Echinus window manager, historical & recent github versions
Posted: Tue 06 Oct 2009, 03:17
-- The latest echinus wm package (mid-December 2015) is here.
-- Echinus now has themes. Please see here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello, Puppyists!
I've been dabbling with smaller window managers for more than half a year now on various recent PuppyLinux distros, and this Echinus "wm" should really be number one, way up there on top of the charts. It has a very intelligent design, with all the features you need -- and none that you don't. In my opinion, Echinus should be very widely circulated, pre-configured and ready to run from within most distros, Puppy or no.
Echinus 0.3.6 is available here:
http://www.rootshell.be/~polachok/code/ (web page)
http://www.rootshell.be/~polachok/code/ ... 3.6.tar.gz (the wm itself in source form).
The compiled wm file has a size of 43k, 21k upx'd. Power-packed is the word! If you want to try it, a pet file is attached at
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 150#348150, with the ourico companion task bar included.
If you do try echinus, may I suggest that you download and install the pet file for fbpanel as well. (Lxpanel apparently does not work with ourico.) That's because the Ourico task bar also provides a desktop pager, but no menu.
There is a screenshot of echinus 3.6 running under Puppy 4.12 here: http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... h&id=22254
This echinus pet is provided with my configuration. You may however restore the original configuration by copying "-echinus.org" to "echinusrc" within the "/root/.echinus" directory. Please note that the magic key(s) in my configuration is Ctrl-Alt-something, not Alt-something, as in the original. This frees the Alt key to be used for entering DosBox in full screen and back (Alt-Enter), and for various ROX hot-keys you may wish to define with Alt-something to call your favorite programs instantaneously.
The main particularities of the Echinus window manager are:
1) I believe it to be the only window manager allowing some desktops to have floating windows and other desktops to have tiled windows.
2) It's entirely controlled through an easy-to-understand and easy-to-modify "rc" file, similar to the "Xresources" file located in the /root. This is much simpler than in wmx, for example, of which you have to modify the config.h file and re-compile every time you want to change, say, the colour of the window frame. It's also simpler than editing the jwmrc file or the icewm parameters file (in my view).
The function of Echinus' various parameters is explained in the author's well-prepared "readme" file. I've also attached a more detailed table with explanations (in French, however) at this address:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 150#348150
I wanted to congratulate the author personally, but his e-mail address was nowhere to be found on his website.* So be it: a man has a right to his privacy. Then it dawned on me that posting here could be a good substitute, an indirect but perhaps more than adequate way to say "thank you" to this very insightful programmer.
So, many thanks to "polachok", the author of Echinus -- and thanks to you for reading this! Enjoy!
Christian L. (alias / aka Musher0)
* Please also refer to amigo's comment below and my reply to it.
-- Echinus now has themes. Please see here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hello, Puppyists!
I've been dabbling with smaller window managers for more than half a year now on various recent PuppyLinux distros, and this Echinus "wm" should really be number one, way up there on top of the charts. It has a very intelligent design, with all the features you need -- and none that you don't. In my opinion, Echinus should be very widely circulated, pre-configured and ready to run from within most distros, Puppy or no.
Echinus 0.3.6 is available here:
http://www.rootshell.be/~polachok/code/ (web page)
http://www.rootshell.be/~polachok/code/ ... 3.6.tar.gz (the wm itself in source form).
The compiled wm file has a size of 43k, 21k upx'd. Power-packed is the word! If you want to try it, a pet file is attached at
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 150#348150, with the ourico companion task bar included.
If you do try echinus, may I suggest that you download and install the pet file for fbpanel as well. (Lxpanel apparently does not work with ourico.) That's because the Ourico task bar also provides a desktop pager, but no menu.
There is a screenshot of echinus 3.6 running under Puppy 4.12 here: http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... h&id=22254
This echinus pet is provided with my configuration. You may however restore the original configuration by copying "-echinus.org" to "echinusrc" within the "/root/.echinus" directory. Please note that the magic key(s) in my configuration is Ctrl-Alt-something, not Alt-something, as in the original. This frees the Alt key to be used for entering DosBox in full screen and back (Alt-Enter), and for various ROX hot-keys you may wish to define with Alt-something to call your favorite programs instantaneously.
The main particularities of the Echinus window manager are:
1) I believe it to be the only window manager allowing some desktops to have floating windows and other desktops to have tiled windows.
2) It's entirely controlled through an easy-to-understand and easy-to-modify "rc" file, similar to the "Xresources" file located in the /root. This is much simpler than in wmx, for example, of which you have to modify the config.h file and re-compile every time you want to change, say, the colour of the window frame. It's also simpler than editing the jwmrc file or the icewm parameters file (in my view).
The function of Echinus' various parameters is explained in the author's well-prepared "readme" file. I've also attached a more detailed table with explanations (in French, however) at this address:
http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 150#348150
I wanted to congratulate the author personally, but his e-mail address was nowhere to be found on his website.* So be it: a man has a right to his privacy. Then it dawned on me that posting here could be a good substitute, an indirect but perhaps more than adequate way to say "thank you" to this very insightful programmer.
So, many thanks to "polachok", the author of Echinus -- and thanks to you for reading this! Enjoy!
Christian L. (alias / aka Musher0)
* Please also refer to amigo's comment below and my reply to it.