Gnome/GTK + and KDE/QT

Although there is competition in the business aspect, the developer relationship between GNOME and KDE is not getting worse. On the contrary, they are all aware of the importance of supporting each other? If KDE and gnome
Sharing applications is not only a waste of resources, but also a fundamental split in Linux.
KDE and gnome
It is currently the most popular graphic operating environment for Linux/Unix systems. Since the 1990s S, Kde and gnome
It has gone through nearly ten years of history, both of which have evolved from rough design and simple functionality to a relatively complete stage, and the availability approaches the Windows system. The mature graphic environment is also Linux
The promotion of Linux
It is well known for its robust inner-core, resource saving, and high-quality code, but its lack of an outstanding graphical environment makes it hard to make a difference in the desktop field, leading to Linux
Desktop applications have been at a low tide. If you are still impressed, you will surely remember that Linux was in full swing during the 1999-2001 s, when a large number of Linux
But when users find that Linux is still 108,000 away from practical use
The craze quickly cooled down. The industry was also disappointed with this. Some of them quickly disappeared due to their inability to make profits, while others put the same emphasis on the server market?
In stark contrast to the desktop market, Linux has achieved great success in the server field with its stable, reliable, and low-cost advantages.
In some Linux
While manufacturers give up their desktop-based efforts, the international open-source community continues to grow, and the concept of freedom attracts more and more top-notch programmers. Unlike the business model, free software programmers only use the industry at the beginning.

Developing and releasing things that interest you in the rest of the time is an uncompromising contribution. Despite the slow development progress, more and more developers agree with the concept of free software.
Growth and growth.
During this period, a major event ignored was the active participation of business giants, such as IBM, RedHat, Suse, and ximian.
, Novell, sun, HP
Such commercial companies are directly involved in various open-source projects. These companies either provide their own results to open-source communities for free, or directly send programmers to participate in the actual development of the project, such as Suse.
(Acquired for Novell now) has done a lot of work on the KDE project. RedHat and ximian (acquired for Novell now) are involved in GNOME
Project, IBM provides a lot of basic code for Linux and is a major contributor to promoting Linux's entry into the server field. Sun
Presented to the open-source community and funded the establishment of the famous OpenOffice.org
Project. In this way, a large number of free software programmers can earn salaries from the foundations of various projects. At this stage, open-source projects are freed from the programmer's amateur development model, and are led by high-level full-time programmers,

This has also become a standard collaboration model for various free software projects. Unlike commercial software companies, participants in free software projects work for personal interests, and their common goal is to develop the best quality software,
After the stable formation of the Collaboration model, various software will enter the fast track of development. After March 2005, these projects have basically achieved fruitful results, the most prominent of which is Firefox.
The success of the browser, and as two major graphics environments, Kde and gnome have developed to version 3.5 and 2.12 respectively, the availability of the two is comparable to that of Windows
. More importantly, the growth of the open-source community has laid a solid foundation for the future development of these projects: the KDE project will surpass windows as its own goal, and more powerful gnome
The project also targets aqua graphics environments that go beyond Mac OS X. Firefox plans to use GPU
Hardware resources to render images, to greatly improve the speed; OpenOffice.org
While striving to improve the quality, the open document format standards have been established. In addition to the above main projects, we also see mplayer, xine player, and Thunderbird
Email client, scim
Other open-source projects such as the input platform are also rapidly developing and mature, and almost every day new projects are born. Interestingly, in addition to software development
Design open collaboration projects for visual interfaces. artists from all over the world share a common goal through the Internet to work together for Linux
First-class visual interfaces and system icons are designed for the system. All free software programmers share a common goal: to develop first-class software for the public. This challenge-based, strong

The spirit of the software development model has become another pole of commercial software. At present, Microsoft is not dealing with programmers who only encourage code in their spare time, but distributed around the world with a large number
Developers with stream technology levels are effectively organized to form an orderly Collaboration team. A large number of powerful commercial companies provide support behind them. Although today's Linux
The system cannot be widely accepted in the desktop field, but it only takes two or three years for the fast-evolving Linux platform to fully enter the desktop level, novell
Heavyweight Linux enterprises such as RedHat are constantly investing more in technology and marketing, and Linux Desktop is close at hand.

After introducing the necessary background, we will go to the technical topics on KDE and gnome. If you are new to Linux
Confused?
Why are there two graphic environments with repeated features and different operating habits? This is not only troublesome but also energy-consuming for developers. Through this article, you will get clear answers. More importantly, we will introduce it to you in this article.
The actual level, advantages, and future development trend of KDE and gnome. If you are interested in Linux desktop applications, then the future KDE/gnome
It will surely surprise you.

X Window creates a desktop environment
When introducing KDE and gnome
Previously, it was necessary to introduce the concept of Unix/Linux graphics environment. For a user who is used to windows, a correct understanding of Unix/Linux
The graphical environment may be quite difficult, because it has little in common with pure graphical windows. Linux is actually a Unix template, which inherits the Unix
The kernel design is concise and highly robust, regardless of the system structure or operation mode. Simply put, you can regard Linux as a Unix
A special version in the class system. We know that Microsoft Windows was just a DOS-based application in the early days. Users must first enter dos and then start Windows
Process, and from Windows 95, Microsoft uses the graphical interface as the default, the command line interface is enabled only when necessary, and later Windows 98/me
In fact, they all belong to this system. However, after Windows 2000, DOS is completely cleared.
Become a completely graphical operating system. But Unix/Linux
In contrast, powerful command line interfaces have always been their basis. In the 1980s S, the graphic interface swept the operating system industry, and the MIT was also in the 1984
In cooperation with DEC at that time, the company was committed to developing a distributed Windows environment on UNIX systems. This is the well-known "X Window System" project. However, X
Windows (not X Windows) is not a direct graphical operation environment, but is used as a graphical environment and Unix
An intermediate bridge for system kernel communication. Any vendor can develop different GUI graphics environments based on X Windows. MIT and Dec are only for Unix
The system designs a simple graphical framework to display more commands on the screen of UNIX workstations.
Not very elegant and easy to use. After all, those who were proficient in UNIX at that time were familiar with command line skills, and did not care whether the GUI exists or not. 1986, MIT
The official release of X Window has since become a standard Windows environment for Unix. Then, X Association, which is fully responsible for developing the project, was established, X Window
It has entered a new stage. In sync with this, many UNIX manufacturers have developed their own unix gui Windows environment on the X Window prototype, among which sun
Open look developed jointly with at&t and OSF (Open Software Foundation) under the IBM leadership
(Open Software Foundation) developed "motif ". Some enthusiasts have set up a non-profit xfree86 organization to develop X Windows on x86 systems.
This free and fully functional X Window soon entered the commercial UNIX system and was transplanted to a variety of hardware platforms.
It also benefits directly from this project. Of course, these early X Window environments were designed very simple. Many GUI elements mimic Microsoft's Windows, but X Window
There is a small innovation: When the mouse pointer moves to a window, the window will be automatically activated, users can directly enter without clicking, simplifying user operations? This feature was developed in the later KDE
And gnome are also completely inherited.
Since the UNIX system must be used as the basis, X Window is destined to be unix only
But cannot be highly integrated with the operating system kernel, which makes the application based on X Window
But it has strong design flexibility and portability. X Window is logically divided into three layers: The underlying X Server
(X Server) is mainly used to process input/output information and maintain relevant resources. It accepts operations from the keyboard and mouse and sends it to X client (X client) for feedback.
The output information sent from the client is also responsible for the output. The X client on the outermost layer provides a complete GUI for direct interaction with users (KDE, gnome
Is an X client), and the connection between X Server and X client is "X protocol (x communication protocol )"
Its task is to act as the communication channel between the two. Although UNIX vendors use the same X Window, the X client of the terminal is different, which leads to different Unix
The GUI of the product combination looks very different.

KDE Project Initiation
X Window of MIT
Since its launch, it has become the standard for the UNIX graphic interface, but there are two major types of commercial applications: one is the open look camp led by sun, and the other is IBM/HP
Motif of the OSF (Open Software Foundation) led by both parties, after years of competition, Motif
Eventually, the company gained a leading position. However, motif is just a graphical interface library (widget-Library) with Window Manager
), Rather than a real GUI. After negotiation, IBM/HP and sun decided
Integration, and developed a GUI named "CDE (Common Desktop Environment)" as a Unix
. Unfortunately, Motif/CDE and Unix systems were expensive, while Microsoft's Windows
The development speed was astonishing and took the lead in a monopoly in the desktop market, while CDE stayed in the Unix field for root system administrators to use it, which is still the case today.

In the 1990s S, Linux, which was promoted in the open-source mode, had a wide influence among developers. Although X Window is very mature, there are also many
Window Graphic Interface programs, but they do not have the complete graphic operation functions, is expensive (such as CDE), and cannot be used in Linux systems. If
To make breakthroughs in the real sense, it is necessary to build a completely free and functional GUI. In October 1996, a developer named Matthias of the graphic formatting tool lyx
Ettrich's Germans initiated the KDE (Kool desktop environment) project, which is similar to the previous
The difference between the graphics program is that KDE is not for the system administrator, and its user group is locked as a common end user. Matthias ettrich wants KDE
It can contain all the application components required by users' daily applications, such as web browsers, email clients, office kits, and image processing software.
To the desktop. Of course, Kde complies with GPL specifications and runs in free and open source code mode.
KDE
After the launch of the project, Kde quickly attracted a large number of high-level free software developers who wanted KDE
The powerful capabilities of the system are connected with a comfortable and intuitive graphic interface to create the best desktop operating system. After painstaking efforts, Kde 1.0 was finally created in
Officially launched. At that time, Kde 1.0
Technically, it achieves the expected goal. The functions are initially available and developers can use them well. Of course, for users, Kde 1.0
It is far less approachable than Windows 98 in the same period, and a large number of bugs in KDE 1.0 are even more troublesome. But for developers, Kde 1.0
The launch of KDE is encouraging. It proves that the open-source collaboration development method of KDE is completely feasible and developers are confident in the future. It is worth mentioning that during the development of KDE 1.0, Suse
Linux commercial companies such as Caldera provided financial support for the project. In 1999, IBM, Corel, RedHat, and Fujitsu-
Siemens and other companies have also provided financial and technical support for the KDE project. Since then, the KDE project has embarked on a rapid development stage and has maintained a leading position for a long time. But after 2004, gnome
KDE not only surpassed the former in terms of technology, but also gained extensive support from more commercial companies. KDE has lost its dominant position because KDE chose to be developed on the basis of the QT platform, while QT
Copyright restrictions have discouraged many commercial companies.
QT is a cross-platform C ++ graphical user interface library, which is a Norwegian trolltech
The company's products. Basically, QT is the same as motif, open look, GTK, and other graphic interface libraries on X Windows and MFC on Windows.
Owl, VCL, and ATL are similar things, but QT has excellent cross-platform features (supports windows, Linux, various Unix, os390
And QNX), object-oriented mechanism, and a wide range of APIs. It also supports 2D/3D rendering and OpenGL APIs. In the similar graphic user interface library products at that time, QT
Matthias ettrich chose Qt as the basis for development when initiating the KDE project. Thanks to the perfection of QT, Kde
For example, it takes only five days for netscape5.0 to port motif to the QT platform. In this way, when the KDE 1.0
During the official release, what we saw was a GUI operating environment with basic functions. In the future development, QT/KDE
We have always maintained a leading position. It is worth mentioning that trolltech has substantially participated in the KDE project, as mentioned earlier in Netscape 5.0
The migration is done by trolltech programmers, and Matthias ettrich, the initiator of the KDE project, is also in 1998
He left the academic community to join trolltech and has been the software development department director of the company. Therefore, trolltech
The project has a very strong influence (of course, it cannot be said to be absolutely mastered. After all, Kde development work is still completed by free programmers in collaboration ). As we mentioned earlier, Kde uses GPL
Standard release, but the underlying basic QT is a commercial software that does not follow GPL, which puts an invisible constraint on KDE and brings possible legal risks. A large number of free programmers
The decisions of the project were deeply dissatisfied, and they believed that the use of non-free software development was against the GPL spirit, so the GNU fanatics went two ways: some of them made harmonny.
, Trying to re-write a set of alternatives compatible with QT. Although this project is relatively simple in technology, it has not been supported by the KDE project. The other team decided to re-develop a set named "gnome
(GNU network object environment) "Graphical environment to replace Kde, a GUI war due to ideological differences began.

Gnome
Alternate development with KDE
The gnome Project was launched in August 1997 and was founded by Miguel de, a 26-year-old Mexican programmer.
Icaza. There is an interesting story about gnome's name: Miguel applied for its ActiveX/COM model at Microsoft.
I'm quite interested. The gnome (network object model) name comes from here. Gnome selects GTK that fully complies with GPL
The graphic interface library is the basis, so we generally refer to the gnome/GTK and KDE/Qt camps as gnome/GTK. Unlike QT Based on C ++, GTK
Though the traditional C language does not support object-oriented design, it seems to be lagging behind. However, at that time, developers familiar with C language were far more familiar with C ++.
Developers. In addition, gnome/GTK fully complies with the GPL Copyright Convention and attracts more free programmers.
Take the first step, and the foundation is dominant. In March 1999, gnome 1.0 was launched in a rush, so the stability was so bad that many people laughed at gnome
1.0 does not have the stability of KDE 1.0 Alpha, while KDE 1.1.2 in the same period is far better than gnome in terms of stability and functionality, until 10
The gnome 1.0.55 version launched in the month better solved the stability problem and earned gnome a new reputation. Due to ideological differences, gnome developers and KDE
Developers are clamoring on the internet, almost reaching mutual hatred. However, in any case, gnome stumbled and took the first step, although KDE was almost all Linux
The default desktop environment of the release.

Gnome's transfer came from commercial support. At that time, the Linux Industry Leader RedHat
I do not like the copyright of KDE/Qt. After the gnome project was launched, RedHat immediately provided support for it. To promote gnome maturity, RedHat
I even sent several full-time programmers to participate in GNOME development. In January 1998, I joined hands with the gnome project members to set up RedHat.
Advanced Development Lab. In April 1999, Miguel and another core member of the gnome project jointly established helix code as gnome
Providing commercial support, the company was later renamed ximian. In fact, it became the parent company of the gnome project and the evolution on the gnome platform.
The mail kit comes from the company. After March 2000, a series of major events occurred successively. First, a group of engineers from Apple set up eazel as gnome.
Design the user interface and the Nautilus File Manager. In August of the same year, the gnome Foundation was deployed in Sun, RedHat, eazel, Helix
Code (ximian) was formally established. The Foundation is responsible for the development, management, and funding of gnome projects. Miguel
I am the president of the Foundation. At this point, gnome received support from many heavyweight business companies, such as HP's user environment using gnome as a HP-UX system, sun
It is announced that The StarOffice suite will be integrated with the gnome environment, while gnome will also choose OpenOffice.org as the office suite, IBM
The company shared the sashxb rapid development environment for gnome. At the same time, the gnome Foundation also decided to use Mozilla as a web browser. KDE
The camp did not show any weakness. In October of that year, Kde 2.0 was launched. KDE 2.0 is the largest free software at the time, except for KDE
Besides the platform itself, it also includes the koffice office kit, the kdevelop integrated development environment, and the Konqueror web browser. Although these software are still rough, Kde
2.0 the goal of setting up the KDE project for Matthias ettrich has been well achieved. This month, trolltech decided to use GPL
Convention to issue a free version of QT, hoping to win the support of developers. In this way, QT actually has dual authorization: if the corresponding Linux
If the release uses a free non-commercial method, Kde does not have to be used to pay the authorization fee to trolltech.
If the release is a profitable commercial software, you must be authorized to use KDE. Because trolltech is a commercial company and has always dominated KDE
The two-way license is a good way to solve the contradiction between open source and profit. Trolltech claims that the dual-license system completely solves the problem of KDE in GPL
But RedHat does not like conventions. RedHat constantly provides support for GNOME projects and hopes it will become mature as soon as possible, except for Redhat
Other Linux vendors are currently on the KDE side, but they are also bound with Gnome desktops in the release.
In 2001-2002
In, the hot Linux movement began to fall into a low tide, almost all vendors found that the Desktop Linux version is not profitable, and the lack of ease of use also makes the industry less optimistic about Linux
The future of the desktop. However, in the server market, the growth momentum of Linux is very rapid.
Cause threats. However, developers adhering to the concept of free software do not care about the outside world, they have been turning Linux Desktop into a target, gnome project and KDE
All projects have been well developed during this period. In April 2001, gnome 1.4 was released. It fixes bugs in earlier versions and has relatively complete functions.
There is still a gap; In August of the same year, Kde was developed to Version 2.2. In April 2002, Kde jumped to version 3.0. It uses QT 3.0
Based on GTK 2.0, the gnome camp also launched version 2.0 two months later.
Graphics Library. After 2003, Kde and gnome entered a true technical competition. In March, Kde 3.1 was launched, while gnome 2.4 was in the next 2
Launched in the month, and both platforms strive to improve themselves. This year, the Linux Business community witnessed a series of major parallel purchase cases: Novell in January
The company announced the acquisition of German SuSE Linux, which is the world's second-largest Linux commercial enterprise after RedHat. 8
Novell then added ximian, the parent company of gnome. The two parallel purchase cases have made Novell a powerful Linux with the same strength as RedHat.
Enterprise, while Novell and RedHat become two enterprises that can influence the future of Linux. In the graphic environment, Suse always selects KDE and
After being acquired by Novell, Suse's desktop release focuses on KDE but does not like Novell authorized by QT.
Migration to gnome has started.

After March 2004, Kde and gnome continued to develop rapidly.
In the month and month, versions 3.2 and 3.3 were released, while gnome released versions 2.6 and 2.8 in and. To 3.3
The version of KDE has been very mature, and it includes koffice, Konqueror browser, kmail suite, Kde
A large number of applications including instant messaging, most of which have reached the available standards, and functions are no less than Windows 2000. While gnome is developing rapidly during this period, gnome
The level of version 2.8 is no inferior to that of KDE 3.3, and the technical features of the two are very clear at this time: gnome is simple and efficient, and the running speed is faster than KDE; KDE
It has a gorgeous interface and rich functions, and its usage habits are similar to those of Microsoft Windows. In terms of business support, RedHat is also a hardcore supporter of gnome, such as IBM and sun.
Among other heavyweight enterprises, such as Novell and HP, also choose gnome, while KDE's main supporters are Suse and Mandrake.
As well as domestic publishers, including the zhongke Hongqi and gongchuangopen source. In 2.10, the accumulation of gnome began to fully combat the super, 2.12 in 2005, in March, in September let gnome
The change was almost completely reborn, and the introduction of major software such as OpenOffice.org 2.0 and Firefox 1.5 gave gnome the greatest lifting; KDE
March and November were released in 3.4 and 3.5 respectively, and KDE 3.5 is nearing perfection. We think its level is consistent with Gnome 2.12.
No. However, as KDE becomes increasingly commercially available, Novell announced in November that all its commercial releases will use gnome as the default desktop (
Libraries), SuSE Linux Desktop provides the same support for KDE and gnome, while opensuse supported by the community
Will the KDE System still be used? But everyone understands that gnome will become the focus of Novell, and KDE is only active in free releases.

Here, we have found a dramatic ending: Kde, which is committed to commercialization, has lost support from heavyweight commercial enterprises, despite some small and medium sized Linux
An enterprise will continue to support KDE due to technical capability issues, but its business prospects are limited. Gnome, which follows GPL and does not aim for commercialization at all, has achieved great success in this field. Many Linux
I don't know why KDE is so well-handled. Why is it very simple? No heavyweight enterprise like to be subject to people. Maybe KDE's QT
There is no need for a lot of authorization fees, but who knows if trolltech will charge too much in the future? Since there is a free gnome option, why not? For this reason, RedHat
The two largest Linux enterprises, Novell, and sun, both use gnome.
The strong support also gives the project enough technical support to lay a solid foundation for future rapid development. A possible misunderstanding needs to be corrected, although Novell acquired ximian
But Redhat has not been greatly affected. The contributions made by both parties to Gnome are shared with each other. Because gnome is issued by the GPL free copyright convention, cooperation is a win-win situation. For KDE
Project, although it loses the support of these business giants, but small and medium-sized Linux vendors that are unable to switch their desktops will continue to follow Kde, and in non-commercial community Linux distributions, Kde
Still have powerful vitality.

Although there is competition in business, gnome and KDE
The developer relationship between the two camps is not getting worse. On the contrary, they are aware of the importance of supporting each other. If KDE and gnome
Sharing applications is not only a waste of resources, but also a fundamental split in Linux. In fact, whether it's gnome developers or KDE
Developers, they all share a common goal, that is, to develop the best graphic environment for Linux, just because the concept is poor and belongs to different camps. KDE and gnome
The commercial competition of KDE has no effect on developers (only trolltech will be affected). For the same purpose, Kde and gnome camp are about 2003
Gradually support each other's programs from the beginning of the year? As long as you install the GTK library in the KDE environment, you can run gnome programs, and vice versa. After more than two years of efforts, Kde
And gnome have achieved high interoperability, and the applications on both platforms are completely shared. For example, you can run the Konqueror browser, koffice
You can also run evolution and OpenOffice.org in KDE.
, But the speed and visual effect of executing the local program will be better. In the next one or two years, Kde and gnome
A higher level of integration will be carried out, but the two will never be integrated? Gnome, gnome, and KDE
. Maybe you think this is a waste of development resources and it is likely to make users have no choice, but we tell you that this is Linux, which is similar to Windows and Mac OS X.
It has a very different culture. Moreover, there are more and more free software developers around the world (so you don't have to worry about wasting development resources ).
Users' preferences cannot always be the same, so there is nothing wrong with maintaining two parallel development graphic environment projects. For gnome projects and KDE
Project developers once had a big fight because of their different ideas, but now they all let go, because everyone realizes that they actually need each other, together, we can make them more visible to hardware vendors.
So as to encourage manufacturers to provide the appropriate Linux version while introducing the Windows Driver. Moreover, they can learn from each other's excellent designs to ensure that
Has a superb graphic desktop environment.

Integration of KDE and gnome
In 2006, gnome and KDE
All stand on a brand new starting point, and get the support of commercial companies and more free programmers gnome full of ambition, will look beyond the Mac OS X system. Maybe you think windows
Vista's translucent and 3D interfaces leave Linux far behind, so we tell you this is an absolute misunderstanding that gnome can achieve similar results now, Novell
I gave a detailed demonstration in the past few months. The current KDE can also support quite good translucent and shadow effects, not technically lagging behind gnome. Now, gnome
The project is moving towards the revolutionary version 3.0, and KDE is committed to developing 4.0, which has the same major technological change. These two achievements will come into reality in 2007, when Linux
The system will have higher availability. That is to say, Linux
All desktop applications are just around the corner. In addition to the efforts of developers and vendors, how to promote and provide training to enterprises and individual users is a major concern for manufacturers, we are standing here today
Threshold.