GNOME is an easy to use Graphical User Interface for UNIX-like operating systems. It is the official desktop of the GNU Project.
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2 Organisation 3 GNOME platforms 4 Versions 5 Architecture 6 Major native applications 7 See also 8 External links |
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 alledged licensing issues (now mostly, if not entirely, resolved), and its language of implementation was C++. Disagreements existed over potential implications of fine details in the wording of the original QPL license of the Qt toolkit. GNOME founders/supporters argued it was not a Free license. TrollTech and KDE supporters argued that is was the equivelant of a dual-licensed (GPL/commercial) product, and therefore truelly and intentionally Free software. This became the basis of the GNU/Linux Desktop wars that ensued arguably until Qt was released under the GPL license, explicitly.
GNOME screenshot showing: RhythmBox (music), gthumb (image manager), Abiword and the Nautilus file manager viewing the available network shares. ()
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. Instead of Qt, the GTK toolkit 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.
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 administration tasks, press interest and companies interested in GNOME development or distribution.
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. There is also a port of GNOME to Cygwin, allowing it to run on Microsoft Windows
Several vital pieces of technology make up the advanced infrastructure of GNOME:
Organisation
GNOME platforms
Versions
Architecture
Major native applications
See also
External links
