Editing Desktop environment

{{Short description|Implementation of graphical user interface}}
{{About|the operating system and user interface schema|desktop computing in general|desktop computer}}
[[File:MaXX.png|thumb|The MaXX desktop environment, showing various windows and icons.]]

In [[computing]], a '''desktop environment''' ('''DE''') is an implementation of the [[desktop metaphor]] made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer [[operating system]] that share a common [[graphical user interface]] (GUI), sometimes described as a [[graphical shell]]. The desktop environment was seen mostly on [[personal computer]]s until the rise of [[mobile computing]]. Desktop GUIs help the user to easily access and edit files, while they usually do not provide access to all of the features found in the underlying operating system. Instead, the traditional [[command-line interface]] (CLI) is still used when full control over the operating system is required.

A desktop environment typically consists of [[icon (computing)|icons]], [[Window (computing)|windows]], [[toolbars]], [[directory (file systems)|folders]], [[computer wallpaper|wallpapers]] and [[Widget engine|desktop widgets]] (see [[Elements of graphical user interfaces]] and [[WIMP_(computing)|WIMP]]). A GUI might also provide [[drag and drop]] functionality and other features that make the [[desktop metaphor]] more complete. A desktop environment aims to be an intuitive way for the user to interact with the computer using concepts which are similar to those used when interacting with the physical world, such as buttons and windows.

While the term ''desktop environment'' originally described a style of user interfaces following the desktop metaphor, it has also come to describe the programs that realize the metaphor itself.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://learn.clemsonlinux.org/wiki/Window_managers_and_desktop_environments|title=Window managers and desktop environments – Linux 101|website=clemsonlinux.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704182940/http://learn.clemsonlinux.org/wiki/Window_managers_and_desktop_environments|archive-date=2008-07-04}}</ref> This usage has been popularized by projects such as the [[Common Desktop Environment]], [[KDE#KDE Projects|KDE]], and [[GNOME]].

== Implementation ==
On a system that offers a desktop environment, a [[window manager]] in conjunction with applications written using a [[widget toolkit]] are generally responsible for most of what the user sees. The window manager supports the [[user interaction]]s with the environment, while the toolkit provides developers a [[software library]] for [[Application software|applications]] with a unified look and behavior.

A [[windowing system]] of some sort generally interfaces directly with the underlying [[operating system]] and libraries. This provides support for graphical hardware, pointing devices, and keyboards. The window manager generally runs on top of this windowing system. While the windowing system may provide some window management functionality, this functionality is still considered to be part of the window manager, which simply happens to have been provided by the windowing system.

Applications that are created with a particular window manager in mind usually make use of a [[windowing toolkit]], generally provided with the operating system or window manager. A windowing toolkit gives applications access to [[GUI widget|widgets]] that allow the user to interact graphically with the application in a consistent way.

== History and common use ==
{{Further|History of the graphical user interface}}
[[File:Timeline of Desktop Environments.png|thumb|Timeline of desktop environment]]
The first desktop environment was created by [[Xerox]] and was sold with the [[Xerox Alto]] in the 1970s. The Alto was generally considered by Xerox to be a personal office computer; it failed in the marketplace because of poor marketing and a very high price tag.{{Dubious |reason=Alto was not a product and was not sold|date=October 2017}}<ref>{{cite web |author-first=Nathan |author-last=Lineback |url=http://toastytech.com/guis/alto.html |title=The Xerox Alto |publisher=Toastytech.com |access-date=2012-02-04 |archive-date=2021-07-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704032636/http://toastytech.com/guis/alto.html |url-status=live }}</ref> With the [[Apple Lisa|Lisa]], [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] introduced a desktop environment on an affordable [[personal computer]], which also failed in the market.

The desktop metaphor was popularized on commercial personal computers by the original [[Macintosh 128K|Macintosh]] from [[Apple Inc.|Apple]] in 1984, and was popularized further by [[Windows]] from [[Microsoft]] since the 1990s. {{As of|2014}}, the most popular desktop environments are descendants of these earlier environments, including the [[Windows shell]] used in [[Microsoft Windows]], and the [[Aqua (user interface)|Aqua environment]] used in [[macOS]]. When compared with the [[X Window System|X-based]] desktop environments available for [[Unix-like]] operating systems such as [[Linux]] and [[Berkeley Software Distribution|BSD]], the [[Proprietary software|proprietary]] desktop environments included with Windows and macOS have relatively fixed layouts and static features, with highly integrated "seamless" designs that aim to provide mostly consistent customer experiences across installations.

Microsoft Windows dominates in marketshare among personal computers with a desktop environment. Computers using Unix-like operating systems such as macOS, ChromeOS, Linux, BSD or Solaris are much less common;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=8&qpcal=1&qptimeframe=Y&qpsp=2011 |title=Operating System Market Share |publisher=Marketshare.hitslink.com |access-date=2012-02-04 |archive-date=2012-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304023957/http://marketshare.hitslink.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=8&qpcal=1&qptimeframe=Y&qpsp=2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> however, {{As of|2015|lc=yes}} there is a growing market for low-cost Linux PCs using the [[X Window System]] or [[Wayland (display server protocol)|Wayland]] with a broad choice of desktop environments. Among the more popular of these are Google's [[Chromebook]]s and [[Chromebox]]es, Intel's [[Next Unit of Computing|NUC]], the [[Raspberry Pi]], etc.{{Citation needed|reason=NUCs only bundled with Windows I believe|date=March 2017}}

On tablets and smartphones, the situation is the opposite, with Unix-like operating systems dominating the market, including the [[iOS]] (BSD-derived), [[Android (operating system)|Android]], [[Tizen]], [[Sailfish OS|Sailfish]] and [[Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu]] (all Linux-derived). Microsoft's [[Windows phone]], [[Windows RT]] and [[Windows&nbsp;10]] are used on a much smaller number of tablets and smartphones. However, the majority of Unix-like operating systems dominant on handheld devices do not use the X11 desktop environments used by other Unix-like operating systems, relying instead on interfaces based on other technologies.

== Desktop environments for the X Window System ==
[[File:Popular free desktop environments.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.6|A brief timeline of the most popular modern desktop environments for Unix-like operating systems (greyscale logos indicate when the project's development started, while colorized logos indicate the project's first official release)]]
<!-- FIXME!  Please update the timeline, and include the evolution of LXQt, merge with Razor-qt, etc.  Please review Talk page for details.  -->
{{Further|Comparison of X Window System desktop environments}}
<!-- FIXME!  Please update this to talk about Wayland too -->
On systems running the [[X Window System]] (typically Unix-family systems such as Linux, [[Comparison of BSD operating systems|the BSDs]], and formal [[UNIX]] distributions), desktop environments are much more dynamic and customizable to meet user needs. In this context, a desktop environment typically consists of several separate components, including a [[window manager]] (such as [[Mutter (software)|Mutter]] or [[KWin]]), a [[file manager]] (such as [[GNOME Files|Files]] or [[Dolphin (file manager)|Dolphin]]), a set of [[Skin (computing)|graphical themes]], together with [[Widget toolkit|toolkits]] (such as [[GTK+]] and [[Qt (framework)|Qt]]) and [[Library (computing)|libraries]] for managing the desktop. All these individual modules can be exchanged and independently configured to suit users, but most desktop environments provide a default configuration that works with minimal user setup.

Some window managers{{mdashb}}such as [[IceWM]], [[Fluxbox]], [[Openbox]], [[ROX Desktop]] and [[Window Maker]]{{mdashb}}contain relatively sparse desktop environment elements, such as an integrated [[spatial file manager]], while others like [[evilwm]] and [[wmii]] do not provide such elements. Not all of the program code that is part of a desktop environment has effects which are directly visible to the user. Some of it may be low-level code. [[KDE]], for example, provides so-called [[KIO]] slaves which give the user access to a wide range of virtual devices. These I/O slaves are not available outside the KDE environment.

In 1996 the KDE was announced, followed in 1997 by the announcement of GNOME. [[Xfce]] is a smaller project that was also founded in 1996,<ref name="Then">{{citation |url=http://www.slashgear.com/xfce-creator-talks-linux-moblin-netbooks-and-open-source-0633329/ |title=Xfce creator talks Linux, Moblin, netbooks and open-source |last=Then |first=Ewdison |date=6 February 2009 |publisher=[[SlashGear]] |access-date=5 February 2011 |archive-date=16 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716084231/http://www.slashgear.com/xfce-creator-talks-linux-moblin-netbooks-and-open-source-0633329/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and focuses on speed and modularity, just like [[LXDE]] which was started in 2006. A [[comparison of X Window System desktop environments]] demonstrates the differences between environments. GNOME and KDE were usually seen as dominant solutions, and these are still often installed by default on Linux systems. Each of them offers:
* To programmers, a set of standard APIs, a programming environment, and [[human interface guidelines]].
* To translators, a collaboration infrastructure. KDE and GNOME are available in many languages.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://l10n.kde.org/ |title=KDE Localization |publisher=L10n.kde.org |access-date=2012-02-04 |archive-date=2013-04-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130421082912/http://l10n.kde.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gnome.org/i18n/ |title=GNOME Internationalization |publisher=Gnome.org |date=2011-10-23 |access-date=2012-02-04 |archive-date=2011-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110314090255/http://www.gnome.org/i18n/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* To artists, a workspace to share their talents.<ref>{{cite web |author=Link 27&nbsp;Dec Personalized Golf Ball Sign» |url=http://www.kde-artists.org/ |title=Where life imitates art |publisher=KDE-Artists |date=2011-12-27 |access-date=2012-02-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207004157/http://www.kde-artists.org/ |archive-date=2012-02-07 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://art.gnome.org/ |title=GNOME Art: Artwork and Themes |publisher=Art.gnome.org |access-date=2012-02-04 |archive-date=2007-03-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311231810/http://art.gnome.org/themes/metacity/?sort_by=rating&thumbnails_per_page=12&view=list&order=DESC |url-status=live }}</ref>
* To ergonomics specialists, the chance to help simplify the working environment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://openusability.org/ |title=OpenUsability |publisher=OpenUsability |access-date=2012-02-04 |archive-date=2012-02-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204201451/http://www.openusability.org/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gup/hig/ GNOME Human Interface Guidelines] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040201211856/http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gup/hig/ |date=February 1, 2004 }}</ref><ref>[http://developer.kde.org/documentation/design/ui/ KDE User Interface Guidelines] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040106212356/http://developer.kde.org/documentation/design/ui/ |date=January 6, 2004 }}</ref>
* To developers of third-party applications, a reference environment for integration. OpenOffice.org is one such application.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kde.openoffice.org/ |title=KDE OpenOffice.org |publisher=KDE OpenOffice.org |access-date=2012-02-04 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100713115136/http://kde.openoffice.org/ |archive-date=2010-07-13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gnome.org/projects/ooo/ |title=GNOME OpenOffice.org |publisher=Gnome.org |access-date=2012-02-04 |archive-date=2008-10-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081018211352/http://www.gnome.org/projects/ooo/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* To users, a complete desktop environment and a suite of essential applications. These include a file manager, web browser, multimedia player, email client, address book, PDF reader, photo manager, and system preferences application.

In the early 2000s, KDE reached maturity.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.linux-usability.de/download/linux_usability_report_en.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719055000/http://www.linux-usability.de/download/linux_usability_report_en.pdf|archive-date=2011-07-19|title=Linux Usability Report v1.01 |access-date=2012-02-04}}</ref> The Appeal<ref>{{cite web |url=http://appeal.kde.org/wiki/Appeal |title=Appeal |work=[[KDE]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106085324/http://appeal.kde.org/wiki/Appeal |archive-date=2007-01-06}}</ref> and ToPaZ<ref>{{cite web |url=http://live.gnome.org/ThreePointZero |title=GNOME 3.0 |publisher=[[GNOME]] wiki |access-date=2012-02-04 |archive-date=2012-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030204733/https://live.gnome.org/ThreePointZero |url-status=live }}</ref> projects focused on bringing new advances to the next major releases of both KDE and GNOME respectively. Although striving for broadly similar goals, GNOME and KDE do differ in their approach to user ergonomics. KDE encourages applications to integrate and interoperate, is highly customizable, and contains many complex features, all whilst trying to establish sensible defaults. GNOME on the other hand is more prescriptive, and focuses on the finer details of essential tasks and overall simplification. Accordingly, each one attracts a different user and developer community. Technically, there are numerous technologies common to all Unix-like desktop environments, most obviously the X Window System. Accordingly, the [[freedesktop.org]] project was established as an informal collaboration zone with the goal being to reduce duplication of effort.

As GNOME and KDE focus on high-performance computers, users of less powerful or older computers often prefer alternative desktop environments specifically created for low-performance systems. Most commonly used lightweight desktop environments include [[LXDE]] and Xfce; they both use [[GTK+]], which is the same underlying toolkit GNOME uses. The [[MATE (software)|MATE]] desktop environment, a fork of [[GNOME 2|GNOME&nbsp;2]], is comparable to Xfce in its use of RAM and processor cycles, but is often considered more as an alternative to other lightweight desktop environments.

For a while, GNOME and KDE enjoyed the status of the most popular Linux desktop environments; later, other desktop environments grew in popularity. In April 2011, GNOME introduced a new interface concept with its [[GNOME 3|version 3]], while a popular Linux distribution [[Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu]] introduced its own new desktop environment, [[Unity (user interface)|Unity]]. Some users preferred to keep the traditional interface concept of GNOME 2, resulting in the creation of [[MATE (software)|MATE]] as a GNOME&nbsp;2 fork.<ref>Thorsten Leemhuis (usinglinux1173.blogspot.com), August 5, 2012: [https://web.archive.org/web/20190415104204/https://usinglinux1173.blogspot.com/2019/04/common-desktop-features.html Comment: Desktop Fragmentation]</ref>

== Examples of desktop environments ==
The most common desktop environment on personal computers is [[Windows Shell]] in [[Microsoft Windows]]. Microsoft has made significant efforts in making Windows shell visually pleasing. As a result, Microsoft has introduced [[theme (computing)|theme support]] in [[Windows 98]], the various [[Windows XP visual styles]], the [[Windows Aero|Aero]] brand in [[Windows Vista]], the [[Microsoft design language]] (codenamed "Metro") in [[Windows 8]], and the [[Fluent Design System]] and [[Windows Spotlight]] in [[Windows 10]]. Windows shell can be extended via [[Shell extension]]s.

Many mainstream desktop environments for Unix-like operating systems, including KDE, GNOME, Xfce, and LXDE, use the X Window System or [[Wayland (protocol)|Wayland]], any of which may be selected by users, and are not tied exclusively to the operating system in use. The desktop environment for [[macOS]], which is also a Unix-like system, is [[Aqua (user interface)|Aqua]], which uses the [[Quartz (graphics layer)|Quartz]] graphics layer, rather than using X or Wayland.

A number of other desktop environments also exist, including (but not limited to) [[Common Desktop Environment|CDE]], [[Equinox Desktop Environment|EDE]], [[Graphics Environment Manager|GEM]], [[IRIX Interactive Desktop]], Sun's [[Java Desktop System]], [[Jesktop]], Mezzo, [[Project Looking Glass]], [[ROX Desktop]], [[UDE]], [[Xito]], XFast. Moreover, there exists FVWM-Crystal, which consists of a powerful configuration for the [[FVWM]] window manager, a theme and further adds, altogether forming a "construction kit" for building up a desktop environment.

[[X window manager]]s that are meant to be usable stand-alone — without another desktop environment — also include elements reminiscent of those found in typical desktop environments, most prominently [[Enlightenment (window manager)|Enlightenment]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} Other examples include [[OpenBox]], [[Fluxbox]], [[WindowLab]], [[Fvwm]], as well as [[Window Maker]] and [[AfterStep]], which both feature the [[NeXTSTEP]] [[Graphical user interface|GUI]] look and feel.

The [[Amiga]] approach to desktop environment was noteworthy: the original [[Workbench (AmigaOS)|Workbench]] desktop environment in [[AmigaOS]] evolved through time to originate an entire family of descendants and alternative desktop solutions. Some of those descendants are the Scalos,<ref>{{cite web |author=Chris&nbsp;Haynes |url=http://scalos.noname.fr/ |title=Scalos – The Amiga Desktop Replacement |publisher=Scalos.noname.fr |access-date=2012-02-04 |archive-date=2018-09-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180922220139/http://scalos.noname.fr/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> the [[Ambient (desktop environment)|Ambient]] desktop of [[MorphOS]], and the [[Wanderer (AROS)|Wanderer]] desktop of the [[AROS]] open source OS. WindowLab also contains features reminiscent of the Amiga UI. Third-party [[Directory Opus]] software, which was originally just a [[navigational file manager]] program, evolved to become a complete Amiga desktop replacement called Directory Opus Magellan.

[[OS/2]] (and derivatives such as [[eComStation]] and [[ArcaOS]]) use the [[Workplace Shell]]. Earlier versions of OS/2 used the [[Presentation Manager]].

The [[BumpTop]] project was an experimental desktop environment. Its main objective is to replace the 2D paradigm with a "real-world" 3D implementation, where documents can be freely manipulated across a virtual table.

=== Gallery ===
{{See also|History of the graphical user interface}}

<gallery heights="130">
File:AmbientDesktop.png|[[Ambient (desktop environment)|Ambient]]
File:Solus 4.1 Budgie.jpg|alt=Bugie Desktop|[[Budgie (desktop environment)|Budgie]]
File:CDE 2012 on Linux.png|[[Common Desktop Environment|CDE]]
File:Cinnamon 4.2.3 screenshot.png|[[Cinnamon (desktop environment)|Cinnamon]]
File:COSMIC Epoch 1.0.0 alpha with apps.png|[[COSMIC (desktop environment)|COSMIC]]
File:EDE desktop environment.png|[[Equinox Desktop Environment|EDE]]
File:VirtualBox Linux Deepin 20.1 LARGE 17 03 2021 11 00 50.png|[[Deepin|Deepin DE]]
File:Enlightenment 0.26.0.png|[[Enlightenment (software)|Enlightenment]]
File:GNOME Shell 40 (applications grid).png|[[GNOME Shell]]
File:Gnustep.png|[[GNUstep]]/[[Window Maker]]
File:KDE_Plasma_6.3_desktop_screenshot.webp|[[KDE Plasma 6]]
File:Lumina1.0.0-TrueOS.png|[[Lumina (desktop environment)|Lumina]]
File:LXDE desktop full.png|[[LXDE]]
File:LXQt 1.0.0 Ambiance screenshot.png|[[LXQt]]
File:Ubuntu Mate 18.04.1 with MATE 1.20.1.png|[[MATE (software)|MATE]]
File:Elementary OS 5.1 Hera.png|[[Elementary (operating system)|Pantheon]]
File:Razor desktop.png|[[Razor-qt]]
File:Rox-desktop-2004.png|[[ROX Desktop]]
File:Sugar-home-view-0.82.jpg|[[Sugar (desktop environment)|Sugar]]
File:Screenshot of Trinity Desktop Environment (TDE) R14.0.5 Development.png|[[Trinity (desktop environment)|Trinity]]
File:UDE Honeycomb.png|[[UDE]]
File:UKUI Desktop environment.png|[[UKUI (desktop environment)]]
File:Ubuntu Unity 22.10 desktop screenshot.png|[[Unity (user interface)|Unity]]
File:XFCE-4.12-Desktop-standard.png|[[Xfce]]
</gallery>

== See also ==
* [[Wayland (display server protocol)|Wayland]] – an alternative to the X Window System which can run several different desktop environments
* [[Comparison of X Window System desktop environments]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{X desktop environments and window managers}}
{{Operating system}}

[[Category:Desktop environments| ]]