GNOME

GNOME is a free and open-source desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. It creates the pictures and screens that users see when they start their computers. Many popular Linux distributions, like Debian, Fedora Linux, Ubuntu, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and SUSE Linux Enterprise, already include GNOME, so many people use it.

The GNOME Project makes GNOME. It brings together volunteers and paid workers from many countries. Red Hat is the biggest company supporting the project. GNOME works on creating tools for making software, building applications, and making sure these tools are easy for everyone, no matter what language they speak or what they need.

In recent years, GNOME has gotten help from outside money. In both 2023 and 2024, it received €1,000,000 from Germany's Sovereign Tech Fund. This money helps make GNOME better and stronger for users all over the world.

Interface design

Main article: Adwaita (design language)

See also: Worse is better, KISS principle, and Principles of user interface design

Since GNOME 2, making things easy to use has been very important for GNOME. To help with this, the GNOME Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) were made. These guidelines help all GNOME programs look and work in a similar way. They are based on ideas about how people think and feel when using computers. By following these guidelines, developers can create programs that are easy and pleasant to use.

When GNOME 2 was being made, many extra settings were taken out because they were not needed by most people. A developer named Havoc Pennington said it’s better to make software work well right away, instead of adding many settings that most people don’t use. He believed that too many options can make software harder to use.

Features

GNOME makes its desktop easy for everyone to use, even people with disabilities. It uses special tools to help with different ways of controlling the computer, like voice commands and screen reading.

GNOME supports many languages around the world. It currently offers options in 197 different languages, though some may not be fully translated yet.

Session types

See also: Phosh and Libadwaita

GNOME Shell is the main part of GNOME. It shows a top bar with a clock and a menu for system settings. You can click the Activities button or press a special key to see all your open windows and programs.

GNOME Classic is another way to use GNOME. It has a menu for programs and a list of open windows at the bottom of the screen. This makes it easier to switch between programs.

GNOME Flashback is a lighter version of GNOME that uses less computer power. It has a traditional taskbar and many useful tools built-in.

GNOME Mobile is a version of GNOME made for mobile phones and touch screens. It uses special tools to make programs look good and work well on smaller screens.

Applications

GNOME has many programs that work well together. These programs follow GNOME's design rules and connect well with GNOME's system, like file management and online accounts. Some programs are updated versions of older ones, while others are brand new.

GNOME also gives tools to help people make new programs for the GNOME system. These include special tools for building software, designing how users will see the program, and checking for problems while making it. There are also libraries and frameworks that help make apps that look and feel like GNOME.

History

GNOME started on August 15, 1997. It was created by Miguel de Icaza and Federico Mena as a free software project. They wanted to make a desktop environment and apps without using proprietary software. They chose GTK, which is licensed under the GNU Lesser General Public License, instead of Qt. This kept GNOME free and open-source.

GNOME 2 came out in June 2002. It looked like older desktops with windows, icons, and files. It had a menu for programs, a taskbar for open windows, and a place for background programs.

GNOME 3 was released in 2011. It had a new design that focused on simplicity. It added an overview screen to switch tasks and hid some buttons. GNOME keeps changing with new features and improvements. Recent versions, like GNOME 40, added new gestures, updated apps, and better performance.

Releases

GNOME releases its software every six months. Before version 40, GNOME used special numbers to show updates. Now, each release has a new number to make tracking easier.

People can download GNOME’s source code and build it themselves, but most users get pre-made packages from their computer’s software library. This makes it easy to install and update GNOME on many computers.

Development

GNOME is developed by the GNOME Project. The project is managed in a relaxed way, with discussions on a Discourse forum since 2019, instead of older mailing lists. Every year, developers and users meet at GUADEC to talk about GNOME's present and future. GNOME works well with other desktop systems because it uses standards from freedesktop.org.

GNOME is mostly written in several programming languages including C, XML, C++, C#, HTML, Vala, Python, JavaScript, and CSS. It uses many tools and libraries such as GLib, GObject, GTK, and Adwaita. These tools help with organizing data, creating designs, and managing windows.

GNOME OS

GNOME OS is an operating system made to give a neat and same place to build GNOME software. It is different from many Linux versions. GNOME OS is made from the start using tools such as BuildStream and the Freedesktop SDK. This helps make a special place for GNOME development.

The idea for GNOME OS began around 2010. It was inspired by platforms like Android and WebOS. In 2012, important GNOME people met at the GUADEC conference to plan its future. Over time, GNOME OS changed and grew. Big steps include adding Flatpak in 2016. This helped applications work better. By 2020, GNOME OS was available for people to test. It keeps changing with new plans to make daily use and testing hardware better.