June 11, 2008 at 16:07Uinux: frame window managers
Today I want to propose to admire such a topic as frame
window managers. They are frame-based because they have windows, if
there are several of them so that they do not overlap, and in addition occupy the
maximum usable area of the desktop.
The main representatives of this family of window managers are: wmii ,
xmonad , dwm , ion3 . There are a few more Ratpoison, Larswm, Stumpwm, TrsWM,
XWEM, GridMove, Awesome, but I will not mention them.
First, a little about each of them, and then in more detail about wmii
Written in Haskell , which already makes it interesting. It has
xinerama support (this is an Xorg extension that allows you to work with
multiple monitors at the same time). He was thought of as a dwm clone , but he
outgrew his parent and acquired a number of interesting features,
among which: a hotel status bar for each screen; Separate
window layout algorithms for workspaces;
composing support .
The smallest and most elegant of all frame managers. Development
began after wmii began to seem too
big for its author . A very interesting way to configure - you just
recompile it. And this is not nonsense, since its author adheres to the
principle that the source code of dwm should not exceed 2000 lines of
code. So dwm compilation takes nano-seconds. No bells and whistles
are present, the program just does its job. Ideal
for minimalists.
A fairly well-known representative, appeared in 2000 and can
be considered the ancestor of all the current frame managers. Heavier,
compared to others, has many interesting and useful
features. The configuration file is a Lua script .
wmii seems like a kind of compromise between functionality and
minimalism. Keeping sane and visible size supports
most of the necessary functions. After loading, we have in front of us a
black screen with a narrow blue strip at the bottom, which displays the
clock and the active screen.
To start the program, press Alt + p
(all the key combinations presented in the text have a
default value ), after which a list of available
programs will be displayed in the status line . To filter the list, you must type the first few
letters of the program name. The application that opens will take up all
the space available on the screen. If, without switching to another screen, launch another
program, then they will share the available space
in half with the first one . Switching between the windows of one screen is
similar to the Vi editor ( Alt + h , Alt + j , Alt + k . Alt + l ), but you can
switch with the mouse, clicking on the corresponding frame. By
default, new frames appear one below the other. If we
need to divide the screen vertically, then by pressing Alt + Shift + l the
window will move to the right. To open a new screen, use the
key combination Alt + 0 ... Alt + 9 . To move the active frame
to another screen, use Alt + Shift + 0 ... Alt + Shift + 9 . For closing
frame Alt + Shift + c , to exit X call menu wmii ,-activated
combination Alt + a .
The question may arise, how are things with
applications such as Gimp , Pidgin and the like ... Things are good,
by default, all modal windows, as well as those applications that are
specifically described in the configuration file, will have a floating type of
behavior, i.e. will not differ in their behavior from the usual us
and you.
Included with wmii is an example settings file written in sh, but
for configuration you can use any familiar language, Python,
Ruby, whatever you want. This is possible due to the fact that wmii has a
9p interface brought in from the mega-interesting Plan9 operating system.
This means that for configuration you just need to write certain
information to the appropriate file. This file is virtual, but writing
to it is possible thanks to a special utility. which comes
with wmii. I’m sure that you didn’t understand anything in the last sentence,
if you hadn’t seen anything like it before, it’s my fault, I can’t
convey the beautiful concept in clear language, therefore I will refer to the documentation .
The description of the keyboard shortcut does not allow you to enjoy the
beauty of the concept, for this you need to try using
frames. This is not a beautiful idea, it is really possible and
convenient to use, it is simply not very familiar at first, after dragging the
windows with the mouse on the screen. You need a desire and a little patience, after
a while, the habit acquired over the years will fall and you can
enjoy the minimalism and effectiveness of these window managers.
Advice for beginners : to get used to the new environment, you need
to work with it a little more than put a "look" and
put a screenshot on the ENT. If the concept hooks you, make an effort
and everything will be fine.
Another tip for beginners : Go
redefine the basic key, which by default is Alt on
Win , if such is present on your keyboard, this will free Alt
for its usual application and uses an idle Win .
Wmii homepage : www.suckless.org/wiki/wmii wmii
library from Python: downgra.de/articles/python-wmii
dwm homepage: www.suckless.org/wiki/dwm ion3
homepage: modeemi.fi / ~ tuomov / ion
xmonad homepage: www.xmonad.org
UPD: A
near-ideal description of wmii as a window manager: vonderer.blogspot.com/2006/12/wmii.html
More about wmii internals: my-cellar-door .blogspot.com / 2005/08 / window-managers-wmi-wmii.html
window managers. They are frame-based because they have windows, if
there are several of them so that they do not overlap, and in addition occupy the
maximum usable area of the desktop.
The main representatives of this family of window managers are: wmii ,
xmonad , dwm , ion3 . There are a few more Ratpoison, Larswm, Stumpwm, TrsWM,
XWEM, GridMove, Awesome, but I will not mention them.
First, a little about each of them, and then in more detail about wmii
xmonad
Written in Haskell , which already makes it interesting. It has
xinerama support (this is an Xorg extension that allows you to work with
multiple monitors at the same time). He was thought of as a dwm clone , but he
outgrew his parent and acquired a number of interesting features,
among which: a hotel status bar for each screen; Separate
window layout algorithms for workspaces;
composing support .
dwm
The smallest and most elegant of all frame managers. Development
began after wmii began to seem too
big for its author . A very interesting way to configure - you just
recompile it. And this is not nonsense, since its author adheres to the
principle that the source code of dwm should not exceed 2000 lines of
code. So dwm compilation takes nano-seconds. No bells and whistles
are present, the program just does its job. Ideal
for minimalists.
ion3
A fairly well-known representative, appeared in 2000 and can
be considered the ancestor of all the current frame managers. Heavier,
compared to others, has many interesting and useful
features. The configuration file is a Lua script .
And now wmii
wmii seems like a kind of compromise between functionality and
minimalism. Keeping sane and visible size supports
most of the necessary functions. After loading, we have in front of us a
black screen with a narrow blue strip at the bottom, which displays the
clock and the active screen.
Control
To start the program, press Alt + p
(all the key combinations presented in the text have a
default value ), after which a list of available
programs will be displayed in the status line . To filter the list, you must type the first few
letters of the program name. The application that opens will take up all
the space available on the screen. If, without switching to another screen, launch another
program, then they will share the available space
in half with the first one . Switching between the windows of one screen is
similar to the Vi editor ( Alt + h , Alt + j , Alt + k . Alt + l ), but you can
switch with the mouse, clicking on the corresponding frame. By
default, new frames appear one below the other. If we
need to divide the screen vertically, then by pressing Alt + Shift + l the
window will move to the right. To open a new screen, use the
key combination Alt + 0 ... Alt + 9 . To move the active frame
to another screen, use Alt + Shift + 0 ... Alt + Shift + 9 . For closing
frame Alt + Shift + c , to exit X call menu wmii ,-activated
combination Alt + a .
Floating windows
The question may arise, how are things with
applications such as Gimp , Pidgin and the like ... Things are good,
by default, all modal windows, as well as those applications that are
specifically described in the configuration file, will have a floating type of
behavior, i.e. will not differ in their behavior from the usual us
and you.
Customization
Included with wmii is an example settings file written in sh, but
for configuration you can use any familiar language, Python,
Ruby, whatever you want. This is possible due to the fact that wmii has a
9p interface brought in from the mega-interesting Plan9 operating system.
This means that for configuration you just need to write certain
information to the appropriate file. This file is virtual, but writing
to it is possible thanks to a special utility. which comes
with wmii. I’m sure that you didn’t understand anything in the last sentence,
if you hadn’t seen anything like it before, it’s my fault, I can’t
convey the beautiful concept in clear language, therefore I will refer to the documentation .
Conclusion
The description of the keyboard shortcut does not allow you to enjoy the
beauty of the concept, for this you need to try using
frames. This is not a beautiful idea, it is really possible and
convenient to use, it is simply not very familiar at first, after dragging the
windows with the mouse on the screen. You need a desire and a little patience, after
a while, the habit acquired over the years will fall and you can
enjoy the minimalism and effectiveness of these window managers.
Advice for beginners : to get used to the new environment, you need
to work with it a little more than put a "look" and
put a screenshot on the ENT. If the concept hooks you, make an effort
and everything will be fine.
Another tip for beginners : Go
redefine the basic key, which by default is Alt on
Win , if such is present on your keyboard, this will free Alt
for its usual application and uses an idle Win .
References
Wmii homepage : www.suckless.org/wiki/wmii wmii
library from Python: downgra.de/articles/python-wmii
dwm homepage: www.suckless.org/wiki/dwm ion3
homepage: modeemi.fi / ~ tuomov / ion
xmonad homepage: www.xmonad.org
UPD: A
near-ideal description of wmii as a window manager: vonderer.blogspot.com/2006/12/wmii.html
More about wmii internals: my-cellar-door .blogspot.com / 2005/08 / window-managers-wmi-wmii.html