KDE Display Manager (KDM) is a
display manager (a graphical login program) developed by
KDE for the
windowing system
In computing, a windowing system (or window system) is software that manages separately different parts of display screens. It is a type of graphical user interface (GUI) which implements the WIMP ( windows, icons, menus, pointer) paradigm f ...
s
X11
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 wi ...
.
KDE Display Manager was based on the
source code
In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the ...
of
X display manager
In the X Window System, an X display manager is a graphical login manager which starts a login session on an X server from the same or another computer.
A display manager presents the user with a login screen. A session starts when a user ...
and was the default display manager of the
KDE Software Compilation
The KDE Software Compilation (KDE SC) was an umbrella term for the desktop environment plus a range of included applications produced by KDE. From its 1.0 release in July 1998 until the release of version 4.4 in February 2010, the Software Comp ...
, until it was retired in
KDE Plasma 5
KDE Plasma 5 is the fifth and current generation of the graphical workspaces environment created by KDE primarily for Linux systems. KDE Plasma 5 is the successor of KDE Plasma 4 and was first released on 15 July 2014.
It includes a new default ...
in favour of
SDDM.
KDM allowed the
user
Ancient Egyptian roles
* User (ancient Egyptian official), an ancient Egyptian nomarch (governor) of the Eighth Dynasty
* Useramen, an ancient Egyptian vizier also called "User"
Other uses
* User (computing), a person (or software) using an ...
to choose a
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 grap ...
or
window manager
A window manager is system software that controls the placement and appearance of windows within a windowing system in a graphical user interface. Most window managers are designed to help provide a desktop environment. They work in conjunctio ...
at login. KDM used the
Qt application framework
In computer programming, an application framework consists of a software framework used by software developers to implement the standard structure of application software.
Application frameworks became popular with the rise of graphical user inter ...
. It is configurable via KDE's
System Settings
System Settings (System Preferences on macOS Monterey and earlier) is an application included with macOS. It allows users to modify various system settings, which are divided into separate Preference Panes. The System Settings application wa ...
; its appearance can be customized by the user.
The default KDM login screen had a list of users. Each entry was comprised in the user's
username
A user is a person who utilizes a computer or network service.
A user often has a user account and is identified to the system by a username (or user name). Other terms for username include login name, screenname (or screen name), accoun ...
,
personal name
A personal name, or full name, in onomastic terminology also known as prosoponym (from Ancient Greek πρόσωπον / ''prósōpon'' - person, and ὄνομα / ''onoma'' - name), is the set of names by which an individual person is kno ...
(if available), and an icon. Next to the list is a greeting and a picture. One of the customization options is to replace the picture with an
analog clock. From this screen the user can also run a user management tool,
shut down or
reboot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is physi ...
the computer, or restart the X Window System.
See also
*
getty – a non-graphical login program
*
Simple Desktop Display Manager
Simple Desktop Display Manager (SDDM) is a display manager (a graphical login program and session manager) for the X11 and Wayland windowing systems. SDDM was written from scratch in C++11 and supports theming via QML.
SDDM is free and open- ...
(SDDM), successor to KDM
*
GDM, the
GNOME
A gnome is a mythological creature and diminutive spirit in Renaissance magic and alchemy, first introduced by Paracelsus in the 16th century and later adopted by more recent authors including those of modern fantasy literature. Its characte ...
display manager.
*
LightDM
LightDM is a free and open-source X display manager that aims to be lightweight, fast, extensible and multi-desktop. It can use various front-ends to draw User Interface, also called ''Greeters''. It also supports Wayland.
LightDM is the defa ...
, the Light display manager, was written for
Ubuntu
Ubuntu ( ) is a Linux distribution based on Debian and composed mostly of free and open-source software. Ubuntu is officially released in three editions: '' Desktop'', ''Server'', and ''Core'' for Internet of things devices and robots. All ...
, now independent.
References
External links
The KDM HandbookKDM Themes (KDE-Look.org)
{{XWinSys
KDE Software Compilation
Software that uses Qt
X display managers