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Openbox: A lightweight window manager (Linux.com)
Openbox: A lightweight window manager (Linux.com)
Posted Feb 3, 2006 12:45 UTC (Fri) by nix (subscriber, #2304)In reply to: Openbox: A lightweight window manager (Linux.com) by eru
Parent article: Openbox: A lightweight window manager (Linux.com)
I dispute your statement that a WM is `system software' in any real sense. Window managers do not need enormous efficiency or low-level access, and the X Protocol has interface libraries written in numerous languages. All a language really needs is network support.
I've seen passable WMs implemented in Haskell, Standard ML, OCAML, Scheme, Lisp... I'm sure there are Perl and Python ones out there if you look hard enough, and there's even one (XWEM) implemented in XEmacs Lisp (although I think *that* is going a bit far).
I'm sure it's theoretically possible to write a window manager in GNU Awk, although I'd suggest that anyone doing so be committed to a lunatic asylum immediately. ;)
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system software
Posted Feb 3, 2006 14:21 UTC (Fri) by eru (subscriber, #2753) [Link]
I dispute your statement that a WM is `system software' in any real sense. Window managers do not need enormous efficiency or low-level access, and the X Protocol has interface libraries written in numerous languages. All a language really needs is network support.Don't know what is the official definition, but Webopedia states: Refers to the operating system and all utility programs that manage computer resources at a low level. Software is generally divided into systems software and applications software. Applications software comprises programs designed for an end user, such as word processors, database systems, and spreadsheet programs. Systems software includes compilers, loaders, linkers, and debuggers. ( http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/s/systems_software.html). You probably agree that a WM is more like a manager for computer resources (the screen in this case) than like an application.
I think a more pertinent definition for "system software" would be a program that mainly facilitates or organizes the use of other programs that solve the user's actual problems, instead of solving them itself. While neither definition talks about low-level efficiency, a system program that itself hogs resources turns into part of the problem, instead of the solution. So if you want to write system software that does not steal resources from the apps that do the actual useful work, you use languages where you can control the resource usage. Today that usually means C.