Metacity is a lighter window manager created by Red Hat's Havoc Pennington.
I recently had the opportunity to try out Metacity, a lightweight window manager developed by Havoc Pennington at Red Hat. The first version, released in 2001, is implemented using the GTK 2.x toolkit and integrates especially well with the GNOME 2.x platform.
One unique feature of Metacity is that it aims to blur the lines between the traditional separation of the window manager and the desktop by presenting a single desktop interface to the user. This means that the configuration options, while limited, are displayed as desktop options rather than as Metacity options. It's worth noting that Metacity-setup panel, which is optional, conflicts with this approach.
Installation was a relatively straightforward process. Users can easily compile the package by navigating to the directory containing the source code and typing `./configure' to configure the package for their system. If a user is using `csh' on an old version of System V, they might need to type `sh ./configure instead to avoid csh from attempting to execute `configure itself. It's worth mentioning that running `configure' takes awhile, and prints messages indicating which features are being checked.
Once configured, users can type `make' to compile the package, `make check' to execute any self-tests that come with the package, and `make install' to install the programs and any data files and documentation. To remove the program binaries and object files from the source code directory, users can type `make clean.' To remove the files created by `configure,' users can type `make distclean.' Finally, the `make maintainer-clean' option is intended primarily for the package's developers.
Overall, I found Metacity to be a dependable and intuitive window manager that doesn't consume excessive computer resources. It's an excellent option for those running GNOME 2.x and looking for a simple, seamless user experience.
One unique feature of Metacity is that it aims to blur the lines between the traditional separation of the window manager and the desktop by presenting a single desktop interface to the user. This means that the configuration options, while limited, are displayed as desktop options rather than as Metacity options. It's worth noting that Metacity-setup panel, which is optional, conflicts with this approach.
Installation was a relatively straightforward process. Users can easily compile the package by navigating to the directory containing the source code and typing `./configure' to configure the package for their system. If a user is using `csh' on an old version of System V, they might need to type `sh ./configure instead to avoid csh from attempting to execute `configure itself. It's worth mentioning that running `configure' takes awhile, and prints messages indicating which features are being checked.
Once configured, users can type `make' to compile the package, `make check' to execute any self-tests that come with the package, and `make install' to install the programs and any data files and documentation. To remove the program binaries and object files from the source code directory, users can type `make clean.' To remove the files created by `configure,' users can type `make distclean.' Finally, the `make maintainer-clean' option is intended primarily for the package's developers.
Overall, I found Metacity to be a dependable and intuitive window manager that doesn't consume excessive computer resources. It's an excellent option for those running GNOME 2.x and looking for a simple, seamless user experience.
What's New
Version 2.28.0: N/A