Server X and Desktop Environment

[Agifem]

I'm not sure this is the right forum to ask this question, but i did not find any newbie forum (would be useful i think).
Here is my question : What's the difference between Server X, X-Window, Destktop Environment and Window Manager ?

[Raoul_Duke]

'X' is the graphical server........it doesn't do anything on it's own.

Desktop Enviroment is something that sits on top of X, it's enviroment that is like windows or OS X that gives you filemanagers and taskbar and other simple apps.

Window manager is the same but simpler......it sits on top of X and gives you windows that can be dragged around and a taskbar etc......doesn't normally come with any apps other than it's own admin tools.
:)

[MxCl]

X-Server, X-Windows - same things really.

Desktop Environments often include window managers in their bulk.

The window manager manages all the windows, X provides a graphical base for a window manager and network transparency (look it up if you want to know what I mean here, or ask). The Desktop Environment is a suite of applications that give you a consistent feel to your GUI, like KDE or Gnome.

[Agifem]

So, basically, the server-X is a graphical API for graphical applications, and is embedded in a window manager, itself embedded in a desktop manager, right ?
By the Way, XFree86 is a server X ?

[MxCl]

It's an X-server not a "server X" btw, and the desktop environment (DE) isn't embedded in the window manager nor vis-versa, the DE is more a suite of applications that gives you a consistent feel and a base interface, eg. a miniumum KDE install might be just the panel and the desktop (yes the desktop is a seperate program :)). But more likely you'd include konqueror in definition too.

[evac-q8r]

X-Server: The server takes request from clients which are applications which exist on the screen. There are 3 things, the server, client, and requests which the client makes to the server through events such as keyboard input and mouse clicks. Because in any X-session there will probably be more than one application running. The server knows how to queue in events from each app so that the overall X-session enviroment flows as smoothly and seamlessly as possible. Once the X-Server processes these events it will then send the information to the screen, whether it be a resized window or moved window, or whatever the event was supposed to accomplish.

X-Windows: These are a set of Windows which can be created solely from Xlib libraries. These libraries were created at MIT and there are a bunch of oversized books explaining how to use them known as the The X Window System User's Guide Vol. I-XIII. You can even write a small application using these libraries which will make a request to the X-server to become a client (and the server may actually reject this request under certain circumstances), create a window, map it to the screen, receive input, and then end its session through the X-Server. This is very difficult if you do not know how to aggressively program in C.

Window Manager: This provides a desktop enviroment for you so that you are looking at something comprehensible when viewing the screen. Like MxCl said earlier it provides a suite of applications giving your desktop a certain look and feel for a session. Mainly, it places the windows on the screen in a certain pattern arrangement and decides how to unshade/shade or focus/unfocus and places windows on top of each other because a screen will usually encompass windows which overlap. One other thing it does is provide a window with a customizable window borders to your specifications. This is where all the various themes fit in.

EVAC

[Agifem]

Got it !
Thanks a lot :)