Resource-wise, virtual desktops are a freebie. This is because they are an illusion created
by the window manager.
Studying the output of xwininfo gives the secret away. There are two different ways
to create virtual desktops:
mapping
Windows are mapped (made visible) or unmapped (hidden) according to
whether the desktop they are ???on??? is the current desktop.
positioning
Windows are positioned relative to the current desktop; if they are on a desktop
to the right of the current desktop, then they are positioned to the right of the
visible screen area, off the screen.
Figure 8-2 shows three virtual desktops as imagined by the user and as displayed in a
pager. There are three separate application windows shown on the three desktops:
kcalc, Firefox, and OpenOffice.org.
If the user makes the center desktop current, and the window manager is using mapping
to create the virtual desktop illusion, then the actual window placement will be
as shown in Figure 8-3. Any window not on the current desktop is unmapped (hidden),
as shown here with a dotted outline.
Figure 8-1. The GNOME desktop switcher
Figure 8-2. User??™s view of three virtual desktops
kcalc
firefox
OOo
8.3
122 Chapter 8: Session Managers, Desktop Environments, and Window Managers
If the window manager is instead using window positioning to create the virtual
desktop illusion, the window positions will be as shown in Figure 8-4.
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