question about /etc/init.d/xdm and desktop environments

[dksellou]

Hi...
two quick questions:
1) are window managers and desktop environments 2 different things.
For example is Metacity a desktop environment or just a window manager?

2)if a X display manager is not already started do you start it with /etc/init.d/xdm or /etc/init.d/xdm start?

Thanks

[oz]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

You can read up on any differences between desktop environments and window managers here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desktop_environment

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Window_manager

On the other question, I don't use a display manager on my own machines, but would be interested in hearing what happened when you tried each of those commands, if you don't mind me asking?

[elija]

This is a great post that explains the difference

[oz]

For example is Metacity a desktop environment or just a window manager?

I've always considered Metacity to be a window manager but wikipedia has an entry on that, too, if you are interested in knowing more about it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metacity