All the Window Managers!!!!

There are almost too many window managers. As with all things holy, starting an arguement over what window manager is best is another discussion like politics or religion. Not going to go well.
The best window manager is one that works the way you think. For me, that is tiling window managers like i3wm or xmonad. For others it is KDE that is a lot more like how microsoft windows works. Then there are all kinds of variants out there. Some of the more prevelent ones are:
  1. 9wm
  2. AfterStep
  3. Awesome
  4. Blackbox
  5. Bspwm
  6. Cinnamon
  7. Compiz
  8. CTWM
  9. Desktop Window Manager
  10. dwm
  11. Enlightenment
  12. evilwm
  13. Fluxbox
  14. FVWM
  15. Gnome
  16. i3
  17. IceWM
  18. Ion
  19. JWM
  20. Kwin (KDE)
  21. Matchbox
  22. Mate
  23. Metacity
  24. Openbox
  25. PekWM
  26. PlayWM
  27. Qtile
  28. Ragnar
  29. Ratpoison
  30. Sawfish
  31. StumpWM
  32. Sway
  33. Twm
  34. Window Maker
  35. Wingo
  36. Wmii
  37. Worm
  38. XFCE
  39. Xfwm
  40. Xmonad
And I am sure there are 20 or so others out there I didn't find in my searching. Why so many? Like all things geeky, every geek thinks they have a better way. I am going to talk about some of the main ones that have large user bases. If you find one you like you can always play with others with similar layouts. You can always have multiple window managers installed at the same time and choose the one you want when you boot. Now to the comparisons.

AfterStep

AfterStep is a nostalgic type window manager. Not outdated, and a viable desktop. But it was designed for the look and feel of the NeXtStep computer operating system. Their website is AfterStep Website

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is a fork of the Gnome 3 shell, and the UI is written in JavaScript, with the core libraries written in C. The project is part of Linux Mint and can be found at Github site for Cinnamon

Enlightenment

Enlightenment was the original fancy desktop. It had colors and has it's own eye catching effects before other window managers did. It is still a viable project and can be installed on all BSD and Linux systems. Their website is Enlightenment Website

Gnome3

Gnome is kind of an enigma within itself. The project has had huge upheaval over the change from Gnome2 to Gnome3. The new Gnome 3 caused some people to split off and continue the Gnome2 branch, i.e. mate wm that is one of the defaults you can get with LinuxMint. Cinnamon is a Gnome3 based wm. Gnome works a lot like windows. You have a start menu and a bar across the bottom. Gnome is the basis for the Ubuntu desktop they have. Below is a pic of a gnome desktop. The website for Gnome can be found at Gnome Website.


i3wm

Improved Tiling WM, or i3wm, is a tiling window manager written from scratch. Tiling window managers are a different take on desktops. Every desktop is a different screen, and if you have multiple monitors each monitor is its own screen. Tiling window managers alter they way you work, or in my case, fits the way I want to work. Their website is i3wm Website

IceWM

IceWM was coded from scratch in C++ since 1997. Its goal is to be fast and simple. The layout of IceWM reminds me of Windows 98. It is a full featured window manager with themes and multiple ways to customize it. Their website is IceWM Website

KDE

KDE is a huge project. They have tons of software for their platform much like Microsoft does for windows. They probably have as many, or more applications written for KDE than any other window manager. Is that good or bad? I think neither. It is just a symptom of their very active development and outreach. KDE sports "Plasma" their desktop that they use. They can be>found at KDE Website


Mate

Mate is a continuation of the Gnome2 desktop. It is for people who want the simplicity of a gnome2 desktop and the less resource usage of a Gnome2 based window manager. They can be found at Mate Website

OpenBox

Per their website: "Openbox is a minimalistic, highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support." It is very configurable and allows you to design your own workspaces with a little work. Very well documented, too. Their website is Openbox Website


TWM (Tab Window Manager)

TWM started in 1987 and has been a standard window manager since then. It is very fancy, you get teal and gray menus unless you modify it with a theme. Xterm opened and you start running items. It is not fancy, but very functional. Some of the features of it are:

  • a stacking window manager
  • Written in C
  • Uses xlib directly
  • open source and freely available
  • no menubar, click window background and hold mouse for menu
  • Lightweight and has few dependencies

Window Maker

WindowMaker is in every way a reproduction of the "elegant look and feel of the NeXTEP user interface". It has desktop "icon squares" that allow you to quick launch items, full menus, etc. Their website is WindowMaker Website

XFCE

Xfce is a lightweight desktop that aims to be fast and low on system resources. It is a very good choice for sytems that have low resources like raspberry pis. It is available on every Linux distro and all the BSDs. Their website is Xfce Website

Xmonad

Xmonad is written and configured in Haskell programming language. Out of the box it is minimal, no status bar, no icon dock, just windows. Xmonad has a lot of automated window arrangment keystrokes, so it allows you to work and arrange windows on the fly quickly. Their website is Xmonad website