Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

z.s.tar.gz · 2009-11-10 02:04:48

I want to try out a tiling wm, but I have no idea where to start and there seem to be a ton to choose from.
What's a good one for beginners that I can 'grow into' so to speak?

Last edited by z.s.tar.gz (2009-11-11 21:32:28)

SamC · 2009-11-10 02:11:14

Well, awesome seems to be the closest to a full DE. DWM is certainly the simplest, and XMonad is extremely flexible. They are also some of the more mature tiling WM's available. You could also look into stumpwm and ratpoison, which are manual tilers.

I'd recommend awesome until you are comfortable with tiling, and if you get tired of it, decide if you want a large number of features (and extremely good documentation) or extremely light weight. In the first case, I'd use XMonad, in the second DWM.

Last edited by SamC (2009-11-10 02:12:49)

z.s.tar.gz · 2009-11-10 02:25:16

Thanks I'll check out awesome first then.

Aedit · 2009-11-10 02:41:43

http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Com … w_Managers

I'm not in favour of using a programming language for configuration. The disadvantages (learning curve, readability, version skew, bugginess, portability) outweigh the advantages IMHO, and if something is worth doing, it should be built in.

So my favourite is scrotwm, which uses a text file config, and is pretty sensible out of the box.

z.s.tar.gz · 2009-11-10 03:05:59

Hmm. I think I'll try out scrotwm as I like the whole text configuration thing. Awesome and scrotwm.

baddog · 2009-11-10 07:16:45

Just be aware that with awesome, updates will sometimes render your config partially or completely invalid

Lich · 2009-11-10 08:50:07

For beginners, I'd recomend wmii. It comes with a sane default config, and it's easy to modify it as it's a shell script (unless you use the plan9 config). If you aren't afraid of compiling, go with dwm. If you want to be "hardcore", use Ratpoison, my WM of choice. It too can be configured with a simple text file, only thing that you might miss in it are floating windows.

Inxsible · 2009-11-10 16:50:05

Or you can try musca -- which can be configured with a text file and also gives you floating windows if you desire. Musca is actually inspired from Ratpoison and dwm. so IMHO, it has the best of both.

Inxsible · 2009-11-10 16:52:42

Aedit wrote:

..... and if something is worth doing, it should be built in.

What may be worth doing for you, may not be for me. So I disagree with you there.

I haven't tried scrotwm yet...because I didn't find good documentation back then, but mostly because I stopped WM shopping after I found musca and so I didn't look hard enough for the docs either. But I do plan to try it some day and get a head-2-head comparison with musca.

Last edited by Inxsible (2009-11-10 16:54:02)

karol · 2009-11-10 17:46:15

I use dwm.

egan · 2009-11-10 20:09:16

I recommend dwm just to try out the world of tiling window managers. Once you get to the point where you would like some advanced configuration, you should check out xmonad. You do have to write the configurations in haskell, but it isn't too hard and it kinda fun.

moljac024 · 2009-11-10 20:25:31

I'm happily "tiling" my terminals in tmux now

It's WM agnostic

trann · 2009-11-11 04:00:14

Awesome is probably the easiest to get used to, but the config file can be quite difficult. I really liked Xmonad when I used it, the config file was a little more straightforward, but you need external programs like xmobar and dmenu to get similar functionality that is provided with Awesome.

MP2E · 2009-11-11 04:27:37

I'd like to try a tiling manager myself, I just really cannot decide what to use. I guess I'll pick at random, people keep mentioning dwm, but the fact that I have to configure it in C REALLY scares me off. I'm learning C from the K&R book right now because I want to know the language, but configuring a window manager by directly editing the source sounds insanely masochistic(I don't mind some pain in configuration, but I think C might be where I draw the line )

trann · 2009-11-11 04:35:37

MP2E wrote:

I'd like to try a tiling manager myself, I just really cannot decide what to use. I guess I'll pick at random, people keep mentioning dwm, but the fact that I have to configure it in C REALLY scares me off. I'm learning C from the K&R book right now because I want to know the language, but configuring a window manager by directly editing the source sounds insanely masochistic(I don't mind some pain in configuration, but I think C might be where I draw the line )

C isn't exactly as friendly of a language to start learning with as, say, Java would be. People do really well for a while, then BAM, pointers and it's like

MP2E · 2009-11-11 04:37:42

Well I'm forcing myself through C, I idled in an IRC server with a few programmers for almost an hour just trying to fix a simple Text input hex to decimal converter... It was a nightmare of bugs, I can only imagine me trying to configure my window manager... Poor, poor computer So basically I will stick to something simplistic until I can actually program, then maybe that option will be viable.

skottish · 2009-11-11 04:37:48

If anyone wants a more in depth discussion on any of these, this subject has been beaten to death in these forums. There are many threads on tiling window managers. And for the most part, they are nearly identical.

SamC · 2009-11-11 04:52:37

The configuration of DWM is quite simple - I'd suggest having a look at what you can change in the config file before being scared off. For the most part, it's just a matter of editing certain, plainly-visible parts.

z.s.tar.gz · 2009-11-11 21:32:09

I've decided that I really don't like tiling wm's, just a personal preference thing.
I can see where they could have a big advantage, but not for me at the moment.

I'll probably jump back in one day, for now I'm back to openbox.

Minishark · 2009-11-11 22:20:30

You could also try out PyTyle. It gives you the behavior of a tiling WM but you can use it inside another WM (e.g. I use it in Openbox). It's a good way to get your feet wet before deciding to take the dive into a full-on tiling WM.

z.s.tar.gz · 2009-11-11 23:24:52

I may give that a try, as I really only want my windows tiled, not a whole new window manager.

s3kt0r · 2009-11-12 11:28:19

Another happy ratpoison user. Manual tiling rules. Nice support for dual-head setups. Tried musca a couple weeks ago, but I'm way too used to ratpoison.

iphitus · 2009-11-12 12:29:45

There's also 'tile-windows' and 'whaw' in the AUR, both of which will tile windows in a non-tiling wm on a once off basis.

Duologic · 2009-11-12 12:42:13

I'm using Awesome for a long period now, I'd really recommend it to anyone who wants use a WM with tilling capabilities. The lua config file is a pain in the beginning, but you get used to it.
I'm using awesome-git, and the config changes a lot in there. I'll stay close to the default setup, which is very reasonable. Also, don't forget about Vicious and alikes, they are libraries that show me the battery and wifi on my laptop (and many other things).

Awesome is just awesome, once you pop, you can't stop!

I also tried wmii, didn't like dmenu, which tackles dwm too and Xmonad just didn't feel right.
Scrotwm is still on my list, but the others don't have an information bar.

Arch Linux

#1 2009-11-10 02:04:48

Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#2 2009-11-10 02:11:14

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#3 2009-11-10 02:25:16

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#4 2009-11-10 02:41:43

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#5 2009-11-10 03:05:59

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#6 2009-11-10 07:16:45

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#7 2009-11-10 08:50:07

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#8 2009-11-10 16:50:05

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#9 2009-11-10 16:52:42

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#10 2009-11-10 17:46:15

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#11 2009-11-10 20:09:16

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#12 2009-11-10 20:25:31

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#13 2009-11-11 04:00:14

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#14 2009-11-11 04:27:37

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#15 2009-11-11 04:35:37

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#16 2009-11-11 04:37:42

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#17 2009-11-11 04:37:48

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#18 2009-11-11 04:52:37

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#19 2009-11-11 21:32:09

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#20 2009-11-11 22:20:30

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#21 2009-11-11 23:24:52

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#22 2009-11-12 11:28:19

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#23 2009-11-12 12:29:45

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

#24 2009-11-12 12:42:13

Re: Want to get into tiling WM, don't know where to start [decided]

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