path: root/doc/faq/intro.docbook

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<chapter id="introduction">
<title>Introduction</title>

<qandaset>
<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>What is &tde;?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>&tde; is the Trinity Desktop Environment. The project was initiated
by Matthias Ettrich in 1996 and originally called the K Desktop Environment.
The aim of the &tde; project is to connect the power of the &UNIX; operating
systems with the comfort of a modern user interface.</para>
<para>For additional information about &tde;, check the Trinity web site at
<ulink url="http://www.trinitydesktop.org/about.php">About Trinity</ulink></para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question id="platform">
<para>On which platforms can I expect &tde; to work?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>&tde; is a Desktop Environment for all flavors of &UNIX; systems.
While most &tde; developers use &Linux; based systems, &tde; should run
on a wide range of systems. You might need to tweak the
source code a bit to get &tde; to compile on different variant
of &UNIX; systems, or when not using the &GNU; development tools, in
particular the &gcc; compiler.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Why should I use TDE?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>TDE provides a traditional computer desktop that is snappy and
responsive. A project goal is to provide a highly customizable
desktop without forcing any particular feature or effect on users.
TDE comes with many software tools to provide a productive and enjoyable
computer desktop system.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Is &tde; a window manager?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>No, &tde; is not a window manager. While &tde; includes a
sophisticated window manager (&twin;), &tde; is much more, providing
a full integrated desktop environment. &tde; includes a web browser,
a file manager, a window manager, a help system, a
configuration system, many tools and utilities, and many
applications, including but not limited to mail
and news clients, drawing programs, a PDF and a &DVI; viewer
and so forth.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Is &tde; a <acronym>CDE</acronym>, &Windows; or &Mac;
<acronym>OS</acronym> clone?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>&tde; is not a clone. Specifically &tde; is not a
Common Desktop Environment (<acronym>CDE</acronym>) or &Windows; clone.
While developers have and will continue to glean the best features from existing
desktop environments, &tde; is a unique environment that has and
will continue to go its own way.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>On what platform is TDE based?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>TDE uses C++ and the <link linkend="qt">&Qt; C++ crossplatform toolkit</link>.
The TDE development team now maintains the Qt3 toolkit, renamed TQt3.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Is &tde; free software?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>Yes, &tde; is free software according to the &GNU; General
Public License. All &tde; libraries are available under the
<acronym>LGPL</acronym> making commercial software development for the
&tde; desktop possible, but all &tde; applications are licensed under
the <acronym>GPL</acronym>.</para>
<para>&tde; uses the <link linkend="qt">&Qt; C++ crossplatform
toolkit</link>, which, since version 2.2, is released under the
<acronym>GPL</acronym>.</para>
<para>Both &tde; and &Qt; can be made available on
&CD-ROM; free of charge. No runtime fees of any kind are
incurred.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Why the rebranding and renaming efforts? Why not continue calling the software KDE?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>The "KDE" name, various logos, and related efforts are trademarked by the KDE
Foundation. Since the Trinity project is not affiliated with the KDE Foundation,
legally we can't use their trademarks.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question>
<para>Why the change in version numbers?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>Trinity evolved from the last KDE 3.5 release, 3.5.10. Subsequent Trinity releases
followed that numbering scheme. Release R14.0.0 marks a turning point in Trinity history
because a great deal of the code infrastructure was changed. While those changes do not
effect the usability or look-and-feel of the desktop that users enjoy, Trinity developers
believe a change in the version scheme distinguishes when those changes occurred. An
original project goal by users was to retain the flavor of the original KDE 3.5 desktop.
That goal remains intact. To reflect that original goal, the last number in the original
version scheme is retained in the new version scheme but is now the primary version number.
While the infrastructure has changed, the desktop itself remains the same as the original
KDE 3.5. This new version scheme indicates a modest divergence from the original KDE 3.5
series and that Trinity is now its own desktop environment. The new version scheme reminds
users that Trinity retains the original KDE 3.5 design, but is moving forward as a separate
desktop project.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question id="trinity-vs-kde4">
<para>How is Trinity different from KDE4?</para>
</question>
<answer>
<para>Both desktop environments share common roots to KDE 3.5.10, which was the last
official release of KDE in the 3.x series. Many KDE developers wanted to break
from that code chain and tool sets to start afresh. Thus was born KDE4. In
addition to moving to the Qt4 tool set, the KDE developers revamped the
underlying KDE code set.</para>

<para>KDE4 and Trinity have different philosophies about work flow preferences.
KDE4 developers want to support certain work flow concepts and techniques.
Trinity developers want to maintain a "traditional" desktop environment.</para>

<para>For example, KDE4 offers the following tools:</para>

<itemizedlist>

<listitem>
<para>Semantic desktop through Nepomuk</para>
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para>PIM (Personal Information Management) data caching through Akonadi</para>
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para>Desktop file searching through Strigi</para>
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para>Activities, a computer desktop metaphor for managing tasks and activities</para>
</listitem>

</itemizedlist>

<para>Whereas TDE offers the following:</para>

<itemizedlist>

<listitem>
<para>Desktop search through the locate:/ tdeio-slave and Beagle</para>
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para>Integrated PIM suite with plugins</para>
</listitem>

<listitem>
<para>Related task management using multiple desktops</para>
</listitem>

</itemizedlist>

<para>The KDE developers support alternate desktop interfaces, such as those used
with netbooks, tablets, and smart phones. TDE provides a single interface that is
optimized for the mouse/keyboard HCI (Human-computer interaction) model.</para>

<para>Both desktop environments provide an excellent choice for various work
flows but differ in approach. Trinity leans toward user expectations of how
desktop environments have functioned traditionally. There is a sense of
familiarity with that environment many people like. Similarly other users prefer
the work flow features offered by KDE4 because those features match their
expectations of how they want their computer to behave. The difference between the
two environments does not mean one is better, buggier, or slower  -- mdash; only that
they are different and appeal to different types of people. Although sharing a
common heritage, both desktops appeal to different groups of people. As always
with free/libre software, there is a choice.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>


</qandaset>
</chapter>