Linux Leaps Toward KDE/GNOME Compatibility

Published: Apr 4, 2006
Updated: Feb 2, 2021
1 minute read
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The Open Source Development Labs, the consortium dedicated to the adoption of Linux, and freedesktop.org, the open-source project focused on interoperability for X Window System desktops, announced the technology preview of the first set of common interfaces for the GNOME and KDE Linux desktops, on April 4 at LinuxWorld in Boston.

The Portland Projects technology preview is focused on two sets of interfaces—a suite of command-line tools and a set of library APIs called DAPI.

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The DAPI APIs are part of a service-oriented architecture that Linux developers can use to provide customized services while maintaining a common set of interfaces across desktops.

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The software was developed by the “Portland Project.”

Portland was the project started by open-source desktop Linux leaders with the mission of dramatically simplifying the process of porting and integrating applications on GNOME and KDE Linux desktops.

The new common protocols are being released to ISVs for testing, and the first beta is expected in May.

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The final set of the interfaces is slated for inclusion in the LSB (Linux Standard Base), the Linux industrys standard of record for interoperability between applications and the Linux platform.

/zimages/3/28571.gifRead the full story on DesktopLinux.com: Linux leaps toward KDE/GNOME compatibility

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Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols

I'm editor-at-large for Ziff Davis Enterprise. That's a fancy title that means I write about whatever topic strikes my fancy or needs written about across the Ziff Davis Enterprise family of publications. You'll find most of my stories in Linux-Watch, DesktopLinux and eWEEK. Prior to becoming a technology journalist, I worked at NASA and the Department of Defense on numerous major technological projects.

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