Re: Debian desktop environment
On Tue, May 24, 2022 at 01:27:29PM +0200, Antonino Saetta wrote:
> So I was wondering, why am I asked to choose (or not) a GNOME desktop
> environment, other than *Debian desktop environment*?
>
> I thought that Debian is GNOME by default...
*sigh* It's complicated.
See, there's more than one Debian installer program, and there's more
than one IMAGE which uses the Debian installer as its core.
The "Debian desktop environment" setting is designed to choose whichever
desktop the DESIGNER OF YOUR INSTALLATION IMAGE decided should be the
default.
If you're using the official Debian netinst or DVD-1 installer image,
the default choice is GNOME.
If you're using a Debian "Live" image, the default choice is potentially
something other than GNOME. It'll usually say in the image's filename.
If you're using something other than pure Debian, the default could be
anything at all.
> Also, what's the lightest desktop? Default, XFCE or LXDE...?
I really liked tomas's answer to this. The way you're asking this
question means you've already fallen into the trap of thinking that
it's normal and expected to install a full-blown Desktop Environment
and that you're supposed to choose one of them.
A lot of us (myself included) don't use ANY of those. We just use a
traditional window manager, of which there are a few dozen.
If you UNSELECT all of the desktop options (including the stupid
"Debian desktop environment" choice that picks one for you), you get
an installation which has only the Standard packages, and no graphical
environment yet.
At that point, if you know which window manager you want to use, you
can do this:
1) Check for missing firmware and video drivers. You're already booting
to a text console, so you've bypassed the "I can't boot because
the Display Manager locks up because of missing firmware" trap.
Now you get to resolve that peacefully, without a DM trying to take
over the display at boot time.
2) sudo apt-get install xorg your-favorite-wm your-favorite-terminal ....
3) startx
If startx works, then you can continue booting to a text console and using
startx to launch the GUI each time. Or you can select a Display Manager
package and install that, if you want a GUI login. It's up to you.
Or, of course, you're free to use a Desktop Environment if that's what
you prefer. That's the thing about Debian: it lets you choose.
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