What are JWM and openbox?

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mahaju
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What are JWM and openbox?

#1 Post by mahaju »

And what happens if I switch between the two?
I don't see much difference

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bigpup
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#2 Post by bigpup »

They are different window managers.
They both do the same basic thing.
Each has it's own specific features, but they are not that much different.
The best example is what settings can be changed.
JWM - use "JWM configuration"
Openbox - use "Openbox config" and "Fbpanel configuration"

Example screen shots:
Attachments
JWM config.jpg
(29.2 KiB) Downloaded 16318 times
Openbox config.jpg
(49.26 KiB) Downloaded 19599 times
Fbpanel config.jpg
(46.47 KiB) Downloaded 2795 times
The things they do not tell you, are usually the clue to solving the problem.
When I was a kid I wanted to be older.... This is not what I expected :shock:
YaPI(any iso installer)

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Lobster
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#3 Post by Lobster »

Gosh bigpup, our support level just reached a new high :)
Perfect answer.

More technical info and choices here
http://puppylinux.org/wikka/WindowManagers
Puppy Raspup 8.2Final 8)
Puppy Links Page http://www.smokey01.com/bruceb/puppy.html :D

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mahaju
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#4 Post by mahaju »

Thank you for the useful information
I used to think it was just something like changing the theme (such as the default icons) until I noticed that there are different applications for doing things like those (changing the appearance of icons, changing background) so I was just wondering what it actually was
What confused me more was when I changed form the default Openbox to JWM I didn't didn't see much difference
I think it changed changed the screen resolution slightly and the start menu edges look a bit more sharp I think, but other than that there is no noticeable difference

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darkcity
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#5 Post by darkcity »

@BigPup great answer. its the sort of stuff we need to fill the wiki with 8)

@mahaju

Openbox let you set the mouse and keyboard bindings, that has be ultra useful when using Inkscape :twisted:

sfeeley
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#6 Post by sfeeley »

This is a decent explanation as to what windows environments are. Note that the ones discussed in the article aren't in puppy by default (although some can be installed)--but its still an intro to the concept.
http://lifehacker.com/5762081/wtf-deskt ... -explained

Also, openbox has themes that can be installed (I suppose there's some for JWM--I just don't see them)
http://box-look.org/index.php?xcontentmode=7402

In short, both are basically slightly different toolkits for tweaking appearances. If you're happy or don't care, pick one and ignore.

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darkcity
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#7 Post by darkcity »

performance is another issue I believe JWM is slightly faster ; -)

amigo
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#8 Post by amigo »

They are called window managers. They draw the windows you see -with the title bar, the borders and sometimes re-size corners at the bottom. They also usually setup keyboard-shortcuts. A full desktop environment includes lots of other things. Purists even reject having a panel or taskbar as being part of the window manager.

ICPUG
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#9 Post by ICPUG »

For the sadists among you who may wish to explore further, here is my take on the Anatomy of a GUI back in 2009.

Warnings:
Lots of text.
Discusses things other than Puppy (Windows, MacOS, The Amiga, ...)

http://www.icpug.org.uk/national/features/091122fe.htm

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Aitch
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#10 Post by Aitch »

Nice, ICPUG

I also explored the website - some interesting stuff!

Aitch :)

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Moose On The Loose
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Re: What are JWM and openbox?

#11 Post by Moose On The Loose »

mahaju wrote:And what happens if I switch between the two?
I don't see much difference
I see that others have answered the question from a higher level point of view. I think it may also be helpful to say:

Your graphics card and monitor and stuff are all configured by the thing called "xwindows". This is a very low level program. It can have one of a great many "window managers" added to it. The window manager strangely enough deals with the "managing" of the windows. Things like what keystroke closes a window and how you resize them and issues like that are all part of management.

JWM is a very small and very efficient window manager program. It is fairy simple to configure to do all the things that need to be done. It lacks some of the clever things of other windows managers like bouncing icons and spinning icons and the like. It just does those things that are needed to get the job done.

Peterm321
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#12 Post by Peterm321 »

I find Openbox is a small and fast window manager. In terms of speed, I dont see a difference with JWM. I like the option to undecorate a window (remove the titlebar for a small increment in screen space). Alt+Tab switching displays fairly large easy to read icons along with the program titles.

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`f00
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#13 Post by `f00 »

Pennys worth

Both jwm and openbox are fine window managers. It all depends on your style as to which may suit you better (having both is the best option, imo).

Jwm has more features natively included (trays especially) and runs a bit lighter because of that. Window focus can be click or sloppy but there is no autoraise option (as far as I'm aware of). Control options tend to be not as extensive for most users. Basically it's simpler in many ways but still offers a very useful feature set in a light wm.

Openbox is more compliant (EWMH and such) but may need add ons if you want a taskbar, pager, systray and so on. Natively it uses a client menu for iconified windows. The configuration gui is easy to use but themes are a bit more complex to create. It has autoraise with delay but no outline option for moving/resizing windows to point out a few other basic differences from jwm. A much more complete set of control binds in one place (~/.config/openbox/rc.xml) plus a default top, 'root' and bottom section for the main menu.

Either can be fast and lean or loaded up with other stuff. Both can look great.

Survey says:
openbox is Capped less often
Joe's Window Manager is rarely referenced as such

Not quite 2¢, but hth :)

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stu91
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#14 Post by stu91 »

A great feature of Openbox is the pipe-menu - these are menus that are generated on the fly by scripts.

Here is a good write up explaining openbox pipe-menus:
http://pclosmag.com/html/Issues/201110/page01.html
And here:
http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/openso ... -container

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