On Fri, Sep 23, 2016 at 11:45:26PM +0000, Grant Edwards wrote
> Would anybody care to make a recommendation?
How about ditching "Desktop Environment" altogether and using a
"Window Manager" instead? I use ICEWM. It has to be configured with a
text editor, but you can then set it and forget it.
> The requirements are:
>
> * simple and lightweight
Yup.
> * support for multiple displays[1]
Can be done by xrandr / xorg.conf See...
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/multihead
> * support for multiple virtual desktops on each display (I
> currently run 4 virtual desktops on each of 3 displays)
I run 11 virtual desktops on one screen.
> * must have focus-follows mouse and must be able disable
> "raise-on-click"
You probably want to select the "PointerFocus" option listed at
http://www.icewm.org/FAQ/IceWM-FAQ-5.html
> * some sort of easily modifiable root-window menu that I can use to
> start apps
>
> * some sort of task-bar (auto-hide required)
>
> * some sort toolbar OK (as long as it's auto-hide)
Got it all. But you have to edit the config file with a text
editor. ICEWM allows you to make ~/.icewm/menu (the root menu) a
symlink to ~/.icewm/toolbar if you wish. Their content will then
be identical.
> * GTK-based strongly preferred -- I typically don't have Qt or any
> KDE stuff installed, and have some custom-written GTK apps on
> which I'm rather dependent.
Does not pull in either GTK or QT. It's a WM (Window Manager) not
a DE (Desktop Environment).
> * I don't want a file manager, terminal emulator, or any other
> bundled apps, so it would be nice if they were all optional,
> separate ebuilds
An advantage of a WM
> I don't want any storage auto-mounter, network manager, modem manager,
> or any of that sort of thing. Anything with "manager" in the name is
> probably right out.
An advantage of a WM
> All I want is something to run urxvt terminals and xemacs windows --
> with maybe an instance of firefox, chrome, or wireshark. I also
> occasionally run libreoffice or xfreerdp, but only under duress.
I run mostly web browsers, gnumeric, and some xterms
> I don't want any icons or folders or shortcuts or whatnot on the
> desktop.
An advantage of a WM
> I don't even need the ability to use an image as my desktop
> "wallpaper": all I want is a user-configurable sold color.
Available, but not mandatory.
> No fancy animation or translucency silliness.
Available, but not mandatory.
--
Walter Dnes <[email protected]>
I don't run "desktop environments"; I run useful applications
