The main difference between GNOME and KDE is that the GNOME is a desktop environment that provides simplicity, accessibility, ease of internationalization and localization while KDE is a desktop environment that provides basic functions and applications to perform daily tasks.
GNOME is a graphical desktop environment that runs on top of the computer operating system, composed entirely of free and open source software. KDE is a desktop environment for an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, Microsoft Windows, etc. GNOME is more stable and user-friendly. KDE consumes more resources than GNOME. The user can choose one of them according to their choice.
Key Areas Covered
1. What is GNOME
– Definition, Functionality
2. What is KDE
– Definition, Functionality
3. Difference Between GNOME and KDE
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
Gnome, KDE
What is GNOME
GNOME is a free and open source software that runs on Linux and most BSD derivatives. It is the default desktop environments on many Linux distributions such as Fedora, Debian, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, Oracle Linux, Solaris and Kali Linux.
Figure 1: GNOME
It was developed as part of the GNU Project by The GNOME Project. This project has a large number of contributors. The main contributor among them is Red Hat. The main objective of developing the GNU project was to develop frameworks that support the software development. These frameworks help to program the end user applications.
The official user interface of GNOME desktop environment is the GNOME shell. It has features such as activities button, application menu, a clock and an integrated system status menu. The application menu displays the name of the application. It is also capable of providing access to the application’s preferences, closing the application and creating a new application window. The status menu contains the system status indicators, shortcuts to system settings and session actions such as logging out, switching users, and suspending the computer.
What is KDE
KDE is a desktop environment that allows carrying out daily tasks without relying on the Command Line Interface. Two common products of KDE are Plasma Desktop and KDE frameworks. They are designed to run on Microsoft Windows, Android, Unix Desktops, etc. It provides tools and documents for the developers to write applications.
Figure 2: KDE
KDE is a central development hub for many applications such as Krita and Calligra Suite. KDE Plasma provides a unified environment for running and managing applications on desktops, netbooks, smartphones, and tablets. KDE applications such as KTorrent and KDE Partition Manager are built on top of KDE frameworks. KDE applications are portable between operating systems.
Difference Between GNOME and KDE
Definition
GNOME is a desktop environment composed of free and open source software that runs on Linux and most BDC derivatives. KDE is a desktop working platform with a GUI released in the form of an open source package.
Founders
Migual De Icaza and Federico Mena are the founders of GNOME while Matthias Ettrich is the founder of KDE.
Development
The GNOME project developed GNOME while KDE community developed KDE
Initial Release
GNOME was released on 1999 while KDE was initially released on 1996.
Minimum System Requirements
Furthermore, the GNOME requires 700 MHz CPU and 768 MB RAM. KDE requires 1GHz CPU and 615MB RAM.
Written Programming Languages
While GNOME is written in C, C++, Python, and JavaScript, KDE is mainly written in C++.
Usage
Although the GNOME provides simplicity, accessibility, and ease of internationalization and localization, KDE provides basic desktop functions and its applications to perform daily tasks. It also provides tools and documents for the programmers to stand along applications.
Tool Kit
Tool kit GTK+ is used by GNOME while tool kit Qt is used by KDE
Complexity
GNOME is simpler than KDE.
User-friendliness
KDE is not very user-friendly as compared to GNOME.
Conclusion
Both GNOME and KDE are desktop environments. The difference between GNOME and KDE is that the GNOME is a desktop environment that provides simplicity, accessibility, and ease of internationalization and localization while KDE is a desktop environment that provides basic functions and applications to perform daily tasks.
Reference:
1. “GNOME.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Aug. 2018, Available here.
2. “KDE.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Aug. 2018, Available here.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Sabayon Linux-5.2-GNOME” By VARGUX – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Kde-4.5.0 fi” By The original uploader was Skfin at Finnish Wikipedia. – Transferred from fi.wikipedia to Commons by Olli using CommonsHelper. Originally uploaded by Sasu Karttunen @ fiwikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
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