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Examples of other operating systems allegedly not designed by professionals: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_Window_Manager https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki
by the_why_of_y 9mo ago
Examples of other operating systems allegedly not designed by professionals:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_Window_Manager https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_Window_Manager
The Desktop Window Manager is a compositing window manager, meaning that each program has a buffer that it writes data to; DWM then composites each program's buffer into a final image.
https://web.archive.org/web/20040925095929/http://developer.apple.com/documentation/MacOSX/COnceptual/SystemOverview/SystemArchitecture/chapter_3_section_4.html https://web.archive.org/web/20040925095929/http://developer....
The Quartz Compositor layer of Mac OS X comprises the window server and the (private) system programming interfaces (SPI) implemented by the window server. In this layer are the facilities responsible for rudimentary screen displays, window compositing and management, event routing, and cursor management.
The window server is a single system-wide process that coordinates low-level windowing behavior and enforces a fundamental uniformity in what appears on the screen. It is a lightweight server in that it does not do any rendering itself, but instead communicates with the client graphics libraries layered on top of it. It is “agnostic” in terms of a drawing model.
The window server has few dependencies on other system services and libraries. It relies on the kernel environment’s I/O Kit (specifically, device drivers built with the I/O Kit) in order to communicate with the frame buffer, the input infrastructure, and input and output devices.
- charcircuit 9mo agoWindow management on Windows is done by Explore which talks to DWM where the underlying windows live. Window management on MacOS is done by Dock which talks to Quartz Compositor where the underlying windows live.
- abhinavk 9mo agoYou are conflating Window Manager with Task Switcher programs.
- charcircuit 9mo agoNo, I'm not. Explore and Dock are responsible for more than just that.
- simondotau 9mo agoSorry but you’re just wrong. Explore.exe and Dock.app are nere user interfaces and are not involved in the render pipeline of other apps.
- charcircuit 9mo agoI am talking about window management. Window management is about controling windows, windows managers should not care about how windows are rendered.
- dagmx 9mo ago1. Nobody else is talking about managing windows as a user. They’re talking about the system that manages windows for drawing and interaction. 2. You’re provably wrong even if someone followed your description because you can kill the dock or explorer process and still be able to switch between windows and move them around. Killing explorer is a little more heavy handed than killing the dock but it doesn’t take down the window manager.
- jasomill 9mo agoYou're not wrong about Explorer, but the parent is also partially right. While you can move, resize, minimize, maximize, and switch between windows without Explorer running, other window management features are limited or nonfunctional without it: 1. Explorer is responsible for the taskbar, and thus the only useful way to view minimized windows. 2. Alt+Tab still switches between windows without Explorer, but the window switching UI does not appear. 3. Virtual desktops still exist without Explorer, but there's no obvious way to switch between or otherwise interact with them. 4. Snapped windows retain their positions without Explorer, but window snapping functionality is not available, and resizing snapped windows does not resize adjacent windows as it normally does. 5. Without Explorer, desktop backgrounds and desktop icons do not appear. 5. Explorer is responsible for handling many system level keyboard shortcuts, including shortcuts for features not obviously related to Explorer or missing window management functionality (e.g., game bar, snipping tool, emoji panel).