Re: [likely out of luck]

[Richard Owlett <rowlett@cloud85.net>]

On 02/17/2018 10:13 AM, Thomas Schmitt wrote:
> Hi,
>
> Richard Owlet wrote:
> > > > Is there a recommended site that gives
> > > > a good description of why and how one would use [FVWM] {similar to what
> > > > <https://www.datamation.com/open-source/how-to-setup-kde-activities.html>
> > > > does for KDE}?
>
> John Hasler wrote:
> > > <http://www.fvwm.org/> is what there is.
>
> > That page prompted the question ;<
>
> Google for "fvwm2rc". It is rewarding to add the word "examples".
>
>
> My experience with installing Debian package fvwm2 two years ago would
> have been much worse if i did not have the file ~/.fvwm2rc from my eight
> year older workstation. Actually i carry it from system to system since
> a SuSE installation in year 2000.
>
> Fvwm is not a desktop like KDE or Gnome but rather a window manager,
> which nowadays is only a smaller part of the desktop goals.
> It offers no GUI library and thus has no fat applications depending on it.
> If you use KDE or Gnome applications then you pull in half of their very
> many libraries.
>
> Fvwm is software for people who don't want look-and-feel to change for
> the mere reason that another decade went by.
> One has to customize it by editing the configuration file, not by
> drag-and-drop. It is best used with a zillion xterm windows and a few
> inavoidable GUI programs like web browser or PDF reader.
>
> I simply love it.

This is a general question about the relationship of "window managers" 
and "desktop environments".

I'm getting the impression that:
  1. a window manager can manage several desktops.
  2. each desktop may or may not have an associated desktop environment.

If a window manager launches 3 desktops:
  1. there need not be any relationship between the 3 desktop
     environments.
  2. all could be different configurations of MATE such that
     a. one desktop would only have program icons for creating
        documents.
     b. one would only have program icons for doing matrix algebra.
     c. one would only have program icons for web browsing and email.

How many fallacies or misunderstanding above?
TIA