Comparison of Windows and X Windows on Knoppix Linux Boot disk and Window 2000 Citing Advantages and Disadvantages to Both Patrick Hanrahan POS/420 Amadou Wane 27, August 2005 Abstract This paper provides an overview of similarities between Windows 2000 and Knoppix Linux Boot disk, as well as including the advantages and disadvantages of both. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 X Windows 4 Windows Managers 5 Microsoft Windows GDI 5 Advantages and Disadvantages 6 Conclusion 6 References 7 Comparison of Windows and X Windows on Knoppix Linux Boot disk and Window 2000 Citing Advantages and Disadvantages to Both Introduction What is X Windows? The X Window System, often known as X, is a windowing system for graphics workstations developed at MIT with support from DEC, Indiana University (1997-2005). What is the Microsoft counterpart? Microsoft’s Windows Graphic Device Interface or (GDI) performs the same functionality for Windows as X Windows does for UNIX or Linux operating systems. We begin the journey by separating out the Windows manager (KDM) from the X Windows (XFree 86) on the Knoppix Linux disk.
This is the first step in identifying the similarities of X Windows and Windows and is required prior to comparing the major advantages, disadvantages, and components in Windows and on the Knoppix Live CD… Even though the Windows manager runs, in essence, in conjunction with X Windows, Cooper, P. (1999). X Windows Windows is the foundation for the GUI choices in Linux, Lockergnome (1996-2005).
Lockergnome (1996-2005) goes on to state that it was fashioned in the mid-1980 s and that it is a core set of instructions for creating a GUI. X Windows or “X” is not the GUI itself, nor does it describe how the windows should be created. What it does do, according to Lockergnome (1996-2005, is provide a common set of instructions for developers to use when creating them. Windows Managers User interface is what makes or breaks an operating system, in my opinion, and have often heard that people dread the transition to Linux from Windows for this very reason. The desktop environment (DE) used for the Knoppix boot able CD, once experienced, should resolve all the fears associated with transitioning to or using Linux. As stated above, X Windows does not define how a window is drawn, so what is it that gives the desktop environment its “look and Feel” as a user interface? Window managers in Linux handle the drawing of windows, recognizing and responding to mouse clicks, and creating all the little touches that make up a DE’s look and feel Lockergnome (1996-2005).
Window managers also operate independently of the Linux kernel, communicating instead with the underlying X Window system. Several window managers exist today, including the ones mentioned by Information Technology Research Institute (2004). Knoppix has six alternative ‘desktops’. Alternatives to using KDM enable you run the X Window System on a computer that doesn’t have enough RAM for KDM. It also saves loading time, because the alternatives load much more quickly than KDM. This is a distinct advantage when compared to Microsoft Windows.
Information Technology Research Institute (2004) lists these six alternatives available for use with the Knoppix Live CDo Ice Window Managero Window Maker o Fluxbox o Xfce o Lars Window Managero Tab Window Manager Microsoft Windows GDI GDI is similar to Linux Window managers, responsible for tasks such as drawing lines and curves, rendering fonts, and handling palettes. It is not directly responsible for drawing windows or menus. That task is reserved for the user subsystem, Wikipedia (2005). Advantages and Disadvantages Perhaps the most significant capability of GDI over more direct methods of accessing the hardware, Wikipedia (2005), is its scaling capabilities, and abstraction of target devices. Using GDI, it is very easy to draw on multiple devices, such as a screen and a printer, and expect proper reproduction in each case. This capability is at the center of all WYSIWYG applications for Microsoft Windows.
One of the biggest advantages of the X Window, Lockergnome (1996-2005), approach to GUIs is that X is completely independent of the core operating system. In other operating systems, a GUI crash requires a system restart. With X, the GUI can be stopped, started, changed, and restarted without so much as denting the underlying processes of the OS. Not addressed in this paper is the Windows Graphics Foundation, which is the next version of Microsoft’s DirectX application programming interface (API). Games and all they require are out of scope of both the Window manager available for the Knoppix Linux Boot disk and GDI. Conclusion I actually prefer the Windows 2000 DE and all that entails.
Perhaps this is born from familiarity alone, but considering both let me move my mouse, click and open windows, and access files there is not much more to judge. In the final observation pertaining to this, the performance I get from using Windows operating system and its DE outshines what is available with the Knoppix Linux Boot disk. Reference sCooper, P. (1999) Do all window managers (like GNOME or KDE or FVWM 95) run on top of X windows? Retrieved August 2005 from: web Technology Research Institute (2004) Alternatives to KDE Retrieved August 2005 from: web (1996-2005) X Window Retrieved August 2005 from: web x window. phtmlIndiana University (1997-2005) What is the X Window System? Retrieved August 2005 from: web (2005) GDI Retrieved August 2005 from: web.