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GNOME

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GNOME is an easy to use Graphical User Interface for UNIX-like operating systems. It is the official desktop of the GNU Project.

Origin

The GNOME (GNU Network Object Model Environment) project was started in August 1997 by Miguel de Icaza as an attempt to provide a Free desktop for the GNU/Linux operating system. At the time, the only serious alternative for the non-technical user was KDE.

However, there were a number of problems associated with KDE: it was based on Trolltech's Qt toolkit, which had a number of licensing issues, and its language of implementation was C++. The licensing issues regarding alleged violations of the GPL were resolved by the released of Qt under the GPL and also the QPL, an approach known as dual-licensing. There is still considerable disagreement over the use of the full GPL for a library like Qt, and the restrictions this imposes on code linking to it, such as the KDE framework and any applications written for it.

File:Gnome-screenshot-small.jpg

GNOME screenshot showing: RhythmBox (music), gthumb (image manager), Abiword and the Nautilus file manager viewing the available network shares. (Larger image)


The GNOME framework is written in C, rather than C++, to avoid the problems associated with using different C++ compilers, and to ease the task of using other languages to write GNOME applications. In place of Qt, GTK was chosen as the basis for future GNOME development. This had a number of advantages: it was written in C; its license was the Lesser General Public License; and it was already used by The Gimp, a major Free software project.

Metacity is a window manager used mainly by Gnome.

Organisation

GNOME project development, like most Free software projects, is loosely organised -- preferring to rely on the dedication of those working on it. Most discussion regarding GNOME occurs on a variety of open mailing lists (see GNOME website). The GNOME foundation was set up in August 2000 to deal with administrative tasks, press interest and to act as a contact point for companies interested in GNOME development or distribution.

GNOME platforms

Although originally a GNU/Linux desktop, GNOME now runs on most Unix-like systems (*BSD variants, AIX, IRIX, HP-UX), and in particular it has been adopted by Sun Microsystems as the standard desktop for its Solaris platform, replacing the ageing CDE. Sun Microsystems has also released a business desktop system under the name Java Desktop System -- a SuSE Linux system base with a GNOME desktop. There is also a port of GNOME to Cygwin, allowing it to run on Microsoft Windows

Versions

  • GNOME development announced - August 1997
  • GNOME 1.0 - March 1999
  • October GNOME - October 1999
  • GNOME 1.2 (a.k.a "Bongo") - May 2000
  • GNOME 1.4 - April 2001
  • GNOME 2.0 (major upgrade based on GTK 2.0) - June 2002
  • GNOME 2.2 - February 2003
  • GNOME 2.4 - September 2003

Architecture

Several vital pieces of technology make up the advanced infrastructure of GNOME:


Major native applications

See also

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