C.2.3. Window Managers
Window managers are X client programs which are either part of a desktop environment or, in some cases, stand-alone. Their primary purpose is to control the way graphical windows are positioned, resized, or moved. Window managers also control title bars, window focus behavior, and user-specified key and mouse button bindings.
The Red Hat Enterprise Linux repositories provide five different window managers.
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metacity - The Metacity window manager is the default window manager for GNOME. It is a simple and efficient window manager which supports custom themes. This window manager is automatically pulled in as a dependency when the GNOME desktop is installed.
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kwin - The KWin window manager is the default window manager for KDE. It is an efficient window manager which supports custom themes. This window manager is automatically pulled in as a dependency when the KDE desktop is installed.
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compiz - The Compiz compositing window manager is based on OpenGL and can use 3D graphics hardware to create fast compositing desktop effects for window management. Advanced features, such as a cube workspace, are implemented as loadable plug-ins. To run this window manager, you need to install the compiz package.
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mwm - The Motif Window Manager (
mwm) is a basic, stand-alone window manager. Since it is designed to be stand-alone, it should not be used in conjunction with GNOME or KDE. To run this window manager, you need to install the openmotif package. -
twm - The minimalist Tab Window Manager (
twm), which provides the most basic tool set among the available window managers, can be used either as a stand-alone or with a desktop environment. To run this window manager, you need to install the xorg-x11-twm package.
