Window Managers - definition and history

Window Manager is a special application that is usually started before all other applications and manages all windows that different applications may create, draws decoration around them, desides about actual window sizes and which window gets a user input (keyboard, mouse) in any given time.

Multiple (tiled) windows appeared in several research systems of 1960s. Successful, because help users to do their work with scarce resources.

• Organize input (from mouse, keyboard) and output (to display)
• Attention of users (higlighted decorations for focused window)
• Easy for reminding and finding other work

Windows

• Operations (maximize, iconify, shade, move, resize, close)
• Decorations and titlebar buttons
• Mouse and keyboard commands to control windows

Next

X Window Managers and Perl

Prev