Chapter 3: KDE What Is KDE?
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Chapter 3: KDE Page 1 of 31 Chapter 3: KDE In This Chapter l What Is KDE? l Installing KDE l Selecting KDE l Basic Desktop Elements l Running Programs l Stopping KDE l KDE Capabilities l Configuring KDE with the Control Center l Configuring the Panel l Manipulating Files and Directories l Project: Setting Up a Development Environment What Is KDE? KDE stands for the K Desktop Environment. The K doesn’t stand for anything in particular. KDE provides some of the same functionality for a graphical environment that is found in other popular operating environments, such as Macintosh OS or Windows 98. However, it also provides some unique features of its own to enhance your graphical work environment. KDE is a complete desktop environment, as opposed to being just a window manager or program launcher. Several capable window managers exist for Linux, including olwm, fvwm, afterstep, and others. However, KDE provides much more functionality than a simple window manager provides. For more information on the differences between desktops and window managers, see Chapter 2, "Introduction to the Desktop." KDE Is a Graphical Desktop KDE provides all the capabilities of a desktop. For example, KDE enables you to do the following: l Put icons on the desktop to mount and unmount removable disks, such as floppies. l Browse the filesystem graphically. file://J:\MacmillanComputerPublishing\chapters\JW046.html 3/22/01 Chapter 3: KDE Page 2 of 31 l Associate applications with files of a particular type so that when you click a file, it automatically loads the correct application. l Create a desktop printer icon, to which you can drag files to print them. None of these are features of a window manager or program launcher by itself. The value of KDE is that it simplifies many tasks that a user must perform by providing a graphical environment that simulates something more familiar to the user. In other words, KDE provides a desktop metaphor, which is a way of displaying and manipulating documents, directories, and programs in a manner that is more intuitive and appealing than typing commands at a shell prompt. KDE Applications The KDE system includes not only the desktop, but also a whole host of applications and utilities to go along with it. In the default distribution of KDE, there are more than 100 programs, ranging from games to system utilities to a full-blown office suite. Each of these programs is useful in its own right; in addition, however, the KDE applications can interoperate with each other to make certain operations easier. For example, you can drag a package file from the file manager to the package manager to view the contents of the package and install it. KDE Is a Project In addition to being a graphical desktop, KDE is also a huge project. The KDE project provides a complete applications development framework and many guidelines and resources for the development and use of KDE programs. Thousands of developers around the world work on various aspects of the KDE system, including programming, documentation, translation, all kinds of testing, and packaging. The KDE Web site is located at http://www.kde.org/. This Web site contains many resources for both users and developers of KDE. For example, the Web site provides online documentation in many languages. Also, users can participate in mailing lists to receive or give assistance in working with KDE. For developers, application style guides, automated tools for constructing KDE applications, bug and feature wish lists, and more can be found here. The KDE project is devoted to a philosophy of ease-of-use, consistency, and quality for graphical applications in the Linux world. Installing KDE Most major Linux distributions include KDE automatically when you install them. Debian is a major exception because of disagreements over licensing (though this may change in the next release). If you run Debian or another distribution that does not include KDE by default, or if you simply want to upgrade to a later version, installing the latest version is fairly easy. All the files you need are available at ftp://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/. KDE is made up of various packages, which are listed in Table 3.1. This list of packages is consistent file://J:\MacmillanComputerPublishing\chapters\JW046.html 3/22/01 Chapter 3: KDE Page 3 of 31 throughout the various distribution systems (such as RPM, deb, or tar). Table 3.1 KDE Packages Package Use qt (required) The Qt toolkit from Trolltech. All of KDE is based on this windows toolkit. kdesupport (highly recommended) Non-KDE libraries that KDE relies on. kdelibs (required) KDE shared libraries. kdebase (required) Core KDE applications, such as the window manager, control center, terminal, and Web browser. kdeadmin (optional) System administration tools, such as the package manager, kpackage. kdegames (optional) Various games for KDE. kdegraphics (optional) Graphic viewers and manipulation programs. kdemultimedia (optional) Multimedia applications, such as the CD player. kdenetwork (optional) Network applications, such as the mail client and new reader. kdetoys (optional) Miscellaneous fun applications, such as kmoon, which shows you the current phase of the moon. kdeutils (optional) More useful utilities, such as the calculator and text editor. koffice (optional) The K Office Suite includes a powerful word processor, spreadsheet, and more. For any distribution, you will need to install the recommended and required packages in the order listed in Table 3.1. The optional packages can be installed in any order. RPM-Based Distributions For RPM-based distributions, such as Red Hat, Caldera OpenLinux, SuSE, Yellow Dog, and many others, you simply need to download the RPMs and install them. Go to either ftp://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/stable/latest/distribution/ or ftp://ftp.kde.org/pub/kde/unstable/distribution/ and select the distribution closest to your own. The stable tree contains the officially released version of KDE, whereas the unstable tree contains pre-release betas and day-to-day snapshots of the development tree. Pick the version most suitable to you. After you have downloaded all the packages you want to a directory, you can install them with RPM: file://J:\MacmillanComputerPublishing\chapters\JW046.html 3/22/01 Chapter 3: KDE Page 4 of 31 $ su Password: <password> # rpm -i k*.rpm # After you have installed KDE, see "Selecting KDE" later in this chapter for more information on getting KDE up and running. Debian KDE is not directly supported by Debian, and KDE packages are not currently available at the main Debian site, as previously stated, because of disagreements over licensing. For more information on the Debian/KDE debate, see http://www.uk.debian.org/~phil/KDE-FAQ.html. Note that this FAQ is from the Debian point of view and claims that distributing KDE binary packages is a violation of the GPL (because of linking with the non-GPL Qt). The KDE developers have not posted an official statement, but their general agreement is that they are within their license, and that Debian is free to distribute or not distribute KDE as they see fit. This can change soon (in fact it will likely have changed by the time this book is published) because Qt 2.2.0 will be released under the GPL, which should remove Debian’s objection to KDE. Some Debian developers maintain semi-official packages. To install them, add the following to your /etc/apt/sources.list: deb http://kde.tdyc.com potato kde2 This is accurate at the time of writing, but because KDE2 is in final beta at this time, you should check http://kde.tdyc.com/ for the most up-to-date information. After you have updated /etc/apt/sources.list, do the following: 1. Run dselect. 2. Select Update to download the package list from the KDE mirror site. 3. Select Select and choose kdebase by pressing the Plus key. dselect will automatically select the other packages you need. Press Enter to accept the suggested packages or add additional packages from the list using the Plus key, and press Enter when complete. 4. If you want additional packages, select them with the Plus key. 5. Press Enter when complete. 6. Select Install to download the packages and install them. After you have installed KDE, see the following section, "Selecting KDE," for more information on getting KDE up and running. file://J:\MacmillanComputerPublishing\chapters\JW046.html 3/22/01 Chapter 3: KDE Page 5 of 31 Note - Depending on which version of Debian you are running, you might need to install the libasound1 package as well. This is available at http://packages.debian.org/unstable/sound/libasound1.html. Download the package and install it: # dpkg -i libasound1_0.5.9-1.deb Your file might be named slightly differently. Selecting KDE Many distributions allow you to select whether to use KDE, GNOME, or some other desktop during installation. Switching desktops is usually fairly simple after installation, however. The only complicated part is determining how your particular distribution starts the desktop. Using the Display Manager If you’re using either gdm (the GNOME display manager), or kdm (the KDE display manager) you can select your desktop during login using the Session (or Session type) menu. After you have selected your desktop once, the display manager will remember it when you log in again. Just leave the setting as Default. Using Switchdesk Red Hat includes a utility called switchdesk that enables you to easily change between GNOME, KDE, and twm (a simple window manager). From the command line, enter $ switchdesk-kde then select the desktop you want (KDE in this case), and press OK. The option Change Only Applies to Current Display enables you to have different desktops for different displays.