Re: yet another layer ?

faq
flatforty
contribute
subscribe
configure
search
rdf

main
parent
thread

Re: yet another layer ?
by Brandybuck on Thursday 05/Jan/2006, @00:42

"Really I would consider the DE to be part of the operating system"

But the Unix desktop is NOT part of the operating system, no matter how often Microsoft and Apple tell you otherwise. The Unix model is an onion, with the desktop being a layer on top of lower level layers. Because of this, KDE can run on *ANY* Unix system with an X11 server. Yes, the desktop does need to access kernel services and other low level resources, but that doesn't mean you have to tightly couple the desktop to the operating system the way Microsoft and Apple do.

Related Links

·   Articles on Developer
·   Also by Brandybuck
·   Contact author

The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whomever posted them.
( Reply )

Re: yet another layer ?
by Tobias König on Thursday 05/Jan/2006, @02:08

"KDE can run on *ANY* Unix..."

Right, but not any Unix provides HAL or D-Bus, for this reason we need yet another abstraction layer.

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: yet another layer ?
by Ian Monroe on Friday 06/Jan/2006, @10:33

Right I'm saying the definition of "operating systems" now encompasses the functions of a DE. It isn't a stretch to say that providing to developers easy access to multimedia, hardware, and an HTML viewer are functions of an operating system. I'm not saying that this somehow means that DE's need to be unportable and stuck on a kernel.

I mean, if you look at the functionality KDE provides they are often because on the other platforms Qt resides they are already provided by the OS.

[ Reply To This | View ]

Re: yet another layer ?
by FreddyTheTeddy on Monday 09/Jan/2006, @02:41

In a Java VM, you get the core interpreter, which basically knows about the byte code and the underlying OS. But no Java Runtime or SDK comes without a huge set of libraries (handling IO, ZIP files, GUI stuff), but Java would be long dead if it did not come with them. They are bundled with the JDK, but not part of the core system, and yet Java specific. some of them have OS-dependent back-ends too.
Solid will be that set of libs shipping with for a given OS, for KDE apps. And who knows, future may lead to have Gnome and KDE sync up on this topic too :-)

[ Reply To This | View ]

The Fine Print: The previous comments are owned by whomever posted them.
( Reply )


		"Default settings are easy to manage." -- Aaron Seigo
KDE®, "K Desktop Environment", "KDE Dot News", "got the dot?" and the KDE Logo® are trademarks or registered trademarks of KDE e.V. in the European Union, the United States and other countries. All other trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective owners. Comments are owned by the poster. The rest: Copyright © 2000-2008 KDE e.V. for The KDE Project. For further information or comments on this site, please contact the Webmaster.