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GNOME

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GNOME is an easy to use Graphical User Interface for UNIX-like operating systems. It is the official desktop of the GNU Project.

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 it: it was was based on Trolltech's Qt toolkit, and this had a number of licensing issues, and its language of implementation was C++ (the licensing issues with Qt have since been substantially resolved).

File:Gnome-screenshot-small.jpg
GNOME screenshot showing: RhythmBox (music), gthumb (image manager), Abiword and the Nautilus file manager viewing the available network shares. (Larger image)

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.


Organisation

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 the administrative side of a large project, and deal with companies interested in GNOME developement or distribution.


GNOME platforms

Although originally a GNU/Linux desktop, GNOME now runs on most Unix-like systems (*BSD variants, AIX, IRIX, HPUX), and in particular it has been adopted by Sun Microsystems as the standard desktop for its Solaris platform, replacing the ageing CDE.


Versions

  • GNOME development announced - August 1997
  • GNOME 1.0 - March 1999
  • "October GNOME" 1.0.55 - October 1999
  • "Bongo" GNOME - May 1999
  • GNOME 1.4 - ??
  • GNOME 2.0 (major upgrade based on GTK 2.0) - ??
  • GNOME 2.2 - ??
  • GNOME 2.4 - coming soon


Architecture

Several vital pieces of technology make up the advanced infrastructure of GNOME:


Major native applications

See also


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