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Wikipedia:WikiProject Desktop Linux

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by ScotXW (talk | contribs) at 19:01, 30 August 2013. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Please see fr:Modèle:Palette Environnements de bureau et Gestionnaires de fenêtres pour X for even more Logos

This project started to address the problem of unmaintained articles relating to free and open-source operating systems with a graphical shell based on the Linux kernel. It is a project to list and organize the articles that need work related to KDE, anyone should feel free to join and participate as the KDE articles are currently sub-standard.

There is an article Desktop Linux.

Aims

  • To ensure that Wikipedia can be used as an appropriate reference for components (programs) of Desktop Linux and also of underlying technologies for:
    • people employing a Desktop Linux
    • people thinking about employing a Desktop Linux
    • people giving lectures about Desktop Linux
  • To ensure that existing Wikipedia articles about Desktop Linux
    • are cited, NPOV and factually accurate.
    • don't fall unmaintained or go obsolete.
  • To ensure that not existing Wikipedia articles about Desktop Linux
    • are encouraged to be created, (e.g. There is an article about Mode setting and there should additionally be an article called KMS (Linux kernel) which describes that particular Linux kernel module. At the moment the KMS module is part of the Direct Rendering Manager, but at the Linux Plumbers Conference 2013 a split of that one module into two kernel modules is being discussed.)
    • are well interlinked with each other and with the rest of the Wikipedia articles


Articles

General articles

  • Desktop Linux – could be much better with many more links to to-be-created "Comparison of..."-articles.
  • Linux kernel – the article itself is ok, but we can link to its sections and from it
  • freedesktop.org – good as it is. Do not forget to refer to it and to the components it hosts. Several programs are actually daemons, and the user merely interact with some GUI-Front-end. The user does not need to know that, but it also does not hurt to make him aware of that. It's not just GNOME or KDE SC, is also freedesktop.org and many many other programs. It's not just colorful eye candy, it's also just code, that has to have a solid software architectural design, to run efficiently and also safely. See the idea behind kdbus and alternatives.
  • Ubuntu Software Center – if this worked as intended, it would make a lot of this work gratuitous. I (User:ScotXW) find it cumbersome to search for available audio players in the Debian/Fedora/ArchLinux/SLackware Repos when you have the OS installed and running. After finding all programs able to do that, I'd also like to further compare them, and install just the one, that allows me to change the playing speed. Audacious cannot do that, but e.g. the AlsaPlayer can.
  • Nautilus (file manager)
  • Dolphin (file manager)
  • GNOME Shell versus GNOME Panel
  • KDE Plasma Workspaces versus KDesktop, Kicker and SuperKaramba
  • etc.

Several programs do not belong to either GNOME nor KDE SC, e.g.

so they shall not be mentioned in Templates like Template:KDE. By what means should the User stumble upon such software? Have a look in software? (Ubuntu only, German only). Blindly rely on google? No! Probably by "Comparison of...-articles" in the Wikipedia. Sadly said articles do not address Desktop Linux users at all!

Templates

Comparison of... articles

Available Comparison of ...-articles usually intermix proprietary with free and open-source software, are quite crowded, hard to maintain and usually not maintained at all! They often do not mention the graphical toolkit, the programming language, when the program was last updated, etc. Also they regularly lack the program logos. It would be nice to have pages like Multimedia, this AudioPlayer, etc. in the Wikipedia. Given that Wikidata is non the way, we of course should not waste too much time creating and grooming comparison of-pages, yet a couple of those would be a really really nice to have.


I think it is cumbersome to create and then maintain such "Comparison of..."-articles, and I would not want to painstakingly create one, just to have it deleted, because it is unwelcome in somebodies eyes. Would be nice to see if other people share my POV, and only then do the work.


Articles about the underlying technology

There is a growing number of Desktop Linux users, and there is a growing number of people who do not care at all, that the software they are employing is free and open-source and they also do not care how it works. There is a small number of people who really want to understand the software they are using.


  • Linux startup process could be enriched with a English language version of File:Linux-bootvorgang.svg or File:Linux Boot Schema.png; maybe even replace init with systemd; maybe even already mention kdbus in the diagram ;-)
  • Graphics hardware and FOSS
  • Direct Rendering Infrastructure and Gallium3D
  • Direct Rendering Manager, Graphics Execution Manager
  • KMS (Linux kernel), Atomic Display Framework[1][2], Common Display Framework[3]
  • kdbus – most relevant for the Linux desktop, even if not related to graphics but to security!
  • Netfilter – in stark contrast to the situation on other OSs, on Linux any program called a "firewall" is usually just some CLI- or GUI-wrapper around netfilter/ipXtables. netfilter gives a nice introduction to netfilter. Too much for the Wikipedia, but this template is totally misleading. The current version is a bit better, bust still too much influenced by the (ridiculous implementation of "firewalls" on Microsoft Windows. The fact, that "Desktop Linux" users can port their acquired knowledge on Netfilter to other devices, such as a router, if it runs OpenWrt, or a server if it runs "Ubuntu Server", or they mobile device, if it runs a mer-based OS or a rooted Android, should be made as obvious as possible! There is learning curve, and it is usually more then worth learning the stuff. When most users who actually use Uncomplicated Firewall are not even aware of the fact, that is is Netfilter-based, and that Netfilter is a Linux kernel module, which makes Netfilter ubiquitously available, they won't even bother! In other words, as with the freedesktop.org-stuff, I would concentrate on the core program first, and then on its GUI-front-ends!
  • on enWP there are the article GNU Parted, GParted and QtParted with differing qualities. – on the deWP there is only one article: de:GNU_Parted and de:GParted and de:QtParted are only REDIRECTs to this one article. I think the situation in the deWP is much better. Not only is there a good quality article to which all users are redirected to, but this article also nicely shows, that GParted and QtPared are merely the GUI-Front-Ends to a solid program which has been around for a long time now and is actually CLI-only. Contrary to the situation on Windows, on the "Desktop Linux" we quite often have such a constellation: a solid cli-program or even a daemon, for which various front-ends exists. Transmission is another such example and it would be nice, if its article would reflect the differences between daemon and GUI-Front-End.

Man-Pages

There is the Template:Man. Wherever manpages are available, this template should be used. For example in systemd for systemctl and journalctl, or in GNU GRUB for grub-setup and grub-install or in netfilter for iptables, ip6tables, arptables, ebtables and ipset, etc.


Articles about Events

New technologies are regularly introduced on such Summits/Conventions/Congresses. Usually they offer the papers as PDF and often also a Video recording even years after!

The official Homepages of such events are usually well organized, so there is little point in making a big fuzz on the Wikipedia. But it seems to me very useful, when citing something to also link to the Wikipedia page for the corresponding event: e.g. [4]

Multimedia resources

Diagrams

I (User:ScotXW) think, that awesome looking screenshots are nice, but I'd rather have diagrams to understand the clumsiness or elegance of the implemented software architecture. Especially at the moment (2013) there is a lot of talk about Wayland replacing X11, yet the Wikipedia offers very little to make it easy for the interested person to understand the advantages that come with the transition from X11 to Wayland. A comprehensive Wikipedia article will address and satisfy the individual interested in the mere news, but also early adopters and even people willing to participate further.

Screenshots

Nice looking screenshots are just eye candy, so they need to look as awesome as possible! They do not contribute to any understanding whatsoever! Their sole purpose is, to attract the user to read on or even to install the concerned programs/combination of programs.


  • An montage instead of just one screenshot and with the Logo in the corner. I think it is very attractive.
    An montage instead of just one screenshot and with the Logo in the corner. I think it is very attractive.
  • useful, but not as good as the first
    useful, but not as good as the first
  • frankly quite lame
    frankly quite lame
  • even lamer
    even lamer
Example 1



Logos

Nice to have svg-logos and reuse them in the required size. Often people create a logo using Inkscape, but only put and png-picture on the programs homepage. An example seems to be Simple DirectMedia Layer.

  1. ^ http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?page=news_item&px=MTQ0ODE
  2. ^ http://www.linuxplumbersconf.org/2013/ocw/proposals/1551
  3. ^ http://www.linuxplumbersconf.org/2013/ocw/sessions/1317
  4. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQoQE_HDG8g. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |autor= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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