Window manager
From Gentoo Linux Wiki
Window managers operate on top of X.Org. The window manager is the system that controls the placement and appearance of application windows on the graphical display. The choice of window manager affects the look and feel of the graphical user interface. This section only showcases a few of the countless window managers available to X.Org.
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[edit] Window managers
The way a window manager manages windows varies widely. The type you'll like will depend on what you will be doing, too: if you only have one window open at a time anyway, you won't get any profit from using a tiling WM. However, if you have a lot of windows at all times, a tiling WM might be able to take over a lot of work for you. If you're used to Windows and don't feel like learning a new interface, you'll be looking for a stacking WM.
A tiling window manager is a window manager with an organization of the screen into mutually non-overlapping frames, as opposed to the more popular approach of coordinate-based stacking of overlapping objects (windows) that tries to fully emulate the desktop metaphor.
Stacking window managers let you move around and resize windows freely and continuously. These are known best, particularly for their ability to make windows overlap. Usually, windows in stacking WMs can be resized and moved with the help of mouse grabs. Because the graphical metaphors provided by such window managers provide hints to the user what actions are available, they require less time to learn to use and are easier for new users.
By one definition, Dynamic window managers are those capable of both stacking mode and tiling mode. By another, they are those which attempt to automatically rearrange windows in an optimal configuration. Most of the more recent tiling window managers do both.
Compositing window managers make use of off-screen buffers to make programs output to virtual screens, and then combine the off-screen buffers into the actual interface you'll see. They often need AIGLX to run smoothly, or even run at all. Compositing WMs primarily exist for eye-candy.
[edit] Compositing
 | Compiz-Fusion
Quote from Compiz: Compiz Fusion is the result of a merge between the well-known Beryl composite window manager and Compiz Extras, a community set of improvements to the Compiz composite window manager. Compiz Fusion aims to provide an easy and fun-to-use windowed environment, allowing use of the graphics hardware to render each individual window and the entire screen, to provide some impressive effects, speed and usefulness. The first Compiz Fusion developer release was Compiz Fusion 0.5.2 on August 13th 2007, shortly after Compiz 0.5.2 was released. First stable release of Compiz Fusion is 0.6.0 released on October 20 2007. |
[edit] Dynamic
 | awesome
Awesome is not really known as a stacking WM, but technically it is capable of handling stacking windows. It is better known for its tiling WM capabilities. It can be configured using the Lua scripting language, making it very flexible. Like Xmonad, Awesome has abandoned the hard-core minimalism that characterizes most tiling window managers (e.g., ratpoison, larswm, dwm), and has features such as menu-bar widgets, drop-down menus, and icons. |
 | dwm
Dwm ("Dynamic Window Manager") is a minimalistic, dynamic, tiling window manager. Like wmii, it handles stacking windows by allowing the user to toggle back and forth between "managed" and "stacking" layers. Dwm is aimed at small size, speed, and simplicity. Many of the other popular tiling window managers are derivatives of dwm (including Awesome and Xmonad). Dwm is customized by editing a C header file (or the source itself). |
 | Enlightenment DR17
Quote from Enlightenment: Development Release 17 of the Enlightenment window manager represents an evolution into the next generation of desktop environments: the desktop shell. DR17 will provide integration between files and your environment in a seamless manner while encompassing a graphically rich and flexible architecture. It will not compete with GNOME or KDE, but be a completely new way of visualizing your desktop, based around the EFL which was built from the ground up for this task. Tiling can be enabled using the Tiling module. |
 | wmii
Wmii ("Window Manager Improved II") is a dynamic tiling window manager that is slightly less minimalistic in function than dwm. Where wmii stands out is its unique design, which allows users to customize (script) it in any language they choose. The package comes with a simple bash script that governs the appearance, functionality and behavior of the window manager. Users can easily customize this. Extensive projects exist which have created script sets in Python, Ruby, and other languages. Dwm was modeled on wmii (by the same author), and both are actively maintained. |
[edit] Stacking
 | Fluxbox
To quote Fluxbox offical site: Fluxbox is a windowmanager for X that was based on the Blackbox 0.61.1 code. It is very light on resources and easy to handle but yet full of features to make an easy, and extremely fast, desktop experience. It is built using C++ and licensed under the MIT-License. Fluxbox is very low on dependencies, using neither the GTK+ or Qt toolkits, but can still be configured to look and feel how you please. |
 | IceWM
To quote The IceWM website, "The goal of IceWM is speed, simplicity, and not getting in the user's way." |
 | Openbox
To quote from Openbox: Openbox is a highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.The *box visual style is well known for its minimalistic appearance. Openbox uses the *box visual style, while providing a greater number of options for theme developers than previous *box implementations. The theme documentation describes the full range of options found in Openbox themes. Openbox makes desktop environments better. By running Openbox inside the GNOME or K desktop environments, you can combine their ease and functionality with the power of Openbox. Your desktop becomes cleaner and faster, and is in your control, when you use Openbox. |
 | Kwin
Kwin is the Default Window Manager for the KDE Desktop Environment. It is closely integrated with the rest of the desktop environment but can be used seperately. It falls under the 'stacking window manager' category. To quote KDE info page: KDE achieves exceptional compliance with the available GNU/Linux desktop standards. KWin, KDE's new re-engineered window manager, complies to the new Window Manager Specification. So, we know it complies with the standards :D
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 | Metacity
Metacity is the Default Window Manager for the GNOME Desktop Environment. Under GNOME, you can use other Window Managers like Compiz or Openbox. It falls under the 'stacking window manager' category. To quote the author of Metacity README, "Boring window manager for the adult in you. Many window managers are like Marshmallow Froot Loops; Metacity is like Cheerios." If you are tired of those hooligan youths running around screaming past your seven thirty bed time this is the Window Manager for you! |
 | xfwm4
xfwm4 is the Default Window Manager for the Xfce Desktop Environment. A pretty simple Window Manager, kinda like cheerios ;D To quote their Web site Xfce Web site: The Xfce window manager manages the placement of application windows on the screen, provides beautiful window decorations, manages workspaces or virtual desktops, and natively supports multiscreen mode. It provides its own compositing manager (from the Xorg Composite extension) for true transparency and shadows. The Xfce window manager includes a keyboard shorcuts editor for user specific commands and basic windows manipulations, and provides a dialog for advanced tweaks. This is great stuff here. especially for people who want to balance usability and speed on a computer with medium specs. |
