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## 6. GNOME

## 6.1 What is GNOME, and why should I use it?

The GNOME project is a lot of things. The following is taken from the GNOME FAQ, http://www.gnome.org/gnomefaq/html/x37.html

> `

>     GNOME is the GUI desktop of the GNU Project.

>     To quote from the original announcement from comp.os.linux.announce, GNOME is intended
>     to be "a free and complete set of user friendly applications and desktop tools, similar
>     to CDE and KDE but based entirely on free software."

>     I, your lowly FAQ maintainer, like to explain GNOME as everything that's expected in a
>     modern programming environment. In this respect, it is approximately equivalent to CDE,
>     Win32, NextStep, or KDE. The big difference is that, unlike any of the above-mentioned
>     examples, every single component of GNOME is Free Software. Not only that, but GNOME is
>     extremely customizable compared to most desktop environments.

>     If all of this seems ambitious, that's because it is! Read on to find out more!

> `

The entire GNOME FAQ can be read online at http://www.gnome.org/gnomefaq/html/index.html.

## 6.2 Why do window managers have to be GNOME compliant?

They don't have to be. Many popular window managers are not GNOME compliant, but because GNOME will probably be prevalent on *NIX desktops some day in the future, window managers wishing to provide as many features to users as possible should be GNOME compliant.

It must be noted that GNOME compliancy is always changing, and is not finalized whatsoever. Because of the pace of GNOME development, what worked one day, may not work the next. AfterStep is not 100% compliant, in fact, no window manager is. Some aspects of compliancy with GNOME cannot be implemented in AfterStep, because the window manager is much more powerful, virtual desktops and Pager, for example. Some window managers do a better job of compliancy than others. AfterStep attempts to be compliant in as many regards at it can, but perfection is not possible. If you are looking for a window manager that can run with GNOME almost all the time, and do it well, AfterStep is a good choice. If you want something that will cooperate with GNOME to the point of being GNOME, try something else.

## 6.3 How do I get AfterStep to be GNOME compliant?

Load the Gnome AfterStep module. This can be done from the startmenu, the autoexec file or even from a terminal. The Gnome module can be loaded at any time while AfterStep is running. It does not need to start before any part of GNOME runs, it just needs to be running to supply compliance.

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