Windowing system

A window system (English windowing system) is the substructure of a graphical user interface ( GUI), whose main task is to manage program windows. Normally, it is part of a larger work environment.

From a programmer's perspective, the system implements the graphical window -based functions such as displaying fonts, draw lines, curves and pixel graphics, and the abstraction of the graphics hardware ( graphics card).

The windows system allows the user with multiple programs to work simultaneously by each program is running "to" one or more private areas of the screen, the windows, which are usually rectangular, and the pointing device (mouse) can be moved freely, and may overlap each other.

Some window systems, such as the X Window System in UNIX-like environments have to represent expanded capabilities such as network transparency, which allow the user the graphical interface of an application on another computer. The X Window System also implements no fixed appearance of the area, which have window managers, toolkits and environments full freedom in optical design and management.

List of window systems

  • 8 ½ and rio for Plan 9
  • GEM
  • PC / GEOS ( Graphic Environment Operating System, the window system for Commodore 64 and 128)
  • Fresco / Berlin
  • FBUI
  • Qt Extended ( formerly Qtopia )
  • Quartz Compositor for Mac OS X
  • X Window System ( free software, the de facto standard in Linux and other Unix-like operating systems)
  • Wayland
  • Windows Presentation Foundation
  • Xynth
  • Y Window System
  • Twin (Text Window Manager )
  • Window systems for the Web: Dojo
  • TIBCO General Interface - an open source Ajax Web Application Toolkit
  • WebWM, Web Window Manager
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