any Gnome-compliant wm, or sticking with their
old wm if they want to miss out on some Gnome features.

>E has some very strong opposition, certainly where I am.  I don't personally 
>know anyone who likes it or finds in a usable wm. 

 I love E because it makes X the most beautiful GUI in the world (look at the 
screenshots on e.themes.org - how can you resist?), but I don't want to use 
it all the time. Sometimes speed, lack of unnecessary features and 
non-configurability are less distracting! If I'm going to abandon the command
line in favour of Gnome, I want to have an operating environment available 
which approaches the speed and simplicity of a console login.

>Clearly lots of people do, but it indicates that it is very important not to 
>push people into using a single WM.

 Hopefully the next set of RPMs will allow users to choose a window manager.
I'm sure E's good looks will attract people to Gnome, but people with slow
computers, small screens or basic graphics cards, and people who just want 
their window manager to do its job quietly and leave them alone, may be put 
off by having to use it.


 - Michael Rogers