Fvwm will make you feel like you are using the love child of some UNIX desktop and Windows 95. That’s right, I said “95″. It’s Windows 95 with a few very UNIX features added for good measure. And in this next few articles I am going to help you get to know Fvwm. Why would you want to use it? Because you feel like being a part of a history that is as important to the PC as Bill Gates’s brining Windows 95 to the market.

Features of Fvwm

Fvwm, believe it or not, does have features. Included in this list are:

• Anti-aliasing font support
• Internationalization.
• Side titles with vertical text.
• Various application managers (taskbar, buttonbar, etc.)
• Wharf.
• Small memory usage.
• Tiny footprint.

And much more. For the full list, take a look at the Fvwm official features page.

Installation

Installation is simple…even from the command line. I will illustrate the installation on a Fedora 13 system using the command line. Here are the steps:

1. Open up a terminal window.
2. Change to the root user with the command su.
3. Enter the root user password and hit Enter.
4. Issue the command yum install fvwm.
5. After installation close out your terminal.
6. Log out of your current desktop.
7. Log in using the Fvwm desktop.

That’s it. You should now be on the Fvwm desktop (see Figure 1).

Figure 1

The desktop

The Fvwm desktop will look very familiar to anyone who has been around Linux for a while. For those of you who have not been around the Linux block long enough, some of the features will look rather archaic – especially the Wharf (bottom right edge of screen in Figure 1). The Wharf is very similar to the Wharf in the AfterStep window manager. The Wharf is a single tool that houses the features of multiple tools, it is a:

• Pager.
• Application launcher.
• Mini application launcher.
• Module holder.

Figure 2

If you look closely to Figure 1 you will notice two modules in the Wharf (xload and xclock) that are missing. This is because they weren’t installed (this was done on purpose). To install them you would need to install the application xorg-x11-apps. Or you could just issue the command:

yum install xclock

which would actually install xorg-x11-apps. Once installed click on the left click on the desktop anywhere (to bring up the desktop menu (see Figure 2) and click Restart > Fvwm. Believe it or not you can issue this restart with all your work open and not lose anything. You will need to issue this restart any time you make a change to the window manager (although some changes are applied instantly).

You will also notice, on the Fvwm desktop, a typical taskbar. This taskbar contains all the usual features:

• Start menu.
• Window list.
• Notification area.

These are all used in the same manner as you would expect.

Final thoughts

You have officially been introduced to a bit of history that refuses to go away. I recommend playing around with Fvwm even if only out of curiosity. And now that you’ve seen how Fvwm looks, in upcoming articles we’ll take a look at how to configure this old-school desktop.

Top 5 distributions

Ubuntu: Although it is not my desktop distribution of choice, it is my “go-to” distribution in just about any situation. And the only reason it is not my desktop distribution is because of the next entry.

Elive: Elive combines my two favorite desktop tools – Enlightenment and Compiz. Without Elive, these two would not work together.

Debian: It is that which Ubuntu is based. Need I say more?

OpenSuSE: The YaST tool alone puts this distro in just about any top ten.

Fedora: I was a long standing Red Hat user so Fedora is a natural for a top ten distribution. And even though Fedora is “bleeding edge”, it’s still rock solid.

Top 5 applications

Let’s not pick nits and divide into categories. Let’s just see who bubbles up to the very tip-top.

1. OpenOffice: Let’s face it, without OpenOffice Linux, as a whole, wouldn’t stand a chance as a desktop distribution.

2. Firefox: Although Chrome is my weapon of choice, it doesn’t always cut it. And Firefox is one of the most successful open source applications of all time.

3. Claws Mail: If you’ve not used Claws Mail, you don’t know how much email power you are missing out on.

4. Nano: Nano is the text editor for all those who don’t want to have to bother with the cumbersome nature of vi or emacs. And without a tool like Nano, console-only Linux would be a real challenge.

5. Apache: Do I really have to say why Apache is in a top “anything” list for open source (or Linux applications)?

Top 5 desktops

You’ll never see any favoritism in this category. Will you?

1. Enlightenment: All the eye-candy, with have the weight of the big boys.

2. GNOME: If you want a full-featured, reliable desktop, look no further than GNOME.

3. KDE: Although KDE 4 began with a lot of issues, it has grown up to be quite a nice desktop.

4. Compiz: Although not a desktop on its own, Compiz adds such amazing features to your desktop, it must be included.

5. Fluxbox:If you are looking for the lightest weight desktop around, Fluxbox is your tool. It doesn’t offer all the bells and whistles, but it will bring new life to that old machine.

Top 5 commands

1. mkdir: Need to create a directory?

2. cd: Need to change to a new directory?

3. ls: Need to list the contents of a directory?

4. tar: Need to unpack a tarball?

5. man *. Need to find out about a command?

Top 5 places to get help with Linux

1. Ghacks: But of course.

2. Guru: Find yourself someone who knows Linux well and latch on. That’s how I got my start (with a shout out to Marc G.!)

3. Google: When in doubt, Google is your friend.

4. IRC: It’s old school, but there are plenty of Linux chat rooms still alive and filled with over-sized Linux brains.

5. Mailing lists: Just about every distribution has a mailing list. If you have a distro of choice, subscribe to that mailing list and read on.

Final thoughts

Do you have a top 5 that relates to Linux? If so, share it with your Ghacks readers.

With that in mind let us begin by illustrating the differences between a desktop environment and a window manager. We’ll begin by showing how the Linux graphical desktop is layered.

As you can see, in the image below, there are basically three layers that can be included in the Linux desktop:

• X Windows – This is the foundation that allows for graphic elements to be drawn on the display. X Windows builds the primitive framework that allows moving of windows, interactions with keyboard and mouse, and draws windows. This is required for any graphical desktop.
• Window Manager: The Window Manager is the piece of the puzzle that controls the placement and appearance of windows. Window Managers include: Enlightenment, Afterstep, FVWM, Fluxbox, IceWM, etc. Requires X Windows but not a desktop environment.
• Desktop Environment: This is where it begins to get a little fuzzy for some. A Desktop Environment includes a Window Manager but builds upon it. The Desktop Environment typically is a far more fully integrated system than a Window Manager. Requires both X Windows and a Window Manager.

A Desktop Environment generally includes a suite of applications that are tightly integrated so that all applications are aware of one another. A Desktop Manager will also include some form of panel that includes a system tray where small widgets can be placed for quick action or information.

Linux Desktop Layering

Much of the confusion starts to peek out when you examine such Window Managers as E17 (Enlightenment 17).

The most recent iteratio of Enlightenment includes many of the elements usually found only Desktop Environments even though Enlightenment is still considered a Window Manager. To this point I generally refer to such desktops as Desktop Managers.

There are two main Desktop Environments: GNOME and KDE. If you are curious as to which is right for you, here is some advice. The latest default GNOME will make users of OS X feel right at home, KDE 3.x will make Windows XP users feel at home, and KDE 4.x will make Windows Vista users feel at home.

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As to which Window Manager is best suited for which user? Since there are so many Window Managers I will highlight my favorites.

• Enlightenment: You want plenty of eye candy but not something as resource-intensive as KDE or GNOME.
• Fluxbox: You want minimal and fast.
• Afterstep: You want something old-school to give you hours of tinkering fun.
• Xfce: You want a Windows-like interface without the bloatware of GNOME or KDE.
• Compiz-Fusion: This is a full-blown 3 dimensional window manager rife with plugs that do just about everything. If you want something to seriously impress your friends, this is where you want to look.

One of the most wonderful things about the Linux desktop is that it is only limited to your imagination. You can make the Linux desktop look and feel exactly how you want it. You can go from complete minimalism to the full-blown 3D goodness of Compiz-Fusion. I will give you one warning: Playing with the Linux desktop might be as much of a time-suck as World of Warcraft.