LXDE

LXDE

Default LXDE desktop
Original author(s)	Hong Jen Yee (“PCMan”)
Developer(s)	The LXDE Team
Initial release	2006
Development status	Active
Written in	C (GTK+)
Operating system	Unix-like
Available in	Multilingual
Type	Desktop environment
License	GNU GPL, GNU LGPL
Website	lxde.org

LXDE is a free and open source desktop environment for Unix and other POSIX compliant platforms, such as Linux or BSD. The goal of the project is to provide a desktop environment that is fast and energy efficient. The name LXDE stands for "Lightweight X11 Desktop Environment".^[1][2]

LXDE is designed to work well with computers on the low end of the performance spectrum such as older resource-constrained machines, especially those with low amounts of RAM.^[3] In 2010, tests suggested that LXDE 0.5 had the lowest memory usage of the 4 most popular desktop environments of the time (GNOME 2.29, KDE Plasma Desktop 4.4, and Xfce 4.6),^[4] and that it consumed less energy,^[5] which suggests mobile computers with LXDE 0.5 drained their battery at a slower pace than those with other desktop environments.

LXDE is the default desktop environment of Knoppix, Lubuntu and Raspbian, among others.

LXDE is written in the C programming language, using the GTK+ toolkit, and runs on Unix and other POSIX compliant platforms, such as Linux and BSD. GTK+ is commonly used in many Linux distributions and allows applications to run on different platforms.^[6] LXDE uses rolling releases for the individual components (or group of components with coupled dependencies).^[7] Its window manager is Openbox. LXDE includes GPL licensed code as well as LGPL licensed code.^[1]

History [edit]

The project was started in 2006 by Taiwanese programmer Hong Jen Yee, also known as PCMan, when he published PCManFM, a new file manager and the first module of LXDE.

In reviewing Linux distribution rankings for DistroWatch in early January 2011 for the year 2010 versus 2009, Ladislav Bodnar noted the increase in popularity of LXDE versus other desktop environments. He said, "Looking through the tables, an interesting thing is the rise of distributions that use the lightweight, but full-featured LXDE desktop or the Openbox window manager. As an example, Lubuntu now comfortably beats Kubuntu in terms of page hits, while CrunchBang Linux, a lightweight distribution with Openbox is still in the top 25 even though it failed to produce a stable release for well over a year. Many other distributions started offering LXDE-based editions of their products, further contributing to the dramatic rise in popularity of this relatively new desktop environment."^[8]

Dissatisfied with GTK 3, Hong Jen Yee experimented with Qt in early 2013^[9] and released the first version of a Qt-based PCManFM on 02013-03-26March 26, 2013.^[10] He clarified, though, that this means no departure from GTK in LXDE, saying “The Gtk+ and Qt versions will coexist”. He later ported LXDE’s Xrandr front-end to Qt.^[11]

Components [edit]

Unlike other major desktop environments such as GNOME, the components of LXDE have few dependencies and are not tightly integrated.^[12] Instead, they can run independently of each other.^[13]

LXDE consists of several components:

• 

  LXDE Picture Viewer

• 

  LXAppearance

• 

  LXPanel

• 

  LXPanel Preferences

• 

  LXTask

• 

  PCManFM

• 

  Autocompletion of Panel tasks

See also [edit]

Free software portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: LXDE

• Razor-qt, a similar project using the Qt framework, in place of GTK+
• Comparison of X Window System desktop environments

External links [edit]

• Official website
• LXDE on SourceForge

References [edit]