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I would like to create a small Linux Desktop Enviorment. - How the Applications Should be presented. - How the Login Window Should look like - How Menus should looks like - How property windows should look like - And other graphical stuff

I need to know which tools I have to use to create a new enviorment. THis is mostly for learning purposes. I would like to use the "Unity".

Are there any tutorials?

Arif
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1 Answers1

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It probably would take you years of work to make your desktop environment from scratch.

I assume you are still talking of some X11 based environment (but by the time you'll have something, Wayland might have replaced X11).

If you want to make an X11 based desktop, study carefully the various X11 related protocols. Then dive into conventions like EWMH.

It would be more reasonable, after having spent months to study the X11 protool and EWMH, to start from an existing free software desktop environment and adapt it to suite your needs. You'll need to understand the role of the window manager (try first to use -one at a time- several existing WMs, e.g. icewm, ratpoison, twm and existing desktops -xfce, lxde, ....- ....)

Be aware that there is a big lot of legacy in X11....

Did you consider installing some source based Linux distribution like gentoo? You'll get all the source code that you need!

Basile Starynkevitch
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  • I just want to make something small, Few menus and Applications. Or I can just take any currently working and scale it down – Arif Jul 14 '15 at 19:36
  • Yes, better configure some existing things. Even small things take months of work. – Basile Starynkevitch Jul 14 '15 at 19:36
  • I would then suggest to invest your efforts on Wayland. – Basile Starynkevitch Jul 14 '15 at 19:37
  • So Whcih one would u recommend me to work on? Do u recommed me taking a the source of entire OS or just the X11 protocols? – Arif Jul 14 '15 at 19:38
  • How many hundreds of years do you intend to live? How many dozens of years do you intend to spend on your desktop (if starting from scratch)? Can't you simply start from some existing software and study and adapt it? Did you try to use simpler window managers like icewm or twm ? – Basile Starynkevitch Jul 14 '15 at 19:39
  • :) Well that is also what Im thinking. I dont want to start from scratch. If u could just point me to a direction where I can find the correct tools and to which exisitng platform I can work. That would be nice. Glad if there are any tutorials for that. – Arif Jul 14 '15 at 19:43
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – Arif Jul 14 '15 at 19:44
  • Try several things (like icewm, xfce). Read more about X11 protocols, window managers, desktop managers, and EWMH. Then come again with a much more focused and precise question. Read also about Wayland (which I don't know much). – Basile Starynkevitch Jul 14 '15 at 19:45
  • Is it your suggestion, then, that X11 has accumulated centuries of legacy? – mikeserv Jul 14 '15 at 20:27