All Topics  
LXDE

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

LXDE
 
 
  Topics LXDE Topic Home

LXDE is a free and open source
Foss

Foss may refer topeople*Foss , people with the last name Foss*Foss Shanahan , New Zealand diplomat*Foss Westcott , English bishop*Lasse Bergan-Foss , Norwegian footballer...
 desktop environment
Desktop environment

In graphical computing, a desktop environment commonly refers to a style of graphical user interface that is based on the desktop metaphor which can be seen on most modern personal computers today....
 for Unix
Unix

Unix is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of American Telephone & Telegraph employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson , Dennis Ritchie, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna....
 and other POSIX
POSIX

POSIX or "Portable Operating System Interface" is the collective name of a family of related standardizations specified by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to define the application programming interface , along with shell and utilities interfaces for software compatible with variants of the Unix operating system, altho...
 compliant platforms, such as Linux
Linux

Linux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed by anyone under the terms of the GNU GPL license...
 or BSD. The name LXDE stands for "Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment".

LXDE is designed to work well with computers on the low end of the performance spectrum such as the new generation netbook
Netbook

A netbook is a class of laptop computer designed for wireless communication and access to the Internet.Primarily designed for World Wide Web and e-mailing, netbooks "rely heavily on the Internet for remote access to web application" and are targeted increasingly at cloud computing users who require a less powerful Client ....
s and other small computers. LXDE is energy efficient and fast compared to other desktops. LXDE can be built on top of various Linux distributions such as Ubuntu or Debian
Debian

Debian GNU/Linux is one of the most popular and influential computer operating systems composed of free software and open source software....
.

project was started in 2006 by Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
ese hacker
Hacker

In computing, a hacker is a person in one of several distinct communities and subcultures:* People committed to circumvention of computer security....
 Hong Jen Yee, also known as PCMan, when he published PCManFM, a new file manager and the first module of LXDE.

LXDE project aims include:



is built in the C programming language, using the GTK+
GTK+

GTK+, or The GIMP Toolkit, is a cross-platform widget toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces. It is one of the most popular toolkits for the X Window System, along with Qt ....
 toolkit, and runs on Unix
Unix

Unix is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of American Telephone & Telegraph employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson , Dennis Ritchie, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna....
 and other POSIX
POSIX

POSIX or "Portable Operating System Interface" is the collective name of a family of related standardizations specified by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to define the application programming interface , along with shell and utilities interfaces for software compatible with variants of the Unix operating system, altho...
 compliant platforms, such as Linux
Linux

Linux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed by anyone under the terms of the GNU GPL license...
 and BSD.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'LXDE'
Start a new discussion about 'LXDE'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


LXDE is a free and open source
Foss

Foss may refer topeople*Foss , people with the last name Foss*Foss Shanahan , New Zealand diplomat*Foss Westcott , English bishop*Lasse Bergan-Foss , Norwegian footballer...
 desktop environment
Desktop environment

In graphical computing, a desktop environment commonly refers to a style of graphical user interface that is based on the desktop metaphor which can be seen on most modern personal computers today....
 for Unix
Unix

Unix is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of American Telephone & Telegraph employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson , Dennis Ritchie, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna....
 and other POSIX
POSIX

POSIX or "Portable Operating System Interface" is the collective name of a family of related standardizations specified by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to define the application programming interface , along with shell and utilities interfaces for software compatible with variants of the Unix operating system, altho...
 compliant platforms, such as Linux
Linux

Linux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed by anyone under the terms of the GNU GPL license...
 or BSD. The name LXDE stands for "Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment".

LXDE is designed to work well with computers on the low end of the performance spectrum such as the new generation netbook
Netbook

A netbook is a class of laptop computer designed for wireless communication and access to the Internet.Primarily designed for World Wide Web and e-mailing, netbooks "rely heavily on the Internet for remote access to web application" and are targeted increasingly at cloud computing users who require a less powerful Client ....
s and other small computers. LXDE is energy efficient and fast compared to other desktops. LXDE can be built on top of various Linux distributions such as Ubuntu or Debian
Debian

Debian GNU/Linux is one of the most popular and influential computer operating systems composed of free software and open source software....
.

History and community

The project was started in 2006 by Taiwan
Taiwan

Taiwan is an island in East Asia. "Taiwan" is also commonly used to refer to the country governed by the Republic of China and to the ROC itself, which governs the island of Taiwan, Orchid Island and Green Island, Taiwan in the Pacific Ocean off the Taiwan coast, the Penghu islands in the Taiwan Strait, and Kinmen and the Matsu Islands...
ese hacker
Hacker

In computing, a hacker is a person in one of several distinct communities and subcultures:* People committed to circumvention of computer security....
 Hong Jen Yee, also known as PCMan, when he published PCManFM, a new file manager and the first module of LXDE.

Goals of the LXDE project

The LXDE project aims include:

  • a desktop environment which is fast and saves energy
  • keep the resource usage low, including low RAM, low CPU and low disk space usage.
  • full featured desktop
  • multilanguage support


Development

LXDE is built in the C programming language, using the GTK+
GTK+

GTK+, or The GIMP Toolkit, is a cross-platform widget toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces. It is one of the most popular toolkits for the X Window System, along with Qt ....
 toolkit, and runs on Unix
Unix

Unix is a computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of American Telephone & Telegraph employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson , Dennis Ritchie, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna....
 and other POSIX
POSIX

POSIX or "Portable Operating System Interface" is the collective name of a family of related standardizations specified by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers to define the application programming interface , along with shell and utilities interfaces for software compatible with variants of the Unix operating system, altho...
 compliant platforms, such as Linux
Linux

Linux is a generic term referring to Unix-like computer operating systems based on the Linux kernel. Their development is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software collaboration; typically all the underlying source code can be used, freely modified, and redistributed by anyone under the terms of the GNU GPL license...
 and BSD. GTK+ is commonly used in many Linux distribution
Linux distribution

A Linux distribution is a member of the family of Unix-like software distributions built on top of the Linux kernel. Such distributions consist of a large collection of software applications such as word processors, spreadsheets, media players and database applications....
s and allows applications to run on different platforms.

Components

Unlike in other desktop environments, the components of LXDE are not tightly integrated. Instead, they can run independently of each other.

LXDE consists of several components:
  • PCMan File Manager
    PCMan File Manager

    PCMan File Manager is a file manager application developed by Hong Jen Yee. Released under the GNU General Public License, PCManFM is free software....
  • LXLauncher, easy-mode application launcher
  • LXPanel, desktop panel
  • LXSession, session manager
  • LXAppearance, theme switcher
  • leafpad
    Leafpad

    Leafpad is a simple, lightweight, fast GTK+ text editor for Unix-like systems with few dependencies on external libraries. It features a small startup time on most modern hardware....
    , text editor
  • Xarchiver
    Xarchiver

    Xarchiver is a front-end and back-end to various command line interface file archiver tools for GNU and Berkeley Software Distribution operating systems, designed to be independent of the desktop environment....
    , archiving
  • GPicView, image viewer
  • LXTerminal, terminal emulator
  • LXTask, task manager
  • LXNM, lightweight network connection helper daemon for LXDE supporting wireless connections (Linux-only)
  • Openbox
    Openbox

    Openbox is a free software window manager for the X Window System, licensed under the GNU General Public License. Openbox was originally derived from Blackbox 0.65.0, but has been totally rewritten in the C and since version 3.0 is not based upon any code from Blackbox....
    , window manager


Release cycle

There are currently only development versions and no stable versions of LXDE.

Licensing

LXDE includes GPL licensed code as well as LGPL licensed code.

Hardware compatibility

Computer processor architectures supported by LXDE currently include x86, x86-64
X86-64

x86-64 is a superset of the x86. x86-64 Central processing units can run existing 32-bit or 16-bit x86 programs at full speed, but also support new programs written with a 64-bit address space and other additional capabilities....
, and MIPS
MIPS architecture

MIPS is a RISC instruction set architecture developed by MIPS Technologies . In the mid to late 1990s, it was estimated that one in three RISC microprocessors produced were MIPS implementations....
.

Distributions including LXDE

  • Arch Linux
    Arch Linux

    Arch Linux is a Linux distribution intended to be lightweight and simple. The design approach of the development team focuses on "simplicity", elegance, code correctness and Minimalism ....
     
  • Debian
    Debian

    Debian GNU/Linux is one of the most popular and influential computer operating systems composed of free software and open source software....
     5.0 "Lenny"
  • Fedora
    Fedora (operating system)

    Fedora is an RPM Package Manager-based, general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat....
     10
  • Gentoo Linux
    Gentoo Linux

    Gentoo is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux Kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as Free software....
  • gOS
    GOS (operating system)

    gOS or "good OS" is an Ubuntu-based Linux distribution created by 'Good OS LLC', a Los Angeles-based corporation. The company initially advertised it as "An alternative OS with Google Apps and other Web 2.0 apps for the modern user." This first version gOS was based on Ubuntu 7.10 and the Enlightenment window manager E17....
     3.0
  • Greenie Linux: Ubuntu-based OS with LXDE and GNOME desktop environments
  • Hiweed
    Hiweed

    Hiweed GNU/Linux is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu. It is tailored for Chinese language users and includes preconfigured Chinese applications such as simplified Chinese input methods, Chinese dictionaries, and Chinese TrueType fonts....
     2.0RC: Ubuntu derivative tailored for Chinese-language users.
  • Knoppix
    Knoppix

    Knoppix, or KNOPPIX , is an operating system based on Debian designed to be run directly from a Compact Disc / DVD, one of the first of its kind for any operating system....
     6.0: Debian based Live-CD featuring LXDE as the default Desktop Environment as of version 6.0.
  • lxde-sid-lite: An unofficial sidux
    Sidux

    sidux is a desktop-oriented operating system based on the "unstable" branch of Debian, which uses the codename Sid. The distribution consists of a Live CD for i686 or x86-64 architecture and can be installed to a hard drive through a graphical installer....
     based Live-CD with LXDE, Harddisk and USB installer, special tailored for netbooks
    Netbook

    A netbook is a class of laptop computer designed for wireless communication and access to the Internet.Primarily designed for World Wide Web and e-mailing, netbooks "rely heavily on the Internet for remote access to web application" and are targeted increasingly at cloud computing users who require a less powerful Client ....
     like the Eee PC.
  • Mandriva Linux
    Mandriva Linux

    Mandriva Linux is an operating system created by Mandriva . It uses the RPM Package Manager. The product lifetime of Mandriva Linux releases is 18 months for base updates and 12 months for desktop updates ....
     2009 supports LXDE and can be installed after system installation.
    • Mandriva Linux
      Mandriva Linux

      Mandriva Linux is an operating system created by Mandriva . It uses the RPM Package Manager. The product lifetime of Mandriva Linux releases is 18 months for base updates and 12 months for desktop updates ....
       2009.1 (alias Spring) will support LXDE as the default light environment.
  • Myah OS 3.0 Box edition: LXDE flavor of Myah OS.
  • Parted Magic 3.1, A partition tool now based on LXDE
  • PUD GNU/Linux: Ubuntu-based installable live cd with LXDE
  • Ubuntu 8.10 "Intrepid Ibex" includes LXDE in its repositories, LXDE can also be installed in earlier versions of Ubuntu
  • U-lite
  • VectorLinux Light


LXDE gallery



External links