NsCDE: Not So Common Desktop Environment

Not so Common Desktop Environment (NsCDE)

Notice: for a full documentation, see NsCDE/share/doc/*

Notice: for a set of photos, also download

https://github.com/NsCDE/NsCDE-photos/releases/download/1.0/NsCDE-Photos-1.0.tar.gz

Notice: for a set of old VUE palettes and backdrops, also download

https://github.com/NsCDE/NsCDE-VUE/releases/download/1.0/NsCDE-VUE-1.0.tar.gz

See here for screenshots: https://imgur.com/gallery/nHkw35X ... and here: https://imgur.com/gallery/RroGvLH

NEW: Set of 12 video presentations (edited screen captures) now present on NsCDE Youtube channel! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwuTOghS3ac&list=PLpVwwj0aIJjeHbA38F1z693-fKIC8IHS5

Author will like to apologize for bad english in docs. A rand() function putting articles (the, a, an) will probably be more accurate.

Introduction

What isNsCDE?

NsCDEis a retro but powerful (kind of) UNIX desktop environment which resembles CDE look and (partially feel) but with a more powerful and flexible beneath-the-surface framework, more suited for a 21st century unix-like and Linux systems and user requirements then original CDE.

NsCDEcan be considered as something between heavyweight FVWM theme on steroids, but combined with a couple other free software components and custom FVWM applications and heavy configurations, NsCDE can be considered as lightweight hybrid desktop environment.

In other words, NsCDE is a heavy FVWM (ab)user. It consists of a set of FVWM applications and configurations, enriched with Python and Shell background drivers, couple of the additional free software tools and applications.

Visually, NsCDE mimics CDE (well known old Common Desktop Environment of many comercial UNIX systems of nineties. It supports CDE backdrops and palettes with FVWM colorsets and theme generator for Xt, Xaw, Motif, GTK2, GTK3, Qt4 and Qt5. Integrating all this bits and pieces, user gets retro visual experience across almost all X11 applications, but enriched with a bunch of powerful FVWM concepts and functions, modern applications and font rendering, NsCDE acts as a link between CDE look, but here similarities are ending, because NsCDE aims to provide modern functionality, fast and extensible environment, well suited for a modern day computing.

NsCDEcan even be integrated into existing desktop environments as a FVWM window manager wrapper for session handling and additional DE functionality.

Nevertheless, NsCDE is designed for a UNIX oriented users, and generally tehnical persons, and not as something for general public use or for introducing beginners to a Linux or some other unix-like system.

As said, NsCDE's main goal is to revive look and feel of the Common Desktop Environment found on many UNIX and unix-like systems during nineties and first decade of the 21 century, but with a slightly polished interface (XFT, unicode, dynamic changes, rich key and mouse bindings, desk pages, rich menus etc) and a goal to produce comfortable "retro" environment which is not just a eye candy toy, but a real working environment for users who contrary to mainstream trends really like CDE, thus making semi-optimal blend of usability and compatibility with modern tools with look and feel which mainstream abadoned for some new fashion, and ... in a nutshell, giving to user the best of the both worlds.

Main driver behind NsCDE is the excellent FVWM window manager with it's endless options for customization, GUI Script engine, Colorsets, and modules. NsCDE is largely a wrapper around FVWM - something like a heavyweight theme, sort of.

Other main components are GTK2, GTK3, Qt4 and Qt5 theme for unifying look and feel for the most Unix/Linux applications, custom scripts which are helpers and backend workers for GUI parts and some data from the original CDE, as icons, palettes, and backdrops.

WhyNsCDE?

Since the nineties, I have always liked this environment and it's somewhat crude socrealistic look in a contrast to "modern" Windows and GNOME approach which is going in the opposite taste from what I always liked to see on my screen. I have created this environment for my own usage 8-10 years ago and it was a patchwork, chaotic and not well suited for sharing with someone. While it looked ok on the surface, behind it was a years of ad hoc hacks and senseless configurations and scripts, dysfunctional menus etc. Couple of months in a row I had a time and chance to rewrite this as a more consistent environment, first for myself, and during this process, idea came to do it even better, and put on the web for everyone else who may like this idea of modern CDE.

NsCDEis intended for a people which doesn't like "modern" hypes, interfaces that try to mimic Mac and Windows and reimplementing their ideas for non-technical user's desktops, and reimplementing them poorly. Older and mature system administrators, programmers and generally people from the Unix background are more likely to have attraction to NsCDE . It is probably not well suited for beginners.

Of course, question arises: why not simply use original original CDE now when it is open sourced?

Apart from desirable look, because it has it's own problems: it is a product from 90-ties, based on Motif and time has passed since then. In CDE there is no really XFT font rendering, no immediate application dynamic changes. Beside that, I have found dtwm, CDE's window manager inferior to FVWM and some 3rd party solutions which can be paired with it. So I wanted the best of the two worlds: good old retro look and feel from original CDE, but more flexible, modern and maintained "driver" behind it, which will allow for individual customizations as one find's them fit for it's own amusement and usage. As it will be seen later, there are some intentional differences between CDE and NsCDE - a middle line between trying to stay as close as possible to look of the CDE, but with more flexibility and functionality on the second and third look.

Components of theNsCDE

Components overview

NsCDEis a wrapper and a bunch of configurations, scripts and apps around FVWM. FVWM is in my opinion a model of free choice for people who like to have things set up by their own wishes and who are aware what real freedom of choice is. A stunning contrast to policies forced on Linux users in the last decade from the mainstream desktop players.

NsCDEis by default rooted in /opt/NsCDE ($NSCDE_ROOT), but it can be relocated with only one variable changed in main wrapper bin/nscde and NsCDE-Main.conf.

It is not using your existing $HOME/.fvwm but sets $FVWM_USERDIR to $HOME/.NsCDE, and uses /opt/NsCDE/config as a sources of configuration.

Configuration model is a bit complex, but very flexible: configuration options are grouped in logical order. Configuration files are names NsCDE-.conf. For example, NsCDE-Functions.conf for FVWM functions. Each configuration file can have two exclusive sources, and one additional. For example, if user doesn't have $FVWM_USERDIR/NsCDE-Functions.conf, then $NSCDE_ROOT/config/NsCDE-Functions.conf is read as default. Additionally, if $FVWM_USERDIR/NsCDE-Functions.local exists, it will be read in addition to conf file, from wherever it was read. This is intended as a primary mechanism for customization: If user doesn't need to override and change a lot of "system" configuration, but just add it's own in addition to existing, local file is place for such customization (of course, most parts of the existing FVWM configuration can be overridden or destroyed and recreated even in local files.