Software:cwm (window manager)

From HandWiki

cwm
Cwm (window manager).png
cwm running on OpenBSD
Original author(s)Marius Aamodt Eriksen
Developer(s)Marius Aamodt Eriksen, Andy Adamson, Niels Provos, Martin Murray, Dimitris Economou, Antti Nykänen
Initial release10 July 2004; 20 years ago (2004-07-10)
Stable release7.4 (16 October 2023; 8 months ago (2023-10-16)) [±]
Written inC
Operating systemUnix-like
TypeWindow manager
LicenseISC License

cwm (Calm Window Manager)[1] is a stacking window manager for the X Window System. While it is primarily developed as a part of OpenBSD's base system,[2] portable versions are available on other Unix-like operating systems.

History

Development of cwm started from patches to evilwm by Marius Aamodt Eriksen.[3] To ease the implementation of new features, cwm was eventually rewritten using some code from 9wm.[4] The last release by the original author came out in August 2005.[3]

In April 2007, cwm was imported into OpenBSD source tree.[5] By January 2008, a substantial part of the original source code, including all of the 9wm code, was rewritten.[6]

cwm has been distributed with OpenBSD since version 4.2, where it replaced wm2.[7] A third-party Linux port also exists.[8]

Description

cwm is a stacking window manager oriented towards heavy keyboard usage,[9][10] small footprint and ease of use. While it lacks explicit virtual desktops functionality, it can be emulated by using the window groups mechanism.[11] cwm does not draw window decorations except for a border around windows.

cwm includes several menus:[10]

  • exec menu (launch an application)
  • window menu (search for a running application)
  • ssh to menu (start a Secure Shell session)
  • exec wm menu (switch to a different window manager)

All these menus operate in a "search as you type" manner.[10]

cwm allows raising, hiding, switching between, and searching for windows using just the keyboard, making it suitable to use as terminal emulator multiplexer.[12] Furthermore, it allows manipulating pointing devices, such as mice, with the keyboard.[1]

Additional key bindings and configuration options can be specified in the configuration file ~/.cwmrc.

Reception

cwm is generally well received in software minimalist communities.[10]

cwm is noted to be used mainly due to its status as one of the default window managers in OpenBSD,[13] though other reasons are sometimes cited.[14][15] cwm is also praised for its flexibility, ease of use, and the fact that it can be used without a mouse.[12][16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Czarkoff, Dmitrij D. (2011-11-22), "Introduction: calm window manager", OSNews, http://www.osnews.com/story/25359/Introduction_calm_window_manager, retrieved 2011-11-23 
  2. ↑ "The X Window System", OpenBSD Frequently Asked Questions (OpenBSD), http://openbsd.org/faq/faq11.html#Intro, retrieved 2016-05-07 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Eriksen, Marius Aamodt, Old home page, http://monkey.org/~marius/pages/?page=cwm, retrieved 2011-11-16 
  4. ↑ "cwm — a lightweight and efficient window manager for X11", OpenBSD manual pages (The OpenBSD project), http://man.openbsd.org/OpenBSD-5.9/man1/cwm.1, retrieved 2011-11-16, "The from-scratch rewrite borrowed some code from 9wm, however that code has since been removed or rewritten." 
  5. ↑ "xenocara/app/cwm/calmwm.c", OpenBSD CVS (OpenBSD), 2007-04-27, https://cvsweb.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/xenocara/app/cwm/calmwm.c?rev=1.1.1.1&content-type=text/x-cvsweb-markup, retrieved 2017-04-30 
  6. ↑ OpenBSD CVS log, The OpenBSD CVS, http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/xenocara/app/cwm/LICENSE, retrieved 2011-11-16 
  7. ↑ "OpenBSD 4.2", OpenBSD, 2007-11-01, https://www.openbsd.org/42.html, retrieved 2017-04-30 
  8. ↑ Neukirchen, Leah, portable version of OpenBSD's cwm(1) window manager, GitHub, https://github.com/chneukirchen/cwm, retrieved 2011-11-16 
  9. ↑ Adriaanse, Jasper Lievisse (2007-07-11), cwm in Xenocara, OpenBSD Journal, http://undeadly.org/cgi?action=article&sid=20070712103624, retrieved 2011-10-05 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 O'Higgins, Niall (2007-07-09), Keyboard-only X, cwm hacks and Vimperator, http://niallohiggins.com/2007/07/09/keyboard-only-x-cwm-hacks-and-vimperator/, retrieved 2011-11-16 
  11. ↑ Gouveia, Rodolfo (2009-05-02), Getting started with cwm, OpenBSD Journal, http://undeadly.org/cgi?action=article&sid=20090502141551, retrieved 2011-10-05 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 O'Higgins, Niall (2007-06-19), Typing, window managers and sore hands, http://niallohiggins.com/2007/06/19/typing-window-managers-and-sore-hands/, retrieved 2011-10-05 
  13. ↑ Skinwalker (2011-09-13), OpenBSD – EEEPC, http://skinwalker.wordpress.com/2011/09/13/openbsd-eeepc/, retrieved 2011-11-16 
  14. ↑ Mandla, K. (2010-06-18), Short and sweet: cwm, http://kmandla.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/short-and-sweet-cwm/, retrieved 2011-11-16 
  15. ↑ Pfennigs, Thilo (2008-05-03), Virtualized servers & OpenBSD, http://vinci.wordpress.com/2008/05/03/virtualized-servers-openbsd/, retrieved 2011-11-16 
  16. ↑ Lucas, Michael W. (2011-05-31), my .cwmrc, http://blather.michaelwlucas.com/archives/873, retrieved 2011-11-16 

External links



Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Cwm_(window_manager)&oldid=3462702"