Developer(s) | KDE |
---|---|
Initial release | 11 January 2008 [1] |
Stable release | |
Preview release | n/a |
Repository | |
Written in | C++, QML |
Operating system | Unix-like |
Predecessor | KDesktop |
Type | Shell |
License | GPL 2.0 or later [3] |
Website | kde |
Plasma is a set of graphical shells developed by KDE for Unix-like operating systems. With the KDE brand repositioning in 2009, Plasma 4.4 succeeded KDE 4.3. Currently, it has four workspace variants: one for desktop PCs and laptops (Plasma Desktop) [lower-alpha 1] , [4] [5] [6] one for TVs (Plasma Bigscreen), [7] one for smartphones (Plasma Mobile), [8] and another for embedded and touch-enabled devices (Plasma Nano). [9] Plasma Desktop, in its default configuration, resembles KDesktop from K Desktop Environment 3 and Microsoft Windows XP; however, extensive configurability allows radical departures from the default layout. [4]
Its technology is a fundamental rewrite of several desktop interaction programs included in previous KDE desktop environments for Unix-like systems, focusing on eye candy and special graphical effects. Plasma replaces the previous KDesktop shell, Kicker taskbar and SuperKaramba widget engine used in the K Desktop Environment 3 series with a unified system of widgets that can be configured and replaced with alternative designs.
Since the split of the KDE Software Compilation into KDE Plasma Workspaces, KDE Frameworks and KDE Applications, each subproject can develop at its own pace. [10] Plasma 5 is on its own release schedule, with feature releases every four months, and bugfix releases in the intervening months.
Plasma 4 was released as part of KDE Software Compilation 4 and replaced Kicker, KDesktop, and SuperKaramba, which formed the Desktop in earlier KDE releases. [11] They are bundled as the default environment with a number of free software operating systems, such as Chakra, [12] Kubuntu, [13] Mageia (DVD version), [14] openSUSE, [15] or TrueOS. [16] [17]
From KDE SC 4.0 to KDE SC 4.2, the default theme, "Oxygen", was characterized by dark tones. In KDE SC 4.3, it was replaced by the new "Air" theme, which predominates in transparency and white as the base color. New themes for Plasma can be chosen and installed through software like Discover or online at store.kde.org.
With the release of KDE SC 4.11 on 14 August 2013, Plasma 4 was placed into a feature freeze and turned into a long-term stable package until August 2015. On 15 July 2014 Plasma 4's successor, Plasma 5, was released. [18]
Plasma features containments, which are essentially applets that contain other applets. Two examples of containments are the desktop background and the taskbar. A containment can be anything the developer wants: an image (either raster graphics or an SVG image), animation, or even OpenGL. Images are most commonly used, but with Plasma the user could set any applet as the desktop background without losing functionality of the applet. This also allows for applets to be dragged between the desktop and the taskbar (two separate containments), and have a separate visualization for the more confined taskbar.
Plasma separates components into "data engine" and their visualization counterparts. This is intended to reduce the total programming effort when there are multiple possible visualizations of given data; and to make it easier for the data engine and the workspaces to be written independently.
The scalable nature of the Plasma widgets allows for them to be resized and rotated to any size, with only a brief pause to redraw themselves. The Kross scripting framework allows developers to write widgets in a variety of programming languages in addition to C++. [19]
KRunner is a versatile tool for several functions. [20] It replaces the dialog box "Run Command" from K Desktop Environment 3, and also inherits from the application launcher feature, expanding the possibilities through a modular plug. KRunner stores previously entered commands and searches, accessible via an auto-complete feature. KRunner can be shown on the desktop via the keyboard combination Alt+F2 or by selecting "Run Command ..." in the desktop menu.
These functions are handled by the plugin:
This is a list of widgets that the current release version of Plasma supports. Not all widgets are supported by default in all Linux distributions; some may require different packages or even a recompilation of Plasma.
Previous Plasma Workspaces releases also supported Edje gadgets and E17 modules. Support for those was developed in 2008 [24] but removed later, in 2010. [25] [26]
Google Gadgets were also supported. [22] After Google announced the discontinuation of its two services that utilize Gadgets – Google Desktop [27] and iGoogle [28] – KDE removed support for this widget engine in early 2013. [29]
Plasma 5 is the fifth generation of the graphical workspaces environment created by KDE primarily for Linux systems. Plasma 5 is the successor of Plasma 4 and was first released on 15 July 2014. [30] [31] [32] It includes a new default theme, known as "Breeze", as well as increased convergence across different devices. The graphical interface was fully migrated to QML, which uses OpenGL for hardware acceleration, which resulted in better performance and reduced power consumption. [30] [31]
Plasma Mobile is a Plasma 5 variant for Linux-based smartphones.
KDE Plasma 5 is built using Qt 5 and KDE Frameworks 5, [33] predominantly plasma-framework. [34]
It improves support for HiDPI displays and ships a convergable graphical shell, which can adjust itself according to the device in use. 5.0 also includes a new default theme, dubbed Breeze. Qt 5's QtQuick 2 uses a hardware-accelerated OpenGL(ES) scene graph (canvas) to compose and render graphics on the screen, which allows for the offloading of computationally expensive graphics rendering tasks onto the GPU, freeing up resources on the system's main CPU. [30]
KDE Plasma 5 uses the X Window System and Wayland. Support for Wayland was prepared in the compositor and planned for a later release. [30] It was made initially available in the 5.4 release. [35] Stable support for a basic Wayland session was provided in the 5.5 release (December 2015). [36]
Support for NVIDIA proprietary driver for Plasma on Wayland was added in the 5.16 release (June 2019). [37]
ksmserver
(X Session Manager implementation) which keeps track of apps that can be run or shutdown along with given activity via subSessions functionality that keep track of state of applications (not all applications support this feature as they do not implement XSMP protocol). [39] The first Technology Preview of Plasma 5 (at that time called "Plasma 2") was released on 13 December 2013. [40] On 15 July 2014, the first release version – Plasma 5.0 – was released. [30] In spring 2015, Plasma 5 replaced Plasma 4 in many popular distributions, such as Fedora 22, [41] Kubuntu 15.04, [42] and openSUSE Tumbleweed. [43]
Feature releases are released every four months (up to 5.8 every three months) and bugfix releases in the intervening months. [10] Following version 5.8 LTS KDE plans to support each new LTS version for 18 months with bug fixes, while new regular releases will see feature improvements. [44]
Plasma 5 releases | ||
---|---|---|
Version | Date | Key features |
[30] | 5.015 Jul 2014 | First release. |
[45] | 5.115 Oct 2014 | Ported missing features from Plasma 4. [45] |
[46] | 5.227 Jan 2015 | New components:
|
[48] | 5.328 Apr 2015 | Tech preview of Plasma Media Center. New Bluetooth and touchpad applets. Enhanced power management. [48] |
[49] | 5.425 Aug 2015 | Initial Wayland session. [35] New QML-based audio volume applet. Alternative full-screen application launcher. [50] |
[51] | 5.58 Dec 2015 | Improved Wayland support. [52] [53] |
[54] | 5.622 Mar 2016 | Increased security. [55] |
[56] | 5.75 Jul 2016 | "basic workflows now fully functional" in the Plasma Wayland session. Automatic virtual keyboard. [56] |
[57] | 5.8 LTS4 Oct 2016 | Long Term Support version. [58] [59] |
[60] | 5.931 Jan 2017 | Wayland improvements. [61] Global menu support. [62] |
[63] | 5.1030 May 2017 | Performance improvements. [64] |
[65] | 5.117 Nov 2017 | System Settings redesign. [65] Notification history. [65] Added Plasma Vaults. [66] Wayland improvements. [67] |
[68] | 5.12 LTS6 Feb 2018 | Increased stability and speed. Wayland improvements. [68] |
[69] | 5.1312 Jun 2018 | Integration with non-KDE web browsers. New lock and login screen designs. Improved Discover appearance. New screen layout selection dialog upon connection of a new screen [70] |
[71] | 5.149 Oct 2018 | GTK global menu integration. Wayland improvements. [71] |
[72] | 5.1512 Feb 2019 | Support for virtual desktops, touch drag-and-drop, and the XdgStable, XdgPopups and XdgDecoration protocols in the Plasma Wayland session. [72] |
[37] | 5.1611 Jun 2019 | Revamped notification system with Do Not Disturb feature, grouping in history, critical notifications in fullscreen apps, and better file transfer progress notifications. Support for the NVIDIA proprietary driver on Wayland. Full support for WireGuard VPNs. Full touchpad configurability on X11 with Libinput driver. Modernized login, lock, and logout screen designs. UI improvements throughout Plasma and Discover [37] |
[73] | 5.1715 Oct 2019 | Night Color available for X11. Plasma now recognizes when a program is running in full-screen mode and prevents pop-ups. Fractional scaling support in the Plasma Wayland session. [73] |
[74] | 5.18 LTS11 Feb 2020 | Easier system settings. Interactive notifications. New Emoji picker. New wallpapers. Improved GTK app integration. [74] |
[75] | 5.199 Jun 2020 | New system monitoring widgets. New Info Center app. Improved System Tray visuals and interaction. Timezones visible in clock pop-up. Inline reply function for notifications from supported apps. Global animation speed setting. [75] |
[76] | 5.2013 Oct 2020 | S.M.A.R.T. disk monitoring. "Highlight changed settings" feature in System Settings. Digital clock applet shows date by default. Redesigned status OSDs. More options and improvements for switching between grouped Task Manager tasks. Window corner-tiling shortcuts. Adjustable per-channel audio balance. Middle-click on notifications icon to enter Do Not Disturb mode. Support for screencasting, shared clipboard, middle-click paste, window thumbnails, and adjusting the scrolling speed in the Plasma Wayland session. [76] |
[77] | 5.2116 Feb 2021 | New application launcher. Applications theme improvements (unified header bar). Breeze Twilight, a new variant of Breeze with a mix of dark and light colors. New Plasma System Monitor app. New Plasma Firewall settings page and improvements to System Settings. Media Player applet's includes the list of applications currently playing music in the header as a tab bar. Support for virtual keyboards in GTK applications in the Plasma Wayland session. [77] |
[78] | 5.228 Jun 2021 | Adaptive Transparency for panels. Many style improvements and bug fixes for widgets and KRunner. Stability improvements for the Plasma Wayland session. [78] |
[79] | 5.2314 Oct 2021 | Switch between different performance/power saving modes (on supported hardware). Overhauled visual style for the Breeze theme. Customizable accent color. Bluetooth enablement status configurable and remembered across reboots by default. Easier to search for settings in System Settings. Application launch feedback animations and stability improvements for the Plasma Wayland session. [79] |
[80] | 5.24 LTS8 Feb 2022 | New Overview manager to more easily switch between desktops. Visual refresh for the Breeze theme. Color picker for accent colors. Accent for critical notifications. System tray widget enhancements. Speed and productivity enhancements to Discover. Help integration into KRunner. Fingerprint authentication support. Additional support for colors, VR, and drawing tables in Plasma Wayland. [80] |
[81] | 5.2514 Jun 2022 | Overview manager displays all open windows and virtual desktops. Trackpad gesture support. Sync accent color to the wallpaper. New touch mode with resized elements. New customization options. Reworked Discover application page. Greater global theme options [81] |
[82] | 5.2611 Oct 2022 | Resizable panel widgets. New timer widget. New Aura browser and Plank media player for Plasma Big Screen. Enhancements to Night Color. Sharper scaled text on XWayland applications. Wallpaper changes alongside dark mode. Dismiss notifications with middle click. [82] |
[83] | 5.27 LTS14 Feb 2023 | Welcome wizard, window tiling system, a more stylish app theme, cleaner and more usable tools, the ability to control Flatpak permissions in Discover (similar to Flatseal), additional widgets for users to control their machine |
Old version Older version, still maintained Latest version Future release |
KDE Plasma 6 is the sixth and current generation of the graphical workspaces environment made by KDE. It is the successor to Plasma 5 and was initially released on the 28th February 2024. [84] [85]
Plasma 6 changes the default display server from X11 to Wayland, though the former is still available. [86]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2024) |
Plasma Desktop is the main variant of KDE Plasma, targeted to desktop PCs and laptops.
Plasma Netbook aims at netbooks and may also be used on tablet PCs. The first stable release shipped with KDE SC 4.4. [87] With the release of Plasma 5, Plasma Netbook's functionality was merged into Plasma itself.
Plasma Active was a workspace for devices with touchscreens. It shipped with several applications such as Kontact Touch and a document viewer based on Calligra Suite. [88] "Contour" was the name of an interface for tablet devices. Its development was started in April 2011 by basysKom. [89] Replacing an earlier tablet prototype, [90] Contour has then become the main workspace UI of Plasma Active and was shipped as 1.0 in October 2011. [91]
Plasma Active has been succeeded by Plasma Mobile starting with Plasma 5. [92]
Plasma Mobile was targeted at smartphones and small tablet devices that are mainly used via touch input. It was originally expected to be released in 2011 along with Plasma Active 1.0 but development focus shifted towards Contour. A new version with the same name but based on KDE Frameworks 5 has been announced on 25 July 2015. [93]
Plasma Bigscreen for TVs and set-top boxes incl. voice interaction. [7]
Plasma Nano is a minimal shell for embedded and touch-enabled devices, [9] like IoT or automotive.
Calligra Suite is a graphic art and office suite by KDE. It is available for desktop PCs, tablet computers, and smartphones. It contains applications for word processing, spreadsheets, presentation, databases, vector graphics, and digital painting.
Qt is cross-platform application development framework for creating graphical user interfaces as well as cross-platform applications that run on various software and hardware platforms such as Linux, Windows, macOS, Android or embedded systems with little or no change in the underlying codebase while still being a native application with native capabilities and speed.
In computing, a desktop environment (DE) is an implementation of the desktop metaphor made of a bundle of programs running on top of a computer operating system that share a common graphical user interface (GUI), sometimes described as a graphical shell. The desktop environment was seen mostly on personal computers until the rise of mobile computing. Desktop GUIs help the user to easily access and edit files, while they usually do not provide access to all of the features found in the underlying operating system. Instead, the traditional command-line interface (CLI) is still used when full control over the operating system is required.
freedesktop.org (fd.o), formerly X Desktop Group (XDG), is a project to work on interoperability and shared base technology for free-software desktop environments for the X Window System (X11) and Wayland on Linux and other Unix-like operating systems. Although freedesktop.org produces specifications for interoperability, it is not a formal standards body.
Kubuntu is an official flavor of the Ubuntu operating system that uses the KDE Plasma Desktop instead of the GNOME desktop environment. As part of the Ubuntu project, Kubuntu uses the same underlying systems. Kubuntu shares the same repositories as Ubuntu and is released regularly on the same schedule as Ubuntu.
KDE Software Compilation 4 was the only series of the so-called KDE Software Compilation, first released in January 2008 and the last release being 4.14.3 released in November 2014. It was the follow-up to K Desktop Environment 3. Following KDE SC 4, the compilation was broken up into basic framework libraries, desktop environment and applications, which are termed KDE Frameworks 5, KDE Plasma 5 and KDE Applications, respectively.
openSUSE is a free and open-source Linux distribution developed by the openSUSE project. It is offered in two main variations: Tumbleweed, an upstream rolling release distribution, and Leap, a stable release distribution which is sourced from SUSE Linux Enterprise.
The Oxygen Project is a project created to give a visual refresh to KDE Plasma Workspaces.
Compiz is a compositing window manager for the X Window System, using 3D graphics hardware to create fast compositing desktop effects for window management. Effects, such as a minimization animation or a cube workspace, are implemented as loadable plugins. Because it conforms to the ICCCM conventions, Compiz can be used as a substitute for the default Mutter or Metacity, when using GNOME Panel, or KWin in KDE Plasma Workspaces. Internally Compiz uses the OpenGL library as the interface to the graphics hardware.
KDE Plasma 4 is the fourth generation of the KDE workspace environments. It consists of three workspaces, each targeting a certain platform: Plasma Desktop for traditional desktop PCs and notebooks, Plasma Netbook for netbooks, and Plasma Active for tablet PCs and similar devices.
Wayland is a communication protocol that specifies the communication between a display server and its clients, as well as a C library implementation of that protocol. A display server using the Wayland protocol is called a Wayland compositor, because it additionally performs the task of a compositing window manager.
GNOME Shell is the graphical shell of the GNOME desktop environment starting with version 3, which was released on April 6, 2011. It provides basic functions like launching applications and switching between windows, and is also a widget engine. GNOME Shell replaced GNOME Panel and some ancillary components of GNOME 2.
The KDE Software Compilation was an umbrella term for the desktop environment plus a range of included applications produced by KDE. From its 1.0 release in July 1998 until the release of version 4.4 in February 2010, the Software Compilation was simply known as KDE, which stood for K Desktop Environment until the rebrand. The then called KDE SC was used from 4.4 onward until the final release 4.14 in July 2014. It consisted of the KDE Plasma 4 desktop and those KDE applications, whose development teams chose to follow the Software Compilation's release schedule. After that, the KDE SC was split into three separate product entities: KDE Plasma, KDE Frameworks and KDE Applications, each with their own independent release schedules.
LightDM is a free and open-source X display manager that aims to be lightweight, fast, extensible and multi-desktop. It can use various front-ends to draw the user interface, also called Greeters. It also supports Wayland.
Netrunner is a Debian-based open source Linux distribution for desktop computers, laptops, netbooks and ARM-based devices.
Mir is a computer display server and, recently, a Wayland compositor for the Linux operating system that is under development by Canonical Ltd. It was planned to replace the currently used X Window System for Ubuntu; however, the plan changed and Mutter was adopted as part of GNOME Shell.
KDE Plasma 5 is the fifth generation of the KDE Plasma graphical workspaces environment, created by KDE primarily for Linux systems. KDE Plasma 5 is the successor of KDE Plasma 4 and was first released on 15 July 2014. It was succeeded by KDE Plasma 6 on 28 February 2024.
KDE neon is a Linux distribution developed by KDE based on Ubuntu long-term support (LTS) releases, bundled with a set of additional software repositories containing the latest versions of the Plasma 6 desktop environment/framework, Qt 6 toolkit and other compatible KDE software. First announced in June 2016 by Kubuntu founder Jonathan Riddell following his departure from Canonical Ltd., it has been adopted by a steadily growing number of Linux users, regularly appearing in the Top 20 on DistroWatch.com's popularity tables.
Q4OS is a light-weight Linux distribution, based on Debian, targeted as a replacement for operating systems that are no longer supported on outdated hardware. The distribution is known for an addon called XPQ4, which adds themes intended to replicate the look and feel of Windows 2000 and Windows XP.
KDE Plasma 6 is the sixth generation of the KDE Plasma desktop environment. It is the successor of KDE Plasma 5 and was first released on 28 February 2024.