220 lines
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HTML
220 lines
11 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN">
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<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="SGML-Tools 1.0.7">
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<TITLE>AfterStep FAQ: General information</TITLE>
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<LINK HREF="AfterStep-FAQ-2.html" REL=next>
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<LINK HREF="AfterStep-FAQ.html#toc1" REL=contents>
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</HEAD>
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<BODY>
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<A HREF="AfterStep-FAQ-2.html"><IMG SRC="next.gif" ALT="Next"></A>
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<A HREF="AfterStep-FAQ.html#toc1"><IMG SRC="toc.gif" ALT="Contents"></A>
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<HR>
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<H2><A NAME="s1">1. General information</A></H2>
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<P>
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss1.1">1.1 What is X, and what is a window manager?</A>
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</H2>
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<P> "X" is common shorthand for The X Window System. It is the basis for
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building some graphical user interfaces (GUIs). These are most often found
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on UNIX-type systems, although there are implementations for other
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platforms. Notice that X <EM>is not</EM> the interface itself. For more
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information, please see
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<A HREF="http://www.X.org/">The X Window System</A>.
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<P>A window manager (briefly) is a program which controls the way various
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windows interact during an X session. AfterStep is one such window manager.
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss1.2">1.2 What is AfterStep?</A>
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</H2>
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<P>AfterStep is a Window Manager for X which started by emulating the NEXTSTEP
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look and feel, but which has been significantly altered according to the
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requests of various users. Many adepts will tell you that NEXTSTEP is not only
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the most visually pleasant interface, but also one of the most functional and
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intuitive out there. AfterStep aims to incorporate the advantages of the
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NEXTSTEP interface, and add additional useful features.
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<P>The developers of AfterStep have also worked very hard to ensure stability
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and a small program footprint. Without giving up too many features,
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AfterStep still works nicely in environments where memory is at a premium.
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss1.3">1.3 What is its history?</A>
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</H2>
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<P>What follows is drawn from the AfterStep man page:
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<P>AfterStep originated as a continuation of the BowMan window manager,
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originally developed by Bo Yang. BowMan was based on fvwm, which was
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written by Robert Nation. In turn, fvwm was based on twm. And so on. Open
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Source / Free (please pick your preferred term, without prejudice) software
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works exactly because of these sorts of traditions. Yay!
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<P>The changes which led to AfterStep were originally part of BowMan development.
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As the desire for simple emulation was superseded by a desire to improve,
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the designers decided to change the name, and the AfterStep project was
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born.
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<P>Many of the earlier developers of AfterStep subsequently decided to move to
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the Window Maker (originally WindowMaker) project, under the leadership of
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Alfredo Kojima (<CODE>kojima@windowmaker.org</CODE>). Window Maker (which, as of
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this writing, may yet receive another name change: gswm for "GNUstep Window
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Manager") is committed to emulating closely the NEXTSTEP(tm) look and feel.
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<P>As a result of all that, Guylhem Aznar
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(<CODE>ciguylhem@barberouge.linux.lmm.com</CODE>) took over
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development of AfterStep. Though he had help from several able developers
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(check the "TEAM" file for a list of the wonderful programmers responsible
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for AfterStep), and obviously built on the previous efforts of other
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excellent programmers, new and current users of AfterStep owe a special debt
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to Mr Aznar. Without his work, AfterStep would never have approached its
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current stability, flexibility, or functionality.
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss1.4">1.4 What are AfterStep's main features?</A>
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</H2>
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<P>
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<OL>
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<LI> NEXTSTEP-similar title bar, title buttons, borders and corners.</LI>
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<LI> The AfterStep Wharf, which is a much worked-out version of GoodStuff. To
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avoid copyright complications it is not called a `dock'.</LI>
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<LI> NEXTSTEP style menus. The menus are not, however, controlled by
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applications; they are more like pop-up service lists on the root
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window.</LI>
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<LI> NEXTSTEP style icons. The default icons are consistent with those
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in the NEXTSTEP interface, but they are configurable.</LI>
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<LI> Pixmapped Pager with desktop pixmapping.</LI>
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<LI> Easy-to-use look files, which allow you to share you desktop appearance with your friends.</LI>
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<LI> Start menu entries in a hierarchy of directories.</LI>
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<LI> WinList, a tasklist which can be horizontal or vertical.</LI>
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<LI> Many modules & as-apps to make your X window station look great.</LI>
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</OL>
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<P>The flexibility of fvwm has not been traded off. Initiation files recognize
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most of the fvwm 1.24r commands. Virtual screens and the pager are still
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intact. Modules for fvwm-1.x should work just fine.
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss1.5">1.5 Is it compatible with fvwm-2?</A>
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</H2>
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<P> Compatibility with fvwm-2 & Enlightenment <EM>modules</EM> is planned
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for an upcoming version, but support is not yet available. Some
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Enlightenment-based items will work well with AfterStep, however. In
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particular, support for Eterm is now available.
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss1.6">1.6 Is it available for Microsoft Windows-based machines?</A>
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</H2>
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<P> Not really, unless the Windows machine has an X server installed. If
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you want to take that approach, look at
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<A HREF="http://www.alfheim.net/aswin32/">Running AfterStep under Win32!</A>. But there is an AfterStep-alike program called LiteSTEP, which
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gives Windows machines an AfterStep-ish appearance. As of this writing,
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LiteSTEP development versions are available at
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<A HREF="http://dev.litestep.net">http://dev.litestep.net</A>, while some screen shots are available at
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<A HREF="http://litestep.computerheaven.net/">http://litestep.computerheaven.net/</A>. Keep in mind, however,
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that these programs <EM>are not</EM> versions of AfterStep. Please do not
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send questions about LiteSTEP to the AfterStep mail list.
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<P>If you want to make AfterStep work under any version of Windows, you are
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welcome to try following the instructions at the Web sites listed above, and
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every last bit of associated documentation. Please do not contact Andrew
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Sullivan for help, however, as he cannot help you: he does not use AfterStep
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with Windows.
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss1.7">1.7 Where can I get this FAQ?</A>
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</H2>
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<P> The latest version is always available at
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<A HREF="http://lowrent.org/asfaq/">http://lowrent.org/asfaq/</A>. That is the official home page of the
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AfterStep FAQ, and offers links to several mirror sites as well.
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<P>The latest version is also usually available from
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<A HREF="ftp://ftp.afterstep.org/pub/">ftp://ftp.afterstep.org/pub/</A>. The AfterStep FTP site has found a new
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home courtesy of Red Hat; please see the section on the FTP site for
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details. One can also always find the latest version of the FAQ through the
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AfterStep web site. What's more, there are sites whose sysadmins have been
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generous in offering mirrors of the FAQ. Here are the mirrors:
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<P>
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<P>
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<A HREF="http://the-site.dyn.ml.org/Linux/AfterStep/FAQ/">http://the-site.dyn.ml.org/Linux/AfterStep/FAQ/</A>, hosted by
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David Mihm.
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<P>
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<P>
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<A HREF="http://www.davidv.net/~ajsulliv/">http://www.davidv.net/~ajsulliv/</A>, hosted by David Vondrasek.
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<P>
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<P>
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<A HREF="http://optera.net/~contramac/">http://optera.net/~contramac/</A>, hosted by Nathan Widmyer.
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<P>
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<P>
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<A HREF="http://www.ticnet.com/azenomei/as/start.html">http://www.ticnet.com/azenomei/as/start.html</A>, hosted by
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Peter Booth.
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<P>Ce document est aussi disponible en français, à
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<A HREF="http://amberlab.net/rone/afterstep/">http://amberlab.net/rone/afterstep/</A>.
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<P>Please note that the version numbering system of the FAQ has changed. The
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FAQ version number used to follow roughly the same protocol as the version
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numbering of AfterStep. This led to confusion, because the number of the
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FAQ and the number of AfterStep tended to get out of synch. The FAQ version
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number is now the date of its release, according to the ISO data format:
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{Arabic numeral of year}-{Arabic numeral of month number}-{Arabic numeral of
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day of month}. For example, a FAQ released on 31 October 1998 would be
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called "as-faq.1998-10-31", with the appropriate extension for the file
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format.
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss1.8">1.8 Who contributes to this FAQ?</A>
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</H2>
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<P> The initial version of the FAQ was written by Frank Fejes
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(<CODE>frank@ssax.com</CODE>) and Jonathan B. Leffert (<CODE>j-leffert@uchicago.edu</CODE>).
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Major additions were made by Kragen Sittler (<CODE>kragen@tcsi.com</CODE>). Diego
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Zamboni (<CODE>zamboni@cs.purdue.edu</CODE>) maintained the file until Guylhem Aznar
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(<CODE>ciguylhem@barberouge.linux.lmm.com</CODE>) took over with the release of AS
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1.4. The file is now maintained by Andrew Sullivan
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(<CODE>asullivan@sprint.ca</CODE>), with contributions from Tomas Duewiger
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(<CODE>td@music-satellite.de</CODE>). Naturally, the FAQ is prepared in
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co-operation with the program developers; but any errors or omissions are
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now Andrew Sullivan's responsibility, so you should contact him to complain.
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Most of the questions and answers have been provided by the people
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participating in the AfterStep mailing lists. If you have a suggestion
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about this file or, better yet, an answer to an unanswered question in this
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file, please send an e-mail to Mr Sullivan, or to the main AfterStep list;
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see the next question for more information on the list.
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<P>
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<H2><A NAME="ss1.9">1.9 What is the AfterStep-related mailing list?</A>
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</H2>
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<P>This question used to read, "What <EM>are</EM> the AfterStep-related mailing
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lists?" Due to some changes in hosting, things have changed:
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<P>
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<DL>
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<DT><B>AfterStep-Announce</B><DD><P>This list is no longer functioning.
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<P>
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<DT><B>AfterStep</B><DD><P>The purpose of this list is to provide a forum in which users of
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the AfterStep X11 window manager can discuss issues related to
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to using AfterStep. Appropriate topics include, but are not
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limited to, the installation and configuration of AfterStep and
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related modules and applications. Developers should also subscribe
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to, and work through, this list, as no other list is active as of
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this writing.
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<P>
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<DT><B>AfterStep-Digest</B><DD><P>This list contains the same messages as the AfterStep mailing
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list. The messages are saved up (not transmitted
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individually) and sent out as a bundle. This decreases the
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number of separate messages received from the list, but makes it
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more difficult to reply to a specific message.
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<P>
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<DT><B>AfterStep-Dev</B><DD><P>This list is no longer functioning.
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<P>
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<DT><B>AfterStep-Dev-Digest</B><DD><P>This list is no longer functioning.
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<P>
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</DL>
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<P>For information on subscribing to any of these lists, or more information,
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please see
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<A HREF="http://www.calderasystems.com/linuxcenter/forums/afterstep.html">http://www.calderasystems.com/linuxcenter/forums/afterstep.html</A>. A
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re-instated searchable archive of the list is planned by Ed Orcutt; Mr
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Orcutt is also the owner of the AfterStep lists. His employer, Caldera,
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has been generous in donating server and web space for the mailing
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lists.
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<P>
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<P>
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<HR>
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