Vtwm (the Virtual Tabbed Window Manager) is an
X window manager
An X window manager is a window manager that runs on top of the X Window System, a windowing system mainly used on Unix-like systems.
Unlike MacOS Classic, macOS, and Microsoft Windows platforms (excepting Microsoft Windows explorer.exe shel ...
that was developed from the
twm
twm (Tab Window Manager) is a X window manager, window manager for the X Window System. Started in 1987 by Tom LaStrange, it has been the standard window manager for the X Window System since version X11R4. The name originally stood for Tom's Wi ...
codebase. The first release was in 1990, and it is very much an "old school" window manager, lacking
desktop environment
In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphica ...
features. It added features like
xpm icons, autoraising of windows, and a
virtual desktop
In computing, a virtual desktop is a term used with respect to user interfaces, usually within the WIMP paradigm, to describe ways in which the virtual space of a computer's desktop environment is expanded beyond the physical limits of the s ...
; the latter feature is from where the program takes its name. Later additions include playing sounds in response to window manager events, and
Motif-style window decorations in place of the "flat," 2D titlebars commonly associated with twm.
Vtwm was one of the first window managers to have an icon manager, a box of clickable windows which mapped to the application windows currently on the desktop. Clicking the entry in the icon manager iconizes or deiconizes the associated application. This behavior is common today in
taskbar
A taskbar is an element of a graphical user interface which has various purposes. It typically shows which programs are currently running.
The specific design and layout of the taskbar varies between individual operating systems, but generally a ...
s in many operating systems.
Vtwm is released under the
MIT license
The MIT License is a permissive free software license originating at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the late 1980s. As a permissive license, it puts only very limited restriction on reuse and has, therefore, high license comp ...
.
Features
* A stacking window manager
* Written in
C
* Uses the
xlib
Xlib (also known as libX11) is an X Window System protocol client library written in the C programming language. It contains functions for interacting with an X server. These functions allow programmers to write programs without knowing the d ...
toolkit
* opensource and freely available
* No
menubar
A menu bar is a graphical control element which contains Drop-down list, drop-down menus.
The menu bar's purpose is to supply a common housing for window- or Application software, application-specific menus which provide access to such function ...
* Lightweight - Has few dependencies
* Support for
multiple desktop
In computing, a virtual desktop is a term used with respect to user interfaces, usually within the WIMP paradigm, to describe ways in which the virtual space of a computer's desktop environment is expanded beyond the physical limits of the ...
s
Other features of twm, including shaped window titlebars, are faithfully incorporated into vtwm.
The focus of vtwm is to maintain simplicity and compatibility. It is believed to still work under
X Window System
The X Window System (X11, or simply X) is a windowing system for bitmap displays, common on Unix-like operating systems.
X provides the basic framework for a GUI environment: drawing and moving windows on the display device and interacting wit ...
revision 4, and can be compiled and run with no dependencies beyond the standard X libraries.
References
vtwm's entry in the xwinman list of window managers
External links
Vtwm website
{{X desktop environments and window managers
Free X window managers