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In general there are two flavors of X desktop. The two most famous "heavyweight" desktop projects are GNOME and KDE; these include both a _desktop environment_ and an _application development framework_. A desktop environment includes a window manager, help browser, file manager, task bar, and so on. A development framework includes any number of libraries to ease application development, perhaps most importantly a GUI toolkit. GNOME and KDE are the desktops with the most support from Linux distribution vendors.
The second flavor of X desktop includes a desktop environment only; no development framework is included. The line between this flavor of desktop and a plain old window manager is a bit blurry; many people would describe Xfce, [[WindowMaker|WindowMaker]], and Enlightenment as desktops in this category.
Desktops can be mixed-and-matched; for example, you can run Enlightenment together with GNOME or KDE components; you can run applications developed with the GNOME or KDE development framework under any of the X desktops. One purpose of freedesktop.org is to ensure that this mixing-and-matching remains possible, and promote more of it. Read our [[Mission Statement|MissionStatement]] for details. The executive summary is that people or organizations developing applications do not need to worry about which desktop their users will select. _Applications_ which work with any desktop are easy to write.
One way to think about the mission of freedesktop.org is this: to ensure that the different development frameworks aren't user-visible.
### X Desktops with a Development Framework
* [[Backbone|http://www.nongnu.org/backbone/]]: A GNUstep-based desktop environment
* [[Étoilé|http://www.etoile-project.org/]]: another GNUstep-based Desktop Environment
* [[GNOME|http://www.gnome.org]] [[(developer site)|http://developer.gnome.org]]: The GNU Network Object Model Environment
* [[GNUstep|http://www.gnustep.org/]]: The GNU [[OpenStep|http://www.gnustep.org/resources/OpenStepSpec/OpenStepSpec.html]] Implementation
* [[KDE|http://www.kde.org]] [[(developer site)|http://techbase.kde.org]]: The K Desktop Environment
* [[Unity|http://unity.ubuntu.com/]]: A desktop environment built on GNOME
### Plain Desktop Environments
* [[AfterStep|http://www.afterstep.org/]]: Window manager that combines flexibility with elegant look
* [[AntiRight|http://www.nongnu.org/antiright]]: Lightweight scripted environment that uses the GTK+ toolkit
* [[awesome|http://awesome.naquadah.org]]: Highly configurable, next generation framework window manager
* [[EDE|http://equinox-project.org/]]: small desktop environment, built to be simple and fast
* [[Enlightenment|http://www.enlightenment.org/]]: The Enlightenment Window Manager
* [[fluxbox|http://fluxbox.org/]]: Lightweight WM with support for tabs
* [[FVWM|http://fvwm.org/]]: An extremely customizable window manager and some desktop applications
* [[GoFun|http://gofun.berlios.de/]]: Lightweight Desktop Entry Specification based desktop
* [[IceWM|http://icewm.org/]]: Window manager designed to be small, fast and lightweight
* [[LxDE|http://lxde.sourceforge.net]]: provide a new desktop environment which is lightweight and fast
* [[Matchbox|http://matchbox.handhelds.org/]]: Environment for non-desktop systems, such as handheld computers
* [[MATE|http://www.mate-desktop.org]]: MATE Desktop Environment is the fork of GNOME2
* [[ROX|http://rox.sourceforge.net/]]: ROX is a free, GTK+-based, fully drag-and-drop desktop
* [[UDE|http://udeproject.sourceforge.net/]]: attempt to create new WM with original Look'n'Feel
* [[WindowMaker|http://www.windowmaker.org/]]: Window manager intended to work with GNUstep
* [[Xfce|http://www.xfce.org/]]: Lightweight GTK+-based environment
* [[XPde|http://www.xpde.com/]]: A Windows XP-like desktop environment designed for Windows users migrating to Linux
### 3D Desktop Environments
* [[Compiz|http://www.compiz.org/]]: OpenGL-based 3D window manager to extend existing desktop environments like Gnome and KDE
* [[Metisse|http://insitu.lri.fr/~chapuis/metisse/index.html]]: Metisse 3D Desktop project
* [[True3D*Shell|http://www.sixtyfourbit.org/3dshell.htm]]: open source 3D desktop environment
### Classic Desktop Environments
* [[CDE|http://www.opengroup.org/cde/]]: Common Desktop Environment, the traditional proprietary environment based on Motif
* [[TkDesk|http://tkdesk.sourceforge.net/]]: TkDesk predates most of the environments on this page
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