Mastering KDE: A Beginner’s Guide

Length: 246 pages
Edition: 1
Language: English
Publisher: CRC Press
Publication Date: 2022-11-11
ISBN-10: 1032313668
ISBN-13: 9781032313665
Sales Rank: #6562342 (See Top 100 Books)

Mastering KDE helps the reader master the KDE desktop environment for a faster and more robust computing experience.

The best thing about Linux is the plethora of choices that users tend to have. Whether it pertains to the kernel modules, or to the desktop environments, there is no shortage of options.

Speaking of desktop environments, KDE stands tall as one of the leading options.

KDE stands for K Desktop Environment, an open source desktop working platform featuring a graphical user interface (GUI). When KDE was first introduced, it was known as the Kool desktop environment, later reduced to KDE. The KDE GUI includes everything a typical user would require, such as a file manager, window manager, help tool, and system settings. KDE is the default desktop environment for various Linux distros, and also has its own flagship distro, KDE Neon, that is covered at length in Mastering KDE.

KDE comes with features that give users remote access to other devices, such as computers running Windows, Linux, macOS, or Android smartphones. KDE Connect, a Linux-based application, is one such solution that allows users to transfer data between multiple devices and operate them remotely. This book talks about everyday usage of KDE, including remote access and KDE development.

With Mastering KDE, using KDE for day-to-day computing becomes simple and straightforward, which will undoubtedly help readers boost their productivity.

The Mastering Computer Science series is edited by Sufyan bin Uzayr, a writer and educator with over a decade of experience in the computing field.

Cover Page
Half-Title Page
Series Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Preface
About the Author
Chapter 1 Introduction to KDE
    Ubuntu-Based Gnu/Linux
    What is Distribution?
    Open Source Linux Desktop Environment
        Free Software
            GUI (Graphical User Interface)
            CLI (Command-Line Interface)
            TUI (Terminal User Interface)
    What is KDE?
    History of KDE
        What is KDE Neon?
    History of Releases
        K Desktop Environment 1
            Introduction
            K Desktop Environment 1.0
        K Desktop Environment 1.1
            Workspaces
        K Desktop Environment 2
            DCOP
            X Window System
            KIO
            K Desktop Environment 2.0
        K Desktop Environment 2.1
        K Desktop Environment 2.2
        K Desktop Environment 3
            K Desktop Environment 3.0
            K Desktop Environment 3.1
            K Desktop Environment 3.2
            K Desktop Environment 3.3
            K Desktop Environment 3.4
            K Desktop Environment 3.5
    The Trinity Desktop Environment
        KDE Software Compilation 4 (KDE SC 4)
        Released Versions of KDE 4
            KDE 4.0
            KDE 4.1
            KDE 4.2
            KDE 4.3
            KDE SC 4.4
            KDE SC 4.5
            KDE SC 4.6
            KDE SC 4.7
            KDE SC 4.8
            KDE SC 4.9
            KDE SC 4.10
            KDE SC 4.11
            KDE SC 4.12
            KDE SC 4.13
            KDE SC 4.14
        KDE Plasma 5
            Software Architecture
            KDE Plasma 5
            Development
            Workspaces
            Desktop Features
            Linux Distributions Using Plasma
            History
            Releases
    Linux Distributions With KDE
        More Information about GNOME-Based Linux Distributions
            KDE Neon
            openSUSE
    Features of KDE Plasma
        KRunner
    Advantages of KDE
    Chapter Summary
Chapter 2 Installation of KDE
    Installation of KDE Neon
        How to Install the KDE Neon Operating System
        Download Neon OS
    Live Images
        Live ISO Image
            User Edition (64-bit)
            Testing Edition (64-bit)
            Unstable Edition (64-bit)
            Developer Edition (64-bit)
        What is an Image?
        Before You Begin the Installation
    Virtualbox
    Introduction to KDE Neon
    An Overview of the KDE Desktop Environment
        The Desktop
        Widgets
        KDE Plasma Widgets
        Activities
        Configuring KDE
        The “K” Menu
        Task Manager
        System Tray
        Adding Widgets to Panels
        System Settings
        Shortcuts and Gestures
    Chapter Summary
Chapter 3 Applications
    Application Software Classification
        What is KDE Neon?
        What is Snap?
        What is APT?
    KDE Advanced Text Editor Application
        Installing Kate as a Snap Package
        Enable Snaps and Install a Kate Text Editor
        Enable snapd in Terminal
        Installing Kate from Ubuntu Repositories
        How to Uninstall Kate Text Editor
    Kdenlive Application
        Installing Kdenlive as a Snap Package
        Enable Snaps and Install a Kdenlive Text Editor
        Enable snapd in Terminal
        Installing Kdenlive from Ubuntu Repositories
    Document Viewer – Okular Application
        Installing Okular as a Snap Package
        Enable Snaps and Install Okular
        Enable snapd in Terminal
        Installing Okular from Ubuntu Repositories
    Dolphin Application
        Installing Dolphin as a Snap Package
        Enable Snaps and Install a Dolphin
        Enable snapd in Terminal
        Installing Dolphin from Ubuntu Repositories
    Konsole Application
    A Simple Image Viewer – Gwenview
        Installing Gwenview as a Snap Package
        Enable Snaps and Install a Gwenview
        Enable snapd in Terminal
        Installing Gwenview from Ubuntu Repositories
    K3b Application
        Installing K3b from Ubuntu Repositories
    Kmail Application
        Installing KMail from Ubuntu Repositories
    Korganizer Application
    Parley Application
        Installing Parley as a Snap Package
        Enable Snaps and Install a Parley
        Enable snapd in Terminal
        Installing Parley from Ubuntu Repositories
    Blinken Application
        Installing Blinken as a Snap Package
        Enable Snaps and Install a Blinken
        Enable snapd in Terminal
        Installing Blinken from Ubuntu Repositories
    Photo Management Program – digiKam Application
        Installing digiKam as a Snap Package
        Enable Snaps and Install a digiKam
        Enable snapd in Terminal
        Installing digiKam from Ubuntu Repositories
    Konqueror Application
        Installing Konqueror from Ubuntu Repositories
    Color Chooser and Palette Editor
        Installing kcolorchooser as a Snap Package
        Enable Snaps and Install a kcolorchooser
        Enable snapd in Terminal
        Installing kcolorchooser from Ubuntu Repositories
    Kbackup Application
        Installing KBackup from Ubuntu Repositories
    Knotes Application
        Installing KNotes from Ubuntu Repositories
    Kmousetool Application
        Installing KMouseTool as a Snap Package
        Enable Snaps and Install a KMouseTool
        Enable snapd in Terminal
        Installing KMouseTool from Ubuntu Repositories
    Kbarcode Application
    Ktuberling Application
        Installing KTuberling as a Snap Package
        Enable Snaps and Install a KTuberling
        Enable snapd in Terminal
        Installing KTuberling from Ubuntu Repositories
    Kphotoalbum Application
        Installing KPhotoAlbum from Ubuntu Repositories
    ARK Application
    KDE Connect Application
        Mechanism
        Encryption
        Install and Set up KDE Connect on your Linux Mobile Phone
    Spectacle Application
        Enable Snaps and Install a Spectacle
        Enable snapd in Terminal
        Installing Spectacle from Ubuntu Repositories
    Kcalc Application
        Enable Snaps and Install a KCalc
        Enable snapd in Terminal
        Installing KCalc from Ubuntu Repositories
    Kwalletmanager Application
        Installing KWalletManager from Ubuntu Repositories
    Plasma-Discover
        Installing Plasma-Discover from Ubuntu Repositories
    Kolourpaint Application
        Installing KolourPaint from Ubuntu Repositories
    Elisa Application
        Installing Elisa from Ubuntu Repositories
    Chapter Summary
Chapter 4 Doing More with KDE
    What is Qt?
    The Qt Company and the Qt Project
    qmake
        Overview
        What Is a Project?
        Using Third-Party Libraries
        GNU Make
        MakeFile
            Capabilities of Make
            Make Rules and Targets
            Advantages of GNU Make
        Microsoft Visual Studio
            Features
        What is Xcode?
    Cmake
        Features
        Flexible Project Structure
        IDEs Configuration Support
        Compiler Feature Detection
        Compilers
    Qbs
        Features
    Visual Studio Code
    Qt Quick
        QML vs. Widget-Based GUI
        IDE (Integrated Development Environment)
        Widgets
        QWidget Class
        QLabel
        QPushbutton
        QListWidget
        QTabWidget
        Top-Level and Child Widgets
        QDialog
        QGroupBox
        QGridLayout
            Layout Management
            Qt’s Layout Classes
        Styles and Style Aware Widgets
        QProxyStyle Class
        The QStyle Implementation
        Customizing a Style
        Implementing a Custom Style
        Classes for Widget Styling
            QColor Class
        Integer vs. Floating Point Precision
        Alpha-Blended Drawing
            QColorSpace Class
            QColorTransform Class
            QCommonStyle Class
            QCursor Class
            QFont Class
            QFontDatabase Class
            QFontInfo Class
            QGraphicsAnchor Class
        Language Binding
        C++ Development with Qt
        Python Development with Qt
        Signals and Slots
        Layout Management
        QDialog Class
        QMessageBox
    KDE Frameworks
        Overview
        Structure
    Chapter Summary
Chapter 5 Linux Distributions for KDE Plasma Desktop
    Kubuntu
        History
            Kubuntu 5.04 (Hoary Hedgehog)
            Kubuntu 5.10 (Breezy Badger)
            6.06 LTS (Dapper Drake)
            7.04 (Feisty Fawn)
            7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon)
            8.10 (Intrepid Ibex)
            9.10 (Karmic Koala)
            10.04 LTS (Lucid Lynx)
            10.10 (Maverick Meerkat)
            11.04 (Natty Narwhal)
            12.04 LTS (Precise Pangolin)
            13.04 (Raring Ringtail)
            14.04 LTS (Trusty Tahr)
            15.04 (Vivid Vervet)
            16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus)
            17.04 (Zesty Zapus)
            18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver)
            19.04 (Disco Dingo)
            20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa)
            21.04 (Hirsute Hippo)
    Manjaro KDE
        Manjaro is Arch Linux Made Easy
        No More PPAs
        The Arch Wiki
        Easy Kernel Switching
        Easy Access to Software
    Fedora KDE Plasma Desktop Edition
        Install KDE Plasma Desktop Environment on Fedora
        Install KDE Plasma on Fedora
        Switch to KDE Environment on Fedora at Login
    Netrunner
        Netrunner Desktop 21.01
        Netrunner Desktop 20.01
        Netrunner Desktop 19.08
        Netrunner 19.01
        Netrunner 17.10
        Netrunner 17.06
        Netrunner 17.03
        Netrunner Desktop 17.01
        Netrunner Desktop 16.09
    Garuda Linux
        Features
    Feren OS
        Official Editions
        Arch Linux Installation
        Pacman
        Install KDE on Arch Linux
    Nitrux
        Nitrux 1.7 Release
    MX Linux
        History
        Desktop Environments
        Update System
        Features
    ROSA Linux
        ROSA Version Release
            ROSA R6 “Desktop Fresh LXQt”
            ROSA R6 “Desktop Fresh LXQt”
            ROSA R7 “Desktop Fresh GNOME”
            ROSA R8
            Distribution Release: ROSA R9
            Distribution Release: ROSA R9 “LXQt”
            Distribution Release: ROSA R11
    ALT Kworkstation
    openSUSE
        openSUSE is a KDE Patron
        Obtain KDE Software on openSUSE Using a Burned CD/DVD
    Chapter Summary
Appraisal
Bibliography
Index