Chapter 7: The K Desktop Environment: KDE

Overview

The K Desktop Environment (KDE) is a network-transparent desktop that includes the standard desktop features, such as a window manager and a file manager, as well as an extensive set of applications that cover most Linux tasks. KDE is an Internet-aware system that includes a full set of integrated network/Internet applications, including a mailer, a newsreader, and a Web browser. The file manager doubles as a Web and FTP client, enabling you to access Internet sites directly from your desktop. KDE aims to provide a level of desktop functionality and ease of use found in MAC/OS and Windows systems, combined with the power and flexibility of the Unix operating system.

The KDE desktop is developed and distributed by the KDE Project, which is a large open group of hundreds of programmers around the world. KDE is entirely free and open software provided under a GNU Public License and is available free of charge along with its source code. KDE development is managed by a core group: the KDE Core Team. Anyone can apply, though membership is based on merit.

Note

KDE applications are developed using several supporting KDE technologies. These include KIO, which offers seamless and modular access of files and directories across a network. For interprocess communication, KDE uses the Desktop Communications Protocol (DCOP). KParts is the KDE component object model used to embed an application within another, such as a spreadsheet within a word processor. The XML GUI uses XML to generate and place GUI objects such as menus and toolbars. KHTML is an HTML rendering and drawing engine.

Numerous applications written specifically for KDE are easily accessible from the desktop. These include editors, photo and paint image applications, spreadsheets, and office applications. Such applications usually have the letter k as part of their name-for example, KWord or KMail. A variety of tools are provided with the KDE desktop. These include calculators, console windows, notepads, and even software package managers. On a system administration level, KDE provides several tools for configuring your system. With KUser, you can manage user accounts, adding new ones or removing old ones. Practically all your Linux tasks can be performed from the KDE desktop. KDE applications also feature a built-in Help application. Choosing the Contents entry in the Help menu starts the KDE Help viewer, which provides a Web page-like interface with links for navigating through the Help documents. KDE version 3.0 includes support for the office application suite KOffice, based on KDE's KParts technology. KOffice includes a presentation application, a spreadsheet, an illustrator, and a word processor, among other components (see Chapter 11 for more details). In addition, an integrated development environment (IDE), called KDevelop, is available to help programmers create KDE-based software.

Note

On Red Hat, KDE uses a Bluecurve theme to make it appear much the same as the Gnome desktop. However, on KDE, menus will show more KDE applications, including access to the KDE Control Center on the main menu.

KDE was initiated by Matthias Ettrich in October 1996, and it has an extensive list of sponsors, including SuSE, Red Hat, Mandrake, O'Reilly, and others. KDE is designed to run on any Unix implementation, including Linux, Solaris, HP-UX, and FreeBSD. The official KDE Web site is www.kde.org, which provides news updates, download links, and documentation. KDE software packages can be downloaded from the KDE FTP site at ftp.kde.org and its mirror sites. Several KDE mailing lists are available for users and developers, including announcements, administration, and other topics. See the KDE Web site to subscribe. A great many software applications are currently available for KDE at apps.kde.com. Development support and documentation can be obtained at developer.kde.org. Various KDE Web sites are listed in Table 7-1.

Table 7-1: KDE Web Sites

Web Site	Description
www.kde.org	KDE Web site
ftp.kde.org	KDE FTP site
apps.kde.com	KDE software repository
developer.kde.org	KDE developer site
www.trolltech.com	Site for Qt libraries
www.koffice.org	KOffice office suite
themes.freshmeat.net	KDE desktop themes, select KDE entry
lists.kde.org	KDE mailing lists

Note

Currently, new versions of KDE are being released frequently, sometimes every few months. KDE releases are designed to enable users to upgrade their older versions easily. Normally, you can use the Red Hat Network update utility to automatically update KDE as updates become available. Alternatively, you can download new KDE packages from your distribution's FTP site and install them manually. Packages tailored for various distributions can be also downloaded through the KDE Web site at www.kde.org or directly from the KDE FTP site at ftp.kde.org and its mirror sites in the stable directory.