On Tue, 01 Feb 2005 21:19:31 -0700, Kevin Fries <kevin@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > Hash: SHA1 > > Leandro Melo wrote: > > | Hi, i'm a beginner use. I've been trying to set up my development > | enviroment in fedora. Don't know if i'll be able to do it, but as i > | go one step further i come up with thousands of doubts. Here's a > | basic one. I'd like to download Eclipse (java ide) and there are a > | few builds for linux. In my case, i know i'd get the x86's > | versions, but there're two of them. > | > | - Linux (x86/Motif) - Linux (x86/GTK 2) > | > | There are an info page that says the red had system would use the > | gtk version, so i think that that's what i should use in fedora. > | However, i have a doubt: i understand that motif and gtk are user > | interfaces software, but i don't understand why would they have two > | diferent builds in this case. Can anyone explain to me? Also, i > | use default's gnome in fedora core, may it cause any problem? > | Thanks > > Its one thing to know which version to use, its another to know why. > > Linux treats the graphic system as an addon. Unlike M$, it does not > use the actual Window objects to sending operating system messages > (the reason that all Win apps need a window, even if it is hidden) but > instead has a separate signaling mechanism. The graphic system in > Linux is called X Windows. X by itself is extremely raw, and not very > user friendly. > > Sitting on top of X is generally a series of programs that handle > everything from window decorations (Metacity, etc) to full desktop > management (KDE, GNOME, etc). Its all a wonderfully beautiful > sandwich with layer upon layer until you get the GUI you see. > > Motif is a graphics package that was used to create older desktops > such as CDE and OpenWin. > > GTK is the graphics package that was used to build GNOME. > > QT is the graphics package that was used to build KDE. > > In the simplest form, you can think of these as widget factories > attached to an API. (Yes, for you purists I realize this is not > exactly accurate, but this is a newb and its close enough for his > needs). Almost the equivalent of the Windows API. Motif, GTK, and QT > are all supersets of X. > > Most modern Linux systems include both the GTK and QT libraries even > when only one of the desktops are installed. This is why I can run > GIMP (also built on GTK) on a KDE desktop, or Kate (built with QT) on > GNOME. However, Motif is not generally included any longer. You > could technically add it on if you needed, but with modern systems, > there really is no good reason to do this. > > So know you know why > > Welcome to Linux, and have fun > Kevin Fries > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > Version: GnuPG v1.2.6 (GNU/Linux) > Comment: Using GnuPG with Thunderbird - http://enigmail.mozdev.org > > iD8DBQFCAFTTiFq1Eo16+CgRAh+hAKCbHIMI7/qjvJefZrTSMW/stRRahQCfWkJd > GfuRnSEBUEf+b0c91TE0aq4= > =HbQA > -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- Thanks, nice explanation! -- Leandro
