this post was submitted on 08 Sep 2023
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I'm reconsidering my terminal emulator and was curious what everyone was using.

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 9 months ago (5 children)

I don't know if I'm correct, but in my head, a window manager JUST manages windows. Gnome and KDE also manage windows, but they also contain applications for settings, printing, etc. Desktop Environments also have window managers, but they have more applications on top.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (4 children)

So, just to check I understood:

  • "[Tiling] Window Managers" are a very specific tool.
  • "Desktop Environments" are broader tools that (may?) contain Window Managers.

Now... the next questions (if you have the patience :P) are:

  • is is possible to use a Window Manager without a Desktop Environment?
  • how does this influence your choose for the terminal emulator? Ó_ò

Thanks for the answers!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 9 months ago (3 children)
  • Yes, you can absolutely use a WM without a DE. A DE is usually just a set of preconfigured and pre-installed applications. If you use a WM like i3 etc. you just get something that draws windows, and no settings and bluetooth applications
  • It influences my choosing because window managers usually don't come with a terminal, and you have to manually install a terminal emulator. But on desktop environments I use the default terminal, although I could also install kitty.
[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Oooh... I see. I didn't understand how broad the Desktop Env really are. Is not that they manage "a lot of things regarding the desktop and windows"... is just like a bundle of apps.

Now it's starting to sound like a sub-distro inside the distros, but I think this is a good point to stop bothering you. Thanks again!

[–] [email protected] 2 points 9 months ago

You're welcome!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 9 months ago

For most people, a different desktop environment probably makes a bigger difference than a different distro. They won't notice things like a different package manager