KDE Plasma Workspaces

The KDE Plasma Workspaces are a set of working environments of KDE. They are the successors of the K Desktop Environment and represent a separate product within the toolkit KDE Software Compilation 4 dar.

History

In one of the K Desktop Environment desktop background was similar on Windows, represented by the file manager. As of version 2, the functions were outsourced to separate programs: During file management functions are provided since Konqueror desktop and taskbar KDesktop and kicker were administered.

In particular, from 2005 obtained Widget Engines increasing distribution representing mini programs on the desktop surface. So also came the KDE project with SuperKaramba a widget engine. At the same time allowed kickers to integrate mini-programs in the taskbar, which is technically incompatible, however, were to widgets of SuperKaramba. During the development of KDE 4.0, some KDE developers decided under the leadership of kicker Aaron J. Seigo Chief Engineer to the desktop components KDesktop, kicker and SuperKaramba to reunite in an application.

Surfaces

Unlike the previous generations allowed the flexible design of the technical foundation, especially plasma, adaptation to the different types of devices and form factors. The KDE project is called the resultant different surfaces workspaces.

Desktop

Plasma Desktop is the interface that was first completed and as a technical preview shipped with KDE 4.0. It is aimed at desktop PCs and notebooks, which are operated primarily with a computer mouse or similar pointing devices. The default layout of the controls leans roughly to the former K Desktop Environments and Windows at: A taskbar clock and notification area at the bottom of the screen, icons can be saved by " Folder View " element on the screen background.

Apart from the standard configuration, the controls can also be placed almost entirely free.

Netbook

Plasma Netbook is the second surface that has been completed and is aimed at netbooks. They will be officially delivered since published in the February 2010 version 4.4, though Kubuntu published an unfinished technology preview based on SC 4.3 in October 2009.

The netbook interface basically consists of two views:

• A " newspaper" said view, be placed in the plasma - widgets based on newspaper layout in columns.
• The "Find and Run " view, which is used to find applications and files and open it.

Since netbooks have quite small screens, applications are always running in full screen. In addition, the window frame and its controls are hidden by default to save screen space.

Active

Plasma Active, a surface for tablet PCs and tablet computers, was released on 9 October 2011. Adaptations of this surface on smartphones to take place in the future.

At the touch screens of these devices, applications have to be adapted. The first step in this direction was developed on the basis of Calligra Suite / KOffice document viewer by Nokia for the N900.

Further steps are the ports of the Kontact applications. As part of this porting work a wrapper library is also developed based on the Qt Markup Language ( QML ), which can be used by other KDE applications.

Technology Preview of plasma Mobile as video.

KOffice document viewer under Maemo 5

Early development version of KMail Mobile.

Components

Core component of the plasma workspaces is called the plasma surface framework, but which is not in itself mean working environment. Other key components of the composition and window manager KWin and the KDE Display Manager ( KDM). In addition, some additional components are included such as daemons in it.

Technical Basics

Plasma was designed with the aim not represent a further implementation of a desktop surface, but a general framework for creating user interfaces. The actual desktop interface is from this angle only represent a sample implementation Indeed, plasma is also used in non-contiguous with the desktop programs, especially for the context view of the KDE media player Amarok (version 2.0).

The surface in plasma consists of widgets (English for applet ) that represent graphically closed applications in itself. ( Synonymous with the term applet, isolated plasmoid also be used. ) On a desktop, for example, a clock, a widget that is used to display the current time.

The arrangement of the widgets on the surface by special parent widgets, called containment (English for container ) determine whether, to impose the widgets certain geometric requirements (form factor). During Widgets float freely, for example on the desktop background and can have an (almost ) any size, they are severely limited in the taskbar in height. Almost all widgets in plasma adapt their shape corresponding to the outer form factor: For example, while the Start menu widget on the desktop always shows the complete start menu, it is in the task bar to a button that pops up the start menu by clicking.

A central point in the plasma is the separation of data and presentation: While taking care of a widget only to the presentation of data in the ideal case, the procurement and processing of data from a data engine is taken (English for data machine). A similar structure enables the active interaction of widgets with Web-based services.

Criticism

Although work began on plasma in June 2005, the software for the release of KDE 4.0 in January 2008 was not as mature as hoped. All over the course of many users complained about frequent crashes of plasma, loss of speed especially in conjunction with Nvidia graphics cards, and the absence of many of KDesktop and kicker from KDE 3 times of known functions.

A particularly intense controversy erupted over file icons on the desktop: The traditional role of the desktop is to display the files that are stored in a special desktop folder on the hard drive, by free floating or desktop icons. This functionality was in KDE 4.0, only very limited available. For KDE 4.1, the temporary solution was completely removed and replaced with folder view, but it has been fully implemented only with KDE 4.2.

Since version 4.2, the desktop surface is considered mature. Reviews have since been largely positive. While 4.0 replaced in no more well-known Linux distro except Fedora K Desktop Environment 3.5, 4.2 was found to be ripe to be taken even in the stabilization branch of the conservative distribution Debian, rather than continuing to rely on K Desktop Environment 3.5 or its continuation Trinity Desktop Environment.