Shulou(Shulou.com)06/01 Report--

This article will explain in detail why Linux recommends the use of Xfce desktop environment, Xiaobian thinks it is quite practical, so share it with you as a reference, I hope you can gain something after reading this article.

For several reasons (including curiosity), I started using Xfce as my Linux desktop a few weeks ago. One of the reasons is that background daemons consume all the CPU and I/O bandwidth on my very powerful primary workstation. Of course, some of the instability may be because I removed some RPM packages that provide background daemons. However, even before I removed RPM, the fact was that KDE was unstable and caused performance and stability problems. I need to use a different desktop to avoid these problems.

I like Xfce a lot, and like its speed and lightness more than I thought.

As part of my research, I searched for the meaning of Xfce. There are historical references to the XForms public environment, but Xfce no longer uses XForms tools. A few years ago, I found a reference to "Xtra Fine Computing Environment," and I loved it. I'll use it (although I can't find the page reference again).

Eight reasons to recommend Xfce

1. lightweight construction

Compared to some other desktops such as KDE and GNOME, Xfce uses very little memory and CPU. On my system, the programs that make up the Xfce desktop take up very little memory for such a powerful desktop. Very low CPU usage is also a hallmark of Xfce desktops. With such a small memory footprint, Xfce is also a great CPU cycle-saver, which I'm not particularly surprised at.

2. simple

The Xfce desktop is simple and free of clutter. The basic desktop has two panels with a vertical icon line on the left. Panel 0 is located at the bottom and consists of some basic application launchers and application icons that provide access to all applications on the system. Panel 1 is located at the top and has an application launcher and a workspace switcher that allows users to switch between multiple workspaces. These panels can be modified with additional items, such as new emitters, or by changing their height and width.

The icon on the left side of the desktop consists of the Home directory and Recycle Bin icons. It can also display the complete file system directory tree and icons for any connected pluggable USB storage devices. These icons can be used to mount and unmount devices, as well as to open the default file manager. You can hide them if you want, and the file system, garbage, and home directory icons are controllable, respectively. Removable drives can be hidden or displayed as a group.

3. archives management

Thunder is the default file manager for Xfce, which is simple, easy to use and configure, and very easy to learn. While not as fancy as file managers like Konqueror or Dolphin, it is quite capable and very fast. Thunder can't create multiple panes in its window, but it does provide tabs so you can open multiple directories at once. Thunder also has a nice sidebar that displays the same icons for the full file system directory tree and any connected USB storage devices as the desktop. Devices can be installed and uninstalled, and removable media such as CDs can be ejected. Thunder can also use helper apps such as Ark to open archived files when they are clicked. You can view archives such as ZIP, TAR, and RPM files and copy individual files from them.

Having used a series of many different applications for file management I must say that I like Thunder because it is easy to use. Navigating file systems is easy using the sidebar.

4. stability

Xfce desktop is very stable. The new version appears to be on a three-year cycle, although updates are necessary. The current version is 4.12, released in February 2015. The ruggedness of the Xfce desktop is very reassuring after problems with KDE. The Xfce desktop has never crashed for me and has never spawned daemons that hogged system resources. It works right there-that's what I want.

5. elegant

Xfce is very elegant. In my new book, The Linux Philosophy for System Administrators, which is coming out this fall, I'll discuss the many advantages of simplicity, including the fact that simplicity is one of the hallmarks of elegance. Clearly, programmers who write and maintain Xfce and its component applications love simplicity. This simplicity is probably why Xfce is so stable, but it also brings a clean look, responsive interface, easy-to-navigate structure, a natural feel, and overall elegance that make it a joy to use.

6. terminal emulation

Xfce4 Terminal Simulator is a powerful simulator that allows multiple terminals in a window using tabs, just like many other terminal simulators. Compared to emulators like Tilix, Terminator, and Konsole, this terminal simulator is simple, but it gets the job done. You can change tab names and rearrange tabs by dragging and dropping, using arrow icons on the toolbar, or selecting options on the menu bar. One thing I particularly like about the tabs on the Xfce terminal emulator is that they show the names of the hosts they are connected to regardless of how many hosts they are connected to, e.g. host1 ==> host2 ==> host3 ==> host4 correctly shows host4 on the bill. Other simulators show host2 at best.

Its other aspects of functionality and appearance can be easily configured to suit your needs. As with other Xfce components, this terminal simulator uses very little system resources.

7. configurability of

Within its scope, Xfce is very configurable. While no desktop like KDE offers more configurability, it is much more configurable (and easier) than GNOME. I found the Settings Manager to be the entry point for everything needed to configure Xfce. Separate configuration applications are available separately, but Settings Manager gathers them all into a single window for easy access. All important aspects of the desktop can be configured to meet my needs and preferences.

8. modular

Xfce has many separate projects that make up the entire system, and not all parts of Xfce are installed by your distribution. Xfce's Projects page lists the main projects so you can find other parts you might want to install. When I installed the Xfce group, the projects that weren't installed on my Fedora 28 workstation were mostly applications at the bottom of the page.

There's also a file page, and an Xfce Goodie project called wiki that lists other Xfce-related projects that provide apps, artwork, and plugins for the Thunder and Xfce panels.

conclusion

The Xfce desktop is thin and fast, with overall elegance, so it's easy to figure out how to get things done. Its lightweight structure saves memory and CPU cycles. This makes it ideal for older hosts, with few resources to save on a desktop. However, Xfce is flexible and powerful enough to meet my needs as a power user.

I've learned that changing to a new Linux desktop may take some work to configure it the way I want-all my favorite app launchers on the panel, my favorite wallpapers, etc. Over the years, I've had many new desktops or updates to old ones. It takes time and patience.

I guess it's like I moved a cubicle or an office at work. Someone moved my stuff from the old office to the new one, and I hooked up the computers, opened the boxes, and put them in place in the new office. Moving to Xfce Desktop was the easiest step I ever made.

About "Linux why recommend the use of Xfce desktop environment" this article is shared here, I hope the above content can be of some help to everyone, so that you can learn more knowledge, if you think the article is good, please share it to let more people see.

Welcome to subscribe "Shulou Technology Information " to get latest news, interesting things and hot topics in the IT industry, and controls the hottest and latest Internet news, technology news and IT industry trends.