Home | Hindi | Kabir | Poetry | Workshop | BoloKids | Writers | Contribute | Search | Contact | Share This Page!                      Shop Online

  News
Channels
In Focus

Analysis  
Bolography  
Cartoons
Environment   
Opinion 

Columns
 Business
 My Word 
 PlainSpeak 
 Random Thoughts 
Our Heritage

Architecture
Astrology
Ayurveda
Buddhism
Cinema 
Culture
Dances
Festivals
Hinduism
History  
People  
Places 
Sikhism
Spirituality 
Vastu 
Vithika  

Society & Lifestyle

Family Matters 
Health
Parenting
Perspective 
Recipes
Society
Teens 
Women 

Creative Writings

Book Reviews
Ghalib's Corner
Humor
Individuality
Jagoji
Literary Shelf 
Love Letters  
Memoirs
Musings
Ramblings
Stories
Travelogues

Computing
  General Articles
 
CC++ 
  Flash 
  Internet Security 
 
Java 
 
Linux     
  Networking  

 

Computing | Linux 
X-Windows

People keep saying that Linux is so boring. I mean there isn't any GUI, is there? It doesn't look as good as Windows! It's too difficult to remember all those command line instructions.

All this changed with the advent of X-Windows. The name arises, obviously, from MS-Windows. X-Windows is the GUI version of Linux. Now, what's a GUI you may ask? GUI stands for Graphical User Interface. The interface we use to communicate with the computer in MS-Windows is totally graphical. You point and click, drag and drop etc. X-Windows imparts these functionalities to Linux as well.

Initially designed by a group of people who felt that the command line wasn't good enough, it caught on like wildfire and many people developed their own versions of it. Unlike Windows, where you have only one type of interface, X (short for X-Windows) provides you with innumerable interfaces to use. If you don't like the present one, well, you can design your own. All this is possible due to the open source nature of Linux. Source code is readily available for all to refer and learn from. Of course, you have to be an experienced programmer in C, C++ etc before trying this.

There are a variety of interfaces you can use. Universally called as window managers, these run on the xfree86 server. 'X' stands for X-windows, 'free' obviously means that it's free and '86' says it is designed for Intel x86 range of computers (which include the Pentium and onwards too). The basic backbone of X is this server. The GUI managers act as front ends for this ensuring that you have easy access just like in MS-Windows.

The major window managers include Gnome, KDE, windowmaker, enlightenment and more. Gnome, along with enlightenment comes as the default for Red Hat Linux. However if you are installing and using Linux for the first time, I would recommend you KDE. Its interface and usage is almost exactly like MS-Windows. This makes it much easier for you. Later of course, you can experiment.

The next article will deal with one or more of these window managers in detail, explaining to you how to install, use and enjoy them. That's it for now see you later.    

– Ashwin Acharya
April 14, 2001

A New Beginning     
Linux - Let's Be Different
     
Hard Disk Partitioning    
Before you Install     
Installing Red Hat Linux 6.1 - 1   
Installing Red Hat Linux 6.1 - 2    
Installing Red Hat Linux 6.1 - 3     
Important Terms and Terminologies    
Lilo (Linux Loader)  
X-Windows   
Configuring X-Windows - 1   
Configuring X-windows - 2   

Computing
CC++ | Flash | Internet Security 
Java | Networking  

General Articles 

Top | Previous | Next 
 


 

Recommend This Page!

Analysis | Architecture | Astrology | Ayurveda | Book Reviews | Buddhism | Cartoons | Cinema | Computing | Culture | Dances
Environment | Fables | Family Matters | Festivals | Hinduism | Health | History | Home Remedies | Humor | Individuality | Jagoji
Literary Shelf | Memoirs | Musings | Opinion | Parenting | Perspective | Photo Essays | Places | Ramblings
Random Thoughts | Recipes | Sikhism | Society | Spirituality | Stories | Teens | Travelogues | Vastu | Vithika | Women

Home | Hindi | Bolography | BoloKids | Kabir | Poetry | Quotes | Workshop | Writers | Contribute | Search | Contact


Boloji.com is owned and managed by Boloji Media Inc

Privacy Policy | Disclaimer
No part of this Internet site may be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright holder.