A GNOME Dictionary
Explaining all those funny package names
Peter Williams <peterw@ximian.com>

You've probably noticed that <a
href="http://www.gnome.org/start/2.0/installation.html#buildorder">the
list of packages</a> that make up the GNOME Desktop is rather long and
confusing. Not only is it sixty items long at last count, but it
sounds like a zoo -- eel, nautlius, bonobo... There's not much we can
do about the size of the list (except justify it as being
"aggressively componentized" and "a very large project"), but this
document aims to demystify the purposes of this plethora of
packages. Here we go, in the order you need to compile them:

* libxml2

This library, written by <a href="http://www.veillard.com">Daniel
Veillard</a>, provides basic functions for reading and writing XML
data for other applications.

* libxslt

The companion to <ref>libxml2</ref>, this library implements the <a
href="http://www.w3.org/TR/xslt">XSLT</a> specification, which allows
programs to translate and transform XML files into different
formats. <ref>Yelp</ref>, for instance, uses it to change XML <a
href="http://www.docbook.org">Docbook</a> files into HTML files that
you can read

* scrollkeeper

This is a tool for keeping a database of all the documentation on your
computer. Programs register their documentation with it when they get
installed, so that help softare, like <ref>Yelp</ref>, can show you a
list of all the documentation on your computer. (Well, that's not
quite true since not all software takes advantage of scrollkeeper, but
all GNOME software should use it.)

* pkgconfig

Pkgconfig is a developer tool for keeping track of the different
versions of packages that have been installed on your computer. Unless
you plan on compiling your own software, you shouldn't have to worry
about it. If you are compiling your own software, you should be
thankful it makes life so easy!

* audiofile

The audiofile library is a low-level library that enables programs to
read a variety of audio file formas, like WAV and RIFF. It is used by
<ref>esound</ref> to help it play sounds.

* esound

ESound, the Enlightened Sound Daemon, is a background process that
GNOME uses to play sounds. It solves the problem of playing sound over
the network and allowing multiple programs to play sounds at the same
time, which lower-level sound packages usually don't provide.

* gtk-doc

Gtk-doc is a set of tools for developers to use to automatically
generate documentation for their software. It doesn't contain any
documentation itself; it just makes it easier to create
documentation. It was originally developed for use in <ref>GTK</ref>,
hence the name. Like <ref>pkgconfig</ref>,  you hopefully shouldn't
ever have to worry about gtk-doc unless you're  writing or compiling
software.

* glib

GLib is a low-level library of common functions that almost all
software needs. It makes it easy to implement such common programming
tools as hash tables, linked lists, main loops, and lots of other
little fiddly bits. It also makes it easier to write software that's
portable to all sorts of operating systems and platforms. GLib is used
by almost every piece of software in GNOME.

* linc

As you might infer from its name, linc is a library for helping
connect programs. It provides low-level routines for interprocess
communication (IPC) over a variety of channels -- TCP/IP, unix
sockets, and more.

* atk

ATK is the Accessibility ToolKit. It provides a common basis for GNOME
programs to describe their user interfaces, so that software like
<ref>gail</ref> can help provide accessibility support to any GNOME
program.

* gnome-common

Gnome-common is a package of very small developer utilities that don't
really fit in anywhere else.

* pango

Pango is a system that lets GNOME programs render text in almost all
of the world's varied languages. It can render scripts as simple as
the Latin alphabet to as complicated as Chinese, Arabic, or Indic
languages. Pango is one of the centerpieces of GNOME 2's improved
internationalization. 

* libIDL

LibIDL is a small library used by <ref>ORBit2</ref> to load Interface
Definition Language files. It's basically a subsystem of
<ref>ORBit2</ref> that happens to be split into a separate package.

* ORBit2

ORBit2 is the GNOME 2 implementation of the <a
href="http://www.omg.org/gettingstarted/corbafaq.htm">CORBA</a>
specification. CORBA is a formalized way of performing interprocess
communication (IPC) so that programs that know nothing about each
other can talk to each other and share information. CORBA is the basis
of technologies like <ref>Bonobo</ref> and is used in a variety of
other places in GNOME.

* intltool

Intltool is another developer tool. This one helps documenters
extract text that needs to be translated from a variety of files.

* bonobo-activation

Bonobo-activation is a companion to <ref>ORBit2</ref> in a way. While
ORBit helps programs talk to each other, it doesn't say how programs
are supposed to <i>find</i> each other. Bonobo-activation is GNOME's
solution to this task -- it helps programs locate and start each
other.

* GTK+

GTK+ is the graphical toolkit for GNOME. It provides the routines that
let GNOME programs draw all their checkboxes, menus, and icons in a
consistent manner. A lot of programs outside of GNOME 2 also use GTK+
because it's a powerful, stable toolkit with excellent
internationalization and accessibility support.

* GConf

GConf is a system for storing simple configuration information in a
centralized place. It's a little bit like the Windows Registry, except
we only use it for non-critical preference information.

* libart_lgpl

Libart is a library written by <a href="www.levien.com">Raph
Levien</a> that supports super-fast rendering of complex
graphics. It is used in the places in GNOME where high performance is
a must.

* libzvt

Zed's Virtual Terminal, written by <a
href="http://primates.ximian.com/~notzed/">Michael "Notzed"
Zucchi</a>, is a library that provides routines for embedding Unix
terminals in GNOME software. Unsurprisingly, it is mainly used by the
GNOME Terminal software.

* libbonobo

Libbonobo provides the basic functionality of Bonobo, GNOME's
component embedding system. This is the technology that lets a
Gnumeric spreadsheet contain an Abiword document, all inside an email
being read in Evolution. Bonobo uses CORBA to give these applications
a standard way to describe the documents that they can display.

* gnome-mime-data

This package is simply a database of <a
href="http://www.nacs.uci.edu/indiv/ehood/MIME/MIME.html">MIME</a>
formats that all GNOME programs can use to determine how to display a
wide variety of different kinds of documents.

* gnome-vfs

The GNOME Virtual File System lets GNOME programs access files on your
hard disk, webpages, files on Windows machines, FTP sites, and more all in
the same way. This enables software like <ref>Nautilus</ref> to be
much more flexible.

* libglade

Glade is a program for helping developers create complex user
interfaces without having to write a bunch of code. It creates Glade XML
files that programs can load using libglade.

* libgnome

Libgnome provides most of the fundamental glue and utilities that help
GNOME software look and feel consistent. It ties together many of the
previous technologies to give programmers a basic way to fit their
individual software with the desktop as a whole.

* libgnomecanvas

This library provides the GNOME Canvas, which is a specialized
graphical element for creating complex, interactve graphical layouts
like those seen in the program Dia. It uses <ref>libart_lgpl</ref> for
fast drawing.

* libbonoboui

This library extends <ref>libbonobo</ref> with routines and interfaces
specifically for applications with graphical <i>u</i>ser
<i>i</i>nterfaces.

* libgnomeui

Similar to <ref>libbonoboui</ref>, libgnomeui extends
<ref>libgnome</ref> with routines that are specialized for graphical
applications.

* libwnck

This library helps GNOME software interact with the X window system to
find information about currently open windows and desktop settings. It
is used by some <ref>gnome-panel</ref> applets.

* libgnomeprint

This library provides a generic printing interface that can be used by
GNOME software to print to a variety of different devices.

* libgnomeprintui

This library builds on top of <ref>libgnomeprint</ref> to provide
graphical routines useful to applications that wish to implement
printing support, such as a print preview and a page setup dialog box.

* libgtop

Libgtop provides a generic interface for software to gather
information about the usage of system resources and currently running
programs. It is primarily used by <ref>gnome-system-monitor</ref>.

* librsvg

RSVG stands for <a href="www.levien.com">Raph's</a> Scalable Vector
Graphics, which is an implementation of the <a
href="www.w3.org">W3</a> <a
href="http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/Overview.htm8">SVG</a> standard.

* gail

GAIL is an toolkit based upon <ref>atk</ref>. While <ref>atk</ref> provides
a generic language for describing software accessibilty capabilites, gail
applies that language to <ref>gtk</ref>-based software.

* eel

Eel is a set of utility routines mostly used by <ref>Nautilus</ref>.

* libgtkhtml

This library provides a toolkit for rendering HTML documents. It doesn't do 
everything a web browser can do, but it lets programmers embed HTML content
directly in their software.

* gtk-engines

This is a set of small libraries that <ref>gtk</ref> can use to actually draw
graphics on your screen. Different engines can be used to give your programs
a different graphical style, or theme.

* gnome-desktop

This package provides tools for using 
<a href="http://www.freedesktop.org">freedesktop.org</a> Desktop format files,
which describe how to launch programs, what icon a program is associated with,
what categories it falls into, and more.

* gnome-panel

The GNOME Panel, the taskbar at the edge of your screen, is provided by this
package.

* gnome-session

The gnome-session library provides routines and programs for managing your X
Windows session. This includes tasks such as determining which programs to
start when you log in and letting you switch between different sessions while
you're using your computer.

* gnome-terminal

This package installs the GNOME Terminal emulator, based on <ref>libzvt</ref>.

* gnome-utils

Just what it says. A bunch of utilities like a calculator and a character picker.

* gnome-applets

A bundle of applets that you can put in your panel to liven it up or show vital
information.

* control-center

The Control Center is the main application in which you can edit your desktop
preferences and tweak things to your liking.

* gnome-games

Contains diversions like aisleriot, a solitaire game, and gnomines, a 
Minesweeper clone.

* bug-buddy

A tool that enables you to automatically submit useful bug reports when
your GNOME software crashes -- so of course you should only have to use 
it rarely :-)

* eog

The Eye of GNOME, an image-viewing program.

* nautilus

GNOME's file manager, like Windows Explorer or the Apple Finder. You can
use it to  manage the icons on your desktop and your files.

* gnome-system-monitor

A program for viewing the state of your computer's resources like memory,
processor time, and disk space.

* yelp

Yelp is GNOME's help file viewer. It uses <ref>scrollkeeper</ref> and 
<ref>libgtkhtml</ref> to find and show you documentation.

* gedit

GEdit is a simple but powerful editing program along the lines of
Windows' Notepad or Apple's SimpleText.

* librep

Librep is a library used by <ref>sawfish</ref> for executing a subset
of the Scheme programming language.

* rep-gtk

Rep-gtk is a library that allows programs based on <ref>librep</ref> to use
the <ref>gtk</ref> graphical toolkit. <ref>Sawfish</ref> uses rep-gtk to
draw its menus and configuration dialog boxes.

* sawfish

Sawfish is the standard GNOME X window manager. It takes care of placing
windows on the screen and drawing their borders. You can configure it to
make certain windows always appear in the same place or have some windows
have a unique appearance.

* gnome-media

This package provides several multimedia programs, like a CD player and
a sound recorder.

* gdm

GDM is the GNOME Display Manager, which takes care of logging in a user
to their X Windows session. It asks you for your username and password and
looks very pretty while doing so.

* at-spi

This package provides a central server for accessibility information for
all the programs that you run. This makes it possible for one program to
provide an accessibility service, like a screen reader or an onscreen
keyboard, to all the programs that you run.

* libgail-gnome

This extends <ref>libgail</ref> to provide accesibility services for 
GNOME-based software.

* gconf-editor

This utility allows you to poke around your <ref>GConf</ref> database
and change values directly. It's not recommended for direct use, but
you may find it useful for changing esoteric settings or proving that
you're too cool for the <ref>control-center</ref>.

* gnome2-user-docs

Documentation for how to use the GNOME 2 platform and its many features.