The early Linux systems are without interface, it can only be managed by a command, such as running programs, editing documents, delete files. So, in order to skillfully use Linux, you must remember many commands.
Later, with the popularity of Windows, the computer interface is becoming more and more beautiful, little mouse can be done a lot of work, people have become accustomed to the graphical interface of the operation, it is difficult to endure the darkness of the command line window. This contributed to the Linux community to change, and soon introduced a graphical environment Linux system.
To complete the work of more than one way, Linux has always been known for this, especially in the graphical desktop, Linux has a variety of graphical desktops to choose from.
Linux in the desktop environment is a program that the kernel is not bound to develop between the two is not synchronized; to the interface without installing a desktop environment on a Linux system, you can see all kinds of beautiful windows, and use the mouse to click them.
In fact, a variety of Linux distributions already come with some kind of desktop environment, if you like the toss, can also replace other desktop environments. Here to introduce several more popular desktop environment.
A, KDE desktops
KDE (K Desktop Environment, K Desktop Environment) is based on the Qt development, originally released as an open source project in 1996 and is now ranked first in almost KDE desktop environment, and it will generate a similar Microsoft Windows graphical desktop environment . KDE and Windows quite similar, I believe you are a beginner Windows users to switch to KDE so there will not be much of a barrier. Many popular Linux distributions offer a KDE desktop environment, such as Ubuntu, Linux Mint, OpenSUSE, Fedora , Kubuntu, PC Linux OS and so on.
KDE Project has also made a large number of available applications running in KDE environment, including the Dolphin (file management tool), Konsole (Terminal), Kate (text editor), Gwenview (image viewer), Okular (documents and PDF viewer), Digikam (photo editing and finishing tools), KMail (email client software), quassel (IRC client software), K3b (DVD burning program), Krunner (starter), etc., which are installed by default.
KDE summary of the advantages and disadvantages:
- Advantages: KDE is almost the most advanced and most powerful desktop environment, it looks beautiful, highly customizable, compatible with older hardware.
- Cons: Some components such as Kmail configuration is too complicated for the novice.
Two, GNOME desktop environment
GNOME (the GNU Network Object Model Environment , GNU Network Object Model Environment) is another popular Linux desktop environment. GNOME was first released in 1999, has now become many Linux distributions default desktop environment (but most used is Red Hat Linux). GNOME is used as the default desktop environment in Fedora, is available in several popular Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, Debian, OpenSUSE and so on.
GNOME is characterized by simple and fast, but not too many customization options, users need to install third-party tools. GNOME does not even include some simple adjustment options, such as changing the theme, change fonts, etc., in relation to these two basic adjustments, users need to install third-party tools. So, GONME suitable for users who do not require highly customizable interface.
2011 年，GNOME 3 进行了重大更新，不再采用传统的 Windows 风格的界面，而是进行了全新的设计，惊艳了很多用户。GNOME 3 的这种行为也导致部分用户和开发人员不满，他们又开发了多款其他的桌面环境，比如 MATE 和 Cinnamon。
对 GNOME 优缺点的总结：
- 优点：简单易用，可通过插件来扩展功能。
- 缺点：对插件的管理能力比较差，也缺少其它桌面环境拥有的许多功能。
三、Unity 桌面环境
Unity 是由 Ubuntu 的母公司 Canonical 开发的一款外壳。之所以说它是外壳，是因为 Unity 运行在 GNOME 桌面环境之上，使用了所有 GNOME 的核心应用程序。Unity 使用了不同的界面风格，如果你用的是 Ubuntu Linux 发行版，你会注意到 Unity 与 KDE 和 GNOME 桌面环境有些不一样。
Unity 在左边有一个启动器，位于启动器顶部的是搜索图标，又叫“Dash”。在 Dash 上搜索文件时，不仅会给出来自硬盘的搜索结果，还会给出来自在线来源的搜索结果，比如 Google Drive、Facebook、Picasa、Flick 及其他。
Unity 很简单、运行速度快，但 Unity 在系统设置下却没有定制桌面的太多选项，要想安装主题或者定制另外不同的选项，比如系统菜单是否应该总是可见，或者“从启动器图标一次点击最小化”，用户需要安装第三方工具。
CCSM 和 Unity Tweak Tool 是面向 Unity 桌面环境的非常流行的定制工具。
对 Unity 优缺点的总结：
- 优点：界面简洁直观，可以通过第三方工具来深度定制，而且使用了平视显示器（HUD）等新技术。
- 缺点：默认的定制功能比较差劲，通知机制一般。
四、MATE 桌面环境
上面我们提到，GNOME 3 进行了全新的界面设计，这招致一些用户的不满，他们推出了其它的桌面环境，MATE 就是其中之一。MATE 是一种从现在无人维护的 GNOME 2 代码库派生出来的桌面环境。MATE 还是许多流行的 Linux 发行版随带的，比如 Ubuntu、Linux Mint、Mageia、Debian 及另外更多发行版。
MATE 自带的应用程序包括 Caja（文件管理工具）、Pluma（文本编辑工具）、Atril（文档查看工具）、Eye of MATE（图像查看工具）等，/如果用户不需要其他功能完备的桌面环境的所有额外功能，那么 MATE 对他们来说是一款简单的轻量级桌面环境。
MATE 让人觉得在使用旧的桌面环境，但是结合了历年来界面方面的诸多改进。MATE 还非常适用于低配计算机，所以如果你有一台旧的或速度较慢的计算机，可以使用 MATE。
对 META 优缺点的总结：
- 优点：轻量级的桌面环境，能够兼容教旧的硬件设备。
- 缺点：我也不知道有什么明显的缺点，欢迎读者留言告知。
五、Cinnamon 桌面环境
与 MATE 类似，Cinnamon 是由 Linux Mint 团队因为不满 Gnome 3 的改进而开发的另一种桌面环境。但 Cinnamon 与 MATE 不同之处在于，Cinnamon 建立在 Gnome 3 的基础上。Cinnamon 是新的，而且在积极开发之中，但这款出色的桌面环境没有因新颖而在功能方面有所减弱。
Cinnamon 拥有 GNOME 和 Unity 等其它桌面环境所没有的种种功能。Cinnamon 是高度可定制的桌面环境，不需要任何外部插件、窗口组件和调整工具来定制桌面。Cinnamon 甚至可以通过设置管理器本身来下载并安装主题，甚至不需要打开互联网浏览器。
由于种种出色的所需功能，Cinnamon 对任何刚接触 Linux 的新用户来说都非常方便。许多用户放弃使用 Linux，是因为他们并不了解 Linux 的工作方式，但是我强烈建议新手应从 Cinnamon 桌面环境开始入手。
许多流行的 Linux 发行版提供了各自版本的 Cinnamon，比如 Ubuntu、Fedora、OpenSUSE、Gentoo、Arch Linux 等。Cinnamon 还是 Linux Mint 的默认桌面环境。
对 Cinnamon 优缺点的总结：
- 优点：成熟完美，高度可性质，适合 Linux 新手。
- 缺点：有时候可能会有软件错误。
六、适用于较老硬件设备的 Linux 桌面环境
图形化桌面环境的弊端在于它们要占用相当一部分的系统资源来保证正常运行。在Linux发展之初， Linux的标志和卖点之一就是它可以运行在处理能力较弱的老旧PC上，这些PC无力运行较新的微软桌面。然而随着KDE和GNOME桌面环境的普及，情况发生了变化。运行KDE或GNOME桌面要占用的内存资源和微软的最新桌面环境旗鼓相当。
如果你的PC已经有些年代了，也不要泄气。 Linux开发人员已经联手让Linux返璞归真。他们
开发了一些低内存开销的图形化桌面应用，提供了能够在老旧PC上完美运行的基本功能。尽管这些图形化桌面环境并没有大量专为其设计的应用，但它们仍然能运行许多基本的图形化程序，支持如文字处理、电子表格、数据库、绘图以及多媒体等功能。
The following table lists some of the lightweight Linux graphical desktop environment that can run on low configuration PC and laptop.
| Desktop Environment | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Fluxbox | A panel does not light the desktop, only one can be used to start a program of the pop-up menu. |
| Xfce | And much like a KDE desktop, but a lot less low-memory image to fit the environment. |
| JWM | Joe's window manager (Joe's Window Manager), ideal for low memory, low disk space environment of ultra-light desktop. |
| Fvwm | And other advanced desktop features such as support for virtual desktop and panel, but can run on low-memory environments. |
| fvwm95 | Fvwm derived from, but it looks more like the Windows 95 desktop. |
The following figure shows the JWM desktop environment:
Seven, view the desktop environment
We can DESKTOP_SESSION to view the current Linux distributions use the desktop environment through which environmental variables, such as:
$ echo $DESKTOP_SESSION
gnome-classicThis indicates that I am using GNOME. In addition, you can also view /etccase there is no corresponding directory, such as gnome or kde directory catalog, if any, it shows already installed.
reference:
Linux desktop environment (desktop) Competition [incidental advantages and disadvantages]