Tcl and the Tk Toolkit, Second Edition

26. Window Managers

A window manager is a component of the windowing system whose main function is to control the arrangement and decoration of all the toplevel windows on each screen. In this respect it is similar to a geometry manager, except that instead of managing internal windows within an application, it manages the toplevel windows of all applications. The window manager allows each application to request particular locations and sizes for its toplevel windows, which users can override interactively. Window managers also serve several purposes besides geometry management: they add decorative frames around toplevel windows; they allow windows to be iconified and deiconified; and they notify applications of certain events, such as user ...