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authorDon Stewart <dons@cse.unsw.edu.au>2007-05-28 07:14:44 +0200
committerDon Stewart <dons@cse.unsw.edu.au>2007-05-28 07:14:44 +0200
commit67407c6ade19c305998a834ac366ae0effb4eef1 (patch)
treec27a5da396cdd9786513d3482e27908753a804f7 /README
parent9cae1baf72193ca59c8f573d9b0545e9e9f41290 (diff)
downloadmetatile-67407c6ade19c305998a834ac366ae0effb4eef1.tar
metatile-67407c6ade19c305998a834ac366ae0effb4eef1.zip
update readme
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- xmonad : a lightweight X11 window manager.
+ xmonad : a lightweight X11 window manager.
- http://xmonad.org
+ http://xmonad.org
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
About:
-Xmonad is a minimalist tiling window manager for X, written in Haskell. Windows
-are managed using automatic layout algorithms, which can be dynamically
-reconfigured. At any time windows are arranged so as to maximise the use of
-screen real estate. All features of the window manager are accessible purely
-from the keyboard: a mouse is entirely optional. Xmonad is configured in
-Haskell, and custom layout algorithms may be implemented by the user in config
-files. A principle of Xmonad is predictability: the user should know in advance
-precisely the window arrangement that will result from any action.
-
-By default xmonad provides three layout algorithms: tall, wide and fullscreen.
-In tall or wide mode, windows are tiled and arranged to prevent overlap and
-maximise screen use. Sets of windows are grouped together on virtual screens,
-and each screen retains its own layout, which may be reconfigured dynamically.
-Multiple physical monitors are supported via Xinerama, allowing simultaneous
-display of a number of screens.
-
-By utilising the expressivity of a modern functional language with a rich
-static type system, Xmonad provides a complete, featureful window manager in
-less than 500 lines of code, with an emphasis on correctness and robustness.
-Internal properties of the window manager are checked using a combination of
-static guarantees provided by the type system, and type-based automated
-testing. A benefit of this is that the code is simple to understand, and easy
-to modify.
+ Xmonad is a tiling window manager for X. Windows are managed using
+ automatic tiling algorithms, which can be dynamically configured.
+ Windows are arranged so as to tile the screen without gaps, maximising
+ screen use. All features of the window manager are accessible
+ from the keyboard: a mouse is strictly optional. Xmonad is written
+ and extensible in Haskell, and custom layout algorithms may be
+ implemented by the user in config files. A guiding principle of the
+ user interface is <i>predictability</i>: users should know in
+ advance precisely the window arrangement that will result from any
+ action, leading to an intuitive user interface.
+
+ Xmonad provides three tiling algorithms by default: tall, wide and
+ fullscreen. In tall or wide mode, all windows are visible and tiled
+ to fill the plane without gaps. In fullscreen mode only the focused
+ window is visible, filling the screen. Alternative tiling
+ algorithms are provided as extensions. Sets of windows are grouped
+ together on virtual workspaces and each workspace retains its own
+ layout. Multiple physical monitors are supported via Xinerama,
+ allowing simultaneous display of several workspaces.
+
+ Adhering to a minimalist philosophy of doing one job, and doing it
+ well, the entire code base remains tiny, and is written to be simple
+ to understand and modify. By using Haskell as a configuration
+ language arbitrarily complex extensions may be implemented by the
+ user using a powerful `scripting' language, without needing to
+ modify the window manager directly. For example, users may write
+ their own tiling algorithms.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
Building:
@@ -36,27 +44,48 @@ Get the dependencies
whether you've got a package run 'ghc-pkg list some_package_name'
mtl http://hackage.haskell.org/cgi-bin/hackage-scripts/package/mtl-1.0
+ unix http://hackage.haskell.org/cgi-bin/hackage-scripts/package/unix-2.0
+
X11 http://hackage.haskell.org/cgi-bin/hackage-scripts/package/X11-1.2
(Unfortunately X11-1.2 does not work correctly on AMD64. The latest
darcs version from http://darcs.haskell.org/packages/X11 does.)
+
X11-extras: http://hackage.haskell.org/cgi-bin/hackage-scripts/package/X11-extras-0.1
- unix http://hackage.haskell.org/cgi-bin/hackage-scripts/package/unix-2.0
(included with ghc)
- dmenu 2.* http://www.suckless.org/download/dmenu-2.7.tar.gz
- (optional)
-
And then build with Cabal:
runhaskell Setup.lhs configure --prefix=/home/dons
runhaskell Setup.lhs build
runhaskell Setup.lhs install --user
-Finally, add:
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Running xmonad:
+
+ Add:
exec /home/dons/bin/xmonad
- to the last line of your .xsession file
+ to the last line of your .xsession file.
+
+------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+Other useful programs:
+
+ For a program dispatch menu:
+
+ dmenu http://www.suckless.org/download/
+ or
+ gmrun (in your package system)
+
+ For custom status bars:
+
+ dzen http://gotmor.googlepages.com/dzen
+
+ A nicer xterm replacment, that supports resizing better:
+
+ urxvt http://software.schmorp.de/pkg/rxvt-unicode.html
Authors: