X window manager

An X window manager is a window manager that runs on top of the X Window System, a windowing system mainly used on Unix-like systems.

Unlike MacOS Classic, macOS, 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.