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This page sets out to provide a non-technical reference, together with links for further information or demonstration. See also [[Special:myLanguage/Jargon File|Jargon File]].

== En allgemengen Iwwerbléck ==

[http://www.kde.org/announcements/4.0/desktop.php A KDE 4.0 Visual Guide:] and a [http://media.ereslibre.es/2008/06/kde41.ogg 4.1 screencast] gives an excellent overview of '''KDE Software Compilation 4''' in the early days.

The following glossary is intended to help you find your way through the mists of new names and new concepts.  In some cases you can find a link from a '''KDE 3''' component to its equivalent in the context of '''KDE SC 4''' software.
<span id="Activities"></span>
===Activities===
:'''Activities''' are sets of '''Plasma''' ''widgets'' that have their own wallpaper. A bit like [[#Virtual Desktops|Virtual Desktops]], but not quite. 

:For example you have a "work activity" with commit rss feeds, a note with your TODO, a ''Folder View'' with your work related files, and a subtle wallpaper.  

:Next to it, you have your "freetime activity", with previews of family photos and dogs, rss feeds from your favourite blogs, a Folder View showing your movie collection, a twitter applet and of course that Iron Maiden wallpaper you have been loving since the early 80s.  

:At 1700 hours sharp you switch from the "work activity" to your "freetime activity".

''More info'': 
:[[Special:myLanguage/Plasma/FAQ/4.3#How can I add/remove an activity?|Creating Activities]]
<span id="Akonadi"></span>
===Akonadi===
:The data storage access mechanism for all ''PIM'' (Personal Information Manager) data in ''KDE SC 4''.  One single storage and retrieval system allows efficiency and extensibility not possible under ''KDE 3'', where each PIM component had its own system. Note that use of '''Akonadi''' does not change data storage formats (''vcard'', ''iCalendar'', ''mbox'', ''maildir'' etc.) - it just provides a new way of accessing and updating the data.

:The main reasons for design and development of '''Akonadi''' are of technical nature, e.g. having a unique way to access PIM-data (contacts, calendars, emails..) from different applications (e.g. '''kmail''', '''kword'''..), thus eliminating the need to write similar code here and there.

:Another goal is to de-couple GUI applications like '''kmail''' from the direct access to external resources like mail-servers - which was a major reason for bug-reports/wishes with regard to performance/responsiveness in the past.

''More info'':
:[http://userbase.kde.org/Akonadi/ Akonadi for KDE's PIM] 
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akonadi Wikipedia - Akonadi] 
:[http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/PIM/Akonadi Techbase - Akonadi]
<span id="aRts"></span>
===aRts===
:The sound framework in KDE 2 and 3.  Its single-tasking nature caused problems when two sources of sound were encountered.  In the ''Plasma workspace'' it is replaced by [[#Phonon|Phonon]] 

''More info'':
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARts Wikipedia - aRts] 
:[http://www.arts-project.org/gen/newsarchive/news_2000.html aRts Home Page]
<span id="Containment"></span>
===Containment===
:A ''Containment'' is a top level grouping of widgets. Each Containment manages the layout and configuration data of its set of widgets independently from other Containments.

:The end result is that you can group widgets within a Containment according to the significance to your working pattern, rather than by directory grouping.    
<span id="D-Bus"></span>
===D-Bus===
:An inter-service messaging system.  Developed by Red Hat<sup>®</sup>, it was heavily influenced by KDE3's ''DCOP'', which it supersedes.

''More info'':
:[http://freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/dbus FreeDesktop.org: What is D-Bus?] 
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-Bus Wikipedia: D-Bus]
<span id="Dolphin"></span>
===Dolphin===
:The default file manager in KDE SC 4.  It has a side panel (''Places''), but navigation is mainly by the ''breadcrumb'' trail above the main window.  Split windows are possible, and views can be applied to individual windows. Mounting and umounting USB devices can be done in the side-panel. Other directories can be added to the Places panel.  A ''Tree view'' is also possible.

''More info'':
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin_(software) Wikipedia - Dolphin (software)]
:[http://dot.kde.org/2007/03/01/road-kde-4-dolphin-and-konqueror Road to KDE 4: Dolphin and Konqueror] 
:[http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070405-afirst-look-at-dolphin-the-kde-4-file-manager.html Ars Technica: A First Look at Dolphin] 
:[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4HS1v0a9Xs Youtube - KDE 4 rev 680445 - Dolphin] 
:[http://introducingkde4.blogspot.com/2007/12/dolphin.html Introducing KDE 4 Blog - Dolphin]
:[[Tutorials/File_Management|The UserBase File Management Tutorial]]
<span id="Extender"></span>
===Extender===
:''Extenders'' are a special kind of popup that can grow out of a [[#Plasma|Plasma]] panel for example. Extenders have detachable parts. Extenders are a new concept that arrived in Plasma for KDE 4.2. Notifications already use this system. This enables, for example, a user to drag a notification of a download or file copy job, onto his or her desktop and keep track of it there. The same can be done for other kinds of notifications, too. 

''More info'':
:[http://kde-look.org/content/show.php/KDE+Extender+Mockup?content=30012 Mockup Screenshots] 
:[http://plasma.kde.org/cms/1069 The Elements of Plasma]
<span id="Flake"></span>
===Flake===
:''Flake'' is a programming library to be used in [[Special:myLanguage/KOffice|KOffice]] and [[Special:myLanguage/Calligra|Calligra]].  Functionally, it provides ''Shapes'' to display content and ''Tools'' to manipulate content. Shapes can be zoomed or rotated and can be grouped to work as a single Shape, around which text flow is possible. 

''More info'':
:[http://community.kde.org/Calligra/Libs/Flake KDE Community Wiki - Flake] 
<span id="Get Hot New Stuff"></span>
===Get Hot New Stuff===
:''Get Hot New Stuff (GHNS)'' is an open standard that makes it easy for users to download and install various extensions for their applications. Our implementation of GHNS is used by Plasma (for example to get new desktop themes), and by many applications and widgets.

''More info'':
:[http://ghns.freedesktop.org Home of GHNS]
:[http://lwn.net/Articles/227855/ An article on GHNS in KDE SC 4]
<span id="Home Directory"></span>
===Home Directory===
:That's the place in your system where all your files are kept. You can write your files outside of this folder, but all applications are configured to propose this folder as place to write your files to. It is easier when you keep your things here. 

''More info'':
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_directory Wikipedia - Home directory] 
<span id="KControl"></span>
===KControl===
:''KDE Control Center'', for setting global preferences in KDE 3. Replaced by the [[#System Settings|System Settings]] interface in KDE SC 4.
<span id="KDOM"></span>
===KDOM===
:A [[#KPart|''KPart'']] module making ''KHTML DOM (Document Object Model) '' rendering capabilities available to all applications. [[#KSVG|KSVG2]] is built on KDOM for KDE SC 4.
<span id="KHTML"></span>
===KHTML===
:''KHTML'' is the HTML rendering engine for the KDE Plasma desktop, as used by the '''Konqueror''' browser. It also provides a KPart that enables all KDE applications to display web content. A new introduction, ''Qt WebKit'' is also for Plasma and other application development.
<span id="Kicker"></span>
===Kicker===
:In KDE 3, the relocatable bar, usually at the bottom of the screen (sometimes called the [[#Panel|''Panel'']]), on which application launchers, the [[#Pager|Pager]], and buttons for running applications reside.  See [[#Panel|Panel]]
<span id="Kickoff"></span>
===Kickoff===
:In KDE SC 4 (and some late versions of KDE 3), a launch menu in which apps are sorted by functional group.  "Favorites" replaces the "Most used applications" in ''Classic Menu'', and applications can be added to it.  Right-click also offers the possibility of adding applications to the desktop or panel.  Rapid access to a less-used application is made possible with the search box. Other menus are being worked on, since KDE SC 4 can be used with more than one launcher, should that be required. 

''More info'':
:[http://home.kde.org/~binner/kickoff/sneak_preview.html Kickoff Sneak Preview]
:[http://en.opensuse.org/Kickoff Design documentation]
<span id="KJS"></span>
===KJS===
:KDE platform's ''JavaScript'' engine.
<span id="KInfoCenter"></span>
===KInfoCenter===
:'''Kinfocenter''' originated as part of [[#KControl|KControl]] standing alone from KDE 3.1.  In KDE SC 4 up until 4.4 it is replaced by modules configured in [[#System Settings|System Settings]], notably [[#Solid|Solid]], and is being reintroduced as an application in KDE SC 4.5.

''More Info'': 
:[[Special:myLanguage/KInfoCenter|KInfoCenter]]
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinfocenter Wikipedia - KInfoCenter]
<span id="KIO"></span>
===KIO===
:''KDE Input/Output framework'' provides a single ''API'' for operating on files, whether local or on a remote server.  Additionally, ''KIO Slaves'' provide support for individual protocols.  Some particularly useful ones are ''http'', ''ftp'', ''sftp'', ''smb'', ''nfs'', ''ssh (fish)'', ''man'', ''tar'' and ''zip''.  

''More info'':
:[[Special:myLanguage/File transfers|A tutorial on file transfers]]
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KIO Wikipedia - KIO] 
:[http://www.linux.com/feature/124686 Linux.com - Master the KIO slaves] 
:[http://osdir.com/Article2159.phtml Breaking the Network Barrier]
<span id="Kiosk"></span>
===Kiosk===
:[http://techbase.kde.org/KDE_System_Administration/Kiosk/Introduction Kiosk] is a framework for restricting user capabilities on a ''KDE platform'' system, ideal for use in locked-down environments such as Internet cafés.  It is present in KDE 3 and KDE 4, but the administration tool, '''Kiosktool''' is KDE 3 only.   It can be used to configure KDE 4 apps, or '''kiosk''' configurations can be maintained by editing config files manually.
<span id="KPart"></span>
===KPart===
:A ''KPart'' is an individual component of the ''KDE Plasma desktop'' and allows applications to share their services with other applications. KParts allow '''KMail''' and '''KOrganizer''' to integrate (as plugins) into the '''Kontact''' suite, or [[#KHTML|KHTML]] to display sites in '''Akregator'''.
<span id="Kross"></span>
===Kross===
: ''Kross'' is a scripting framework, enabling support for multiple scripting languages.  A plugin system allows for the support of further languages in the future.
<span id="KRunner"></span>
===KRunner===
:The mini-command-line that is accessed from the Classic menu, the keyboard shortcut ''Alt+F2'', or a right-click on the desktop.  In '''KDE SC 4''' a partial name will display all possible matches

''More info'':
:[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1-SFSmwTXw Youtube - KDE SC 4.1 KRunner]
<span id="KSVG"></span>
===KSVG===
: ''KSVG'' enables support for ''scalable vector graphics'' in a [[#KHTML|KHTML]] browser.  ''KSVG2'' extends this for KDE SC 4.
<span id="KWin"></span>
===KWin===
:''KWin'' is the window manager.  This is where window decorations can be changed and themes applied. KDE SC 4 extends KWin to provide support for ''3D Compositing effects'' on the desktop.

''More info'':
:[[Special:myLanguage/KWin|KWin]]
:[http://dot.kde.org/1180541665/ Road to KDE 4: KWin Composite] 
:[http://francis.giannaros.org/blog/2007/12/03/kde4-desktop-effects-kwin-composite-video-tour/  KDE SC 4 Desktop Effects Video Tour] 
:[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YrFz7IxXppU Youtube - KDE SC 4.0 KWin Composite Showcast] 
:[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WBLlc6xCQ4 Youtube - KWin compositing config &amp; intro]
<span id="Mini-CLI"></span>
===Mini-CLI===
:See [[#KRunner|KRunner]]
<span id="Nepomuk"></span>
===Nepomuk===
:"Networked Environment for Personalized, Ontology-based Management of Unified Knowledge",  ''Nepomuk'' aims to remove artificial barriers between information to allow dynamic classification, organisation and presentation of data to the user.  Whether downloaded from the internet, received in an email or scribbled in a note, information is globally searchable and tagged with intelligent data.  See [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_desktop ''The Semantic Desktop''] for further discussion of this concept. 

''More info'':
:[[Special:MyLanguage/Nepomuk|Userbase Nepomuk page]]
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semantic_desktop Wikipedia - Semantic Desktop] 
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEPOMUK_(framework)  Wikipedia - NEPOMUK Framework] 
:[http://nepomuk.semanticdesktop.org/xwiki/bin/view/Main1/ NEPOMUK website]
:[http://nepomuk.kde.org/discover/user NEPOMUK KDE]
<span id="Oxygen"></span>
===Oxygen===
:''Oxygen'' is the default theme of KDE SC 4. Designed to bring "a breath of fresh air" to the desktop by removing the simplistic, cartoonish icons, and replacing them with a clean theme and photo-realistic icons.  Oxygen uses a desaturated palette to avoid the icons becoming a distraction and uses detailed scalable graphics (SVG). 

''More info'':
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_Project Wikipedia - Oxygen Project] 
:[http://www.oxygen-icons.org/?cat=3 Oxygen Icons]
<span id="Pager"></span>
===Pager===
:A ''pager'' is a small program or panel applet which shows the position of windows on your desktop and usually, if you have several [[#Virtual Desktops|Virtual Desktops]], gives an overview over all.
<span id="Panel"></span>
===Panel===
:See [[#Kicker|Kicker]]. In '''KDE SC 4''' the name "kicker" is dropped, and the name "panel" is the norm.  "Applets"; are largely replaced by [[#Widget|Widgets]]

''More info'':
:[[Special:myLanguage/Plasma/Panels|Panels]]
<span id="Phonon"></span>
===Phonon===
:A cross-platform multimedia API, interfacing with existing frameworks, such as ''gstreamer'' and ''xine engines''.  KDE 2 and 3 depended on ''aRts'' for sound.  ''Phonon'' replaces it. 

''More info'':
:[[Special:myLanguage/Phonon|Phonon]]
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonon_(KDE) Wikipedia - Phonon (KDE)] 
:[http://phonon.kde.org/ Phonon website]
<span id="Plasma"></span>
===Plasma===
:In KDE SC 4 the Plasma Desktop replaces ''KDesktop'', '''kicker''' and the ''superkaramba'' widget engine.  The applets are called '''Plasmoids''', and range from informational widgets to mini-apps such as a calculator or dictionary. Widgets from other sources, such as ''SuperKaramba widgets'' or ''Google Gadgets'' are also supported.

''More info'':
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_(KDE) Wikipedia - Plasma (KDE)] 
:[http://plasma.kde.org/cms/1107 Plasma website] 
:[[Special:myLanguage/Plasma|The Plasma main page]]
:[[Special:myLanguage/Plasma/FAQ/Index|The Plasma FAQ's]]
:[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5RpH9HOXJA&amp;feature=related  Youtube - Plasma Applets Galore (Part 1)]
:[http://liquidat.wordpress.com/ Liquidat&#039;s Blog]
<span id="Qt"></span>
===Qt===
:(Pronounced "cute") A framework/toolkit for writing cross-platform applications. It is used by many cross-platform applications such as '''Opera''' browser, '''GoogleEarth''' and '''Skype'''. ''Qt'' is developed by Trolltech, who are now part of the Nokia company.  Qt forms the underlying library KDE software is built on. 

''More info'':
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qt_(toolkit) The Qt Toolkit]
:[http://trolltech.com/products/qt/learnmore/demo Qt Demo Videos]
<span id="Solid"></span>
===Solid===
:''Solid'' provides a single API for hardware management.  Hardware is grouped into "domains".  The initial domains relate to ''HAL'', ''NetworkManager'' and the ''Bluetooth'' stack. Since the backends for Solid are pluggable, Solid helps application developers write less code, and have it platform independent. 

''More info'':
:[http://solid.kde.org/cms/1058 Discover Solid] 
:[http://dot.kde.org/1177385913/ Solid Brings Hardware Configuration and Control to the KDE platform]
<span id="Soprano"></span>
===Soprano===
:''Soprano'' is a sub-project of [[#Nepomuk|Nepomuk]], providing a repository for gathered information such as tags, ratings, etc..  This makes the information available to [[#Strigi|Strigi]] 

''More info'':
:[http://liquidat.wordpress.com/2007/06/19/more-about-nepomuk-kde-soprano-and-kde-integration/ More about Nepomuk-KDE: Soprano and KDE platform integration]
<span id="Strigi"></span>
===Strigi===
:A deep-indexed search daemon, ''Strigi'' aims to be fast and light-weight.  It also uses ''SHA-1 hash'' which will help in the identification of duplicate files. 

''More info'':
:[http://strigi.sourceforge.net/ Strigi - the fastest and smallest desktop searching program]
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strigi Wikipedia - Strigi]
<span id="System Settings"></span>
===System Settings===
:KDE SC 4 replacement for [[#KControl|KControl]] (Control Center) providing modular control over the KDE platform. 

''More info'':
:[[Special:myLanguage/System Settings|System Settings]]
:[http://www.lazytechguy.com/2008/01/kde4-system-settings.html KDE SC 4 System Settings illustrated]
<span id="Threadweaver"></span>
===Threadweaver===
:This thread programming library spreads work among multiple-core processors where available, prioritising them before queueing them for execution. ''ThreadWeaver'' provides a high-level job interface for multithreaded programming. 


''More info'':
:[http://www.englishbreakfastnetwork.org/apidocs/apidox-kde-4.0/kdelibs-apidocs/threadweaver/html/Why.html Why Multithreading? (Technical article)]
<span id="Virtual Desktops"></span>
===Virtual Desktops===
:A popular concept of Unix based window managers is the one of ''virtual desktops''. This means you have not only one screen where you can place your windows on but several. When you switch to a different desktop (usually with a pager) you will only see the windows which you started on your new desktop or moved to it. A window can also be made "sticky" which means it appears on all virtual desktops.
<span id="WebKit"></span>
===WebKit===
:HTML ''rendering engine'', originating from a fork of [[#KHTML|KHTML]]. Adopted by Apple and developed for Safari. ''Webkit'' brings the whole functionality back to KDE SC 4, where it is available through Qt. 

''More info'':
:[http://webkit.org/ The Webkit home page] 
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Webkit Wikipedia - Webkit]
<span id="Widget"></span>
===Widget===
:Collins English Dictionary: "Any small mechanism or device the name of which is unknown or temporarily forgotten." In KDE software terms, a '''widget''' is a single component on the canvas. Other common names that are analogous are "applet" or "gadget". Superkaramba Themes, Apple's Dashboard, Google Gadgets, Yahoo Widgets, Vista Sidebar Widgets, Opera Widgets are all examples of other widget systems (some of which are supported by Plasma as well).
<span id="X-Server"></span>
===X-Server===
:The ''X-Server'' represents a basic layer upon which the various GUIs like the KDE Plasma desktop are built. It manages the basic mouse and keyboard input (from the local host as well as from remote hosts) and provides elementary graphic routines to draw rectangles and other primitives.
<span id="XMLGUI"></span>
===XMLGUI===
:A programmers' framework for designing the user interface.  It is extensively used by ''KParts'' 

''More info'':
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XMLGUI Wikipedia - XMLGUI] 
:[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qt_Style_Sheets Wikipedia - Qt Style Sheets]
<span id="ZUI"></span>
===ZUI===
:The "Zooming User Interface".  "By zooming out, users can get an overview of all the object groupings that they have made. These groupings may reflect the projects they are working on, be ways to keep different sets of files organized, etc. By hovering or clicking on one of these groups when zoomed out, users can either get a preview/snapshot of what is in the grouping, or zoom in on that grouping so that it is displayed full size on the physical screen." ''aseigo''. 

''More info'':
:[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhODrJkoidA Youtube ZUI demo]

{{Prev|Special:myLanguage/An_introduction_to_KDE|An Introduction to KDE}}

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