Runlevels - Red Hat LINUX 7.2 Reference Manual

Section 6.4:Runlevels 121
• WindowMaker — The fully-featured GNU window manager designed to emulate the look and
feel of the NEXTSTEP environment.
These window managers can be run as individual X clients to gain a better sense of their differ-
ences. Type the xinit <path-to-window-manager> command, where <path-to-win-
dow-manager> is the location of the window manager binary file. The binary file can be found by
typing which <window-manager-name> or looking for the name of the window manager in a
bin directory.
6.3.2 Desktop Environments
A desktop environment brings together assorted X clients that can be run together using similar meth-
ods, utilizing a common development environment.
Desktop environments are different from window managers, which only control the appearance and
placement of X client windows. Desktop environments contain advanced features that allow X clients
and other running processes to communicate with one another. This allows all applications written to
work in that environment to commonly integrate and be used in new ways, such as permitting drag-
and-drop behavior with text.
GNOME is the default desktop environment for Red Hat Linux, using the GTK+ base widget toolkit
and miscellaneous other widgets that extend the base functionality. KDE, another desktop environ-
ment, uses a different toolkit called Qt. GNOME and KDE both contain advanced productivity ap-
plications, such as word processors, spreadsheets, and control panel devices that allow you to have
complete control of the look-and-feel of your user experience. Both environments can run standard X
client applications, and some KDE applications can run in GNOME.
When you start X using the startx command, a pre-specified desktop environment is utilized.
To change the default desktop environment used when X starts, open a terminal and type the
switchdesk command. This brings up a graphical utility that allows you to select the desktop
environment or window manager to use the next time X starts.
Desktop environments utilize window managers to provide the consistency in appearance between
different applications. KDE contains its own window manager, called kwm, specifically for this func-
tionality.
For information on the customization of the GNOME and KDE desktop environments, see the Official
Red Hat Linux Getting Started Guide.

6.4 Runlevels

Most users run X from one of two runlevels: 3 or 5. Runlevel 3 places your system in multi-user
mode with full networking capabilities. The machine will boot to a text-based login prompt with all
necessary preconfigured services started. Most servers are run in runlevel 3, as X is not necessary to