X Window Manager

An X window manager is a window manager which runs on top of the X Window System, a windowing system mainly used on Unix-like systems. Unlike the Mac OS (Apple Macintosh) and Microsoft Windows platforms (excepting Microsoft Windows explorer.exe shell replacements) which have historically provided a vendor-controlled, fixed set of ways to control how windows and panes display on a screen, and how the user may interact with them, window management for the X Window System was deliberately kept separate from the software providing the graphical display. The user can choose between various third-party window managers, which differ from one another in several ways, including: customizability of appearance and functionality: textual menus used to start programs and/or change options docks and other graphical ways to start programs multiple desktops and virtual desktops (desktops larger than the physical monitor size), and pagers to switch between them consumption of memory and other system resources degree of integration with a desktop environment, which provides a more complete interface to the operating system, and provides a range of integrated utilities and applications.