Uinux: frame window managers

Today I want to propose to admire such a topic as frame
window managers. Frame them because they have windows if
there are several of them so that they do not overlap, but also occupy
the most useful area of ​​the desktop.

The main representatives of this family of window managers are: wmii ,
xmonad , dwm , ion3 . There are a few more Ratpoison, Larswm, Stumpwm, TrsWM,
XWEM, GridMove, Awesome, but I will not mention them.
First, a little about each of them, and then in more detail about wmii

xmonad

Written in Haskell , which already makes it interesting. Has support
xinerama (this is an Xorg extension that allows you to work with
multiple monitors simultaneously). He thought like a clone dwm , but
outgrown my parent and got some interesting features
among which are: a separate status bar for each screen; separate
window layout algorithms for workspaces; support
compositing.
')

dwm

The smallest and most elegant of all frame managers. Development
started after wmii began to seem his author too
great. Very interesting configuration method - you just
recompile it. And this is not nonsense, as its author adheres
the principle that dwm source code should not exceed 2000 lines
code. So dwm compilation takes nano-seconds. No frills
not present, the program just does its job. Ideal
option for minimalists.

ion3

A fairly well-known representative, appeared in 2000 and may
to be considered the progenitor of all current frame managers. Heavy by
compared to others, has many interesting and useful
opportunities. The configuration file is a Lua script.

And now wmii

wmii seems to be a kind of compromise between functionality and
minimalism. Keeping sane and foreseeable size supports
most needed functions. After loading, we have in front of us
black screen with a narrow blue bar at the bottom, which displays
clock and active screen.

Control

To run the program, you must press Alt + p
(all shortcut keys in the text are
default), after which the list of available
programs. To filter the list, you need to dial the first few
letters of the name of the program. The opened application will take all available.
on the screen place. If, without switching to another screen, run
one program, then they will share the first available place
in half. Switching between windows of one screen occurs by
analogy with the editor Vi ( Alt + h , Alt + j , Alt + k . Alt + l ), but you can
switch and mouse, clicking on the appropriate frame. By
By default, new frames appear differently under each other. If us
it is necessary to divide the screen vertically, then by pressing the Alt + Shift + l key
the window will move to the right. To open the new screen, use
the key combination Alt + 0 ... Alt + 9 . To move the active frame
on another screen use Alt + Shift + 0 ... Alt + Shift + 9 . To close
frame Alt + Shift + c , to exit X, we call the wmii menu, activated
combination of Alt + a .

Floating windows

It may be asked how things are with such
applications like Gimp , Pidgin and the like ... Things are going well,
by default, all modal windows, as well as those applications that
specially described in the configuration file will have a floating type
behaviors, that is, they will not differ in their behavior from the usual
and you.

Customization

Included with wmii is an approximate settings file written in sh, but
you can use any familiar language for configuration, Python,
Ruby what you want. This is possible due to the fact that wmii has
9p interface introduced from Plan9's mega-interesting operating system.
This means that to set up you just need to write down a certain
information in the appropriate file. This file is virtual, but the record
it is possible thanks to a special utility. which goes together
with wmii. I'm sure you didn’t understand anything in the last sentence,
if you haven't seen anything like this before, it's my fault, I can't
bring a beautiful concept in clear language, so I will refer to the documentation .

Conclusion

Description of the shortcut does not allow to enjoy
the beauty of the concept, for this you need to try to use
framemakers This is not a beautiful idea, it is really possible and
convenient to use, just not very familiar at first, after
window mouse on the screen. You need desire and a little patience, through
some time, the habit acquired over the years will fall and you can
Enjoy the minimalism and efficiency of these window managers.

Advice for beginners : to get used to the new environment, it is necessary
working with him is a bit more than putting "see" and
Put a screenshot on the ENT. If the concept hooks you, make an effort
and all will be well.
Another tip for beginners : Go
override the primary key, which by default is alt on
Win , if such is present on your keyboard, it will release the Alt
for its usual use and uses the unused Win .

Links

Wmii homepage : www.suckless.org/wiki/wmii
Library for working with wmii from Python: downgra.de/articles/python-wmii
Dwm home page: www.suckless.org/wiki/dwm
Ion3 homepage: modeemi.fi/~tuomov/ion
Xmonad home page: www.xmonad.org

UPD:
An approximate description of wmii as a window manager: vonderer.blogspot.com/2006/12/wmii.html
Learn more about the wmii: my-cellar-door.blogspot.com/2005/08/window-managers-wmi-wmii.html