computer science

KDE Gear

KDE Gear is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand KDE Gear rather than just read about it. In short: The KDE Gear is a set of applications and supporting libraries that are developed by the KDE community, primarily used on Linux-based operating systems but mostly multiplatform, and released on a common release schedule. The bundle is composed of over 200 applications.

Key takeaways

KDE Gear belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect KDE Gear to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of KDE Gear from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The KDE Gear is a set of applications and supporting libraries that are developed by the KDE community, primarily used on Linux-based operating systems but mostly multiplatform, and released on a common release schedule. The bundle is composed of over 200 applications. Examples of prominent applications in the bundle include the file manager Dolphin, document viewer Okular, text editor Kate, archiving tool Ark and terminal emulator Konsole. Previously the KDE Applications Bundle was part of the KDE Software Compilation.

Extragear Software that is not part of the official KDE Applications bundle can be found in the "Extragear" section. They release on their own schedule and feature their own versioning numbers. There are many standalone applications like Krita or Amarok that are mostly designed to be portable between operating systems and deployable independent of a particular workspace or desktop environment. Some brands consist of multiple applications, such as Calligra Office Suite. There are several options for obtaining and installing KDE applications under Linux. Moreover, most of the KDE platform and applications have been ported to OpenBSD and NetBSD.

List of applications part of the bundle

Development

Software development KDE SDK is a collection of two dozen distinct integrated (both within the SDK but also with other KDE applications, e.g. many work with Dolphin, the default file manager) applications and components that work with/are part of KDevelop, and is suitable for general purpose software development in a range of languages. It provides the tooling used to engineer KDE, and is particularly rich in tools to support Qt and C++ development, as well as the more fashionable Rust, Python, etc.

Most of the KDE SDK is available for Windows and macOS in addition to Linux and BSD. While created for the KDE desktop, prebuilt binary software, including nightly releases, is available for Mac OS, Linux (via AppImage, AppStream or Flathub, as well as Snap), as well as via most major Linux distributions package managers, in addition to the source code via KDE Gitlab. Windows installers for production/released version of Kate, KDevelop and Umbrello are available as well as via the Windows store. Several KDE applications are available for Android using the Kirigami framework. built using KDevelop including KDE Connect, KDE Itinerary, a digital travel assistant that integrates train, bus, and air bookings with maps, the KDE Kalendar application, and boarding passes, and KAlgebra, a graphing scientific calculator. Various other packages are being built for testing on Android, although plans for some of the core parts of the SDK (e.g. Kate) have not been announced.

Unless noted, KDE applications can use KIO slaves for FTP, HTTP, FTP over SSH (SFTP), Google Drive, WebDAV, Samba (Windows shared files), archives, man, and info pages. E.g. to browse a WebDAV location, in place of the file path, webdav://www.hostname.com/path/. The various components can be used on their own (e.g. Kate as a general purpose text editor), or in combination (e.g. Kate uses KDiff3 internally to compare cached autorecovery file with the last saved version). Kate – an advanced text editor for programmers, and general text editor. As of KDE 4, KEdit was replaced by Kate and Kwrite. KDevelop – an integrated development environment for multiple languages, with a plug-in/extension framework (e.g. plug-ins for PHP, Ruby, Python, Markdown documentation authoring/preview, a SVG viewer, etc.), and control flow viewer. Supported languages include: C/C++ and ObjC (backed by the Clang/LLVM libraries) Including some extra features for the Qt Framework Including language support for CUDA and OpenCL Qt QML and JavaScript, Python, PHP In addition to the "supported" languages, there is syntax highlighting for a wide range of mark-up, configuration, programming, scripting, and data languages. GUI integration with multiple different version control systems including Git, Bazaar, Subversion, CVS, Mercurial (hg), and Perforce. Support for CMake and QMake, as well as generic and custom build files. Cervisia – CVS frontend KDESvn – graphical Subversion client KAppTemplate – Template-based code project generator KDiff3 – Diff/Patch frontend (see Comparison of file comparison tools) Kommander – Dynamic dialog editor Kompare – Diff/Patch frontend Lokalize – a computer–aided translation system Okteta – a hex editor Poxml Swappo Clazy Qt-oriented static code analyzer based on the Clang framework Massif Visualizer – Visualizer for Valgrind Massif data files Umbrello – UML diagram application ELF Dissector ELF binary inspector Fielding REST API tester Doxyqml Doxygen filter to allow generation of API Documentation for QML Heaptrack traces all memory allocations and annotates these events with stack traces. KDebugSettings KUIViewer views UI files (e.g. from Qt Designer). Dferry D-Bus library and tools CuteHMI Open-source HMI (Human Machine Interface) software written in C++ and QML.

Web development KImageMapEditor – an HTML image map editor KXSLDbg – an XSLT debugger

Education

Science Cirkuit – An application to generate publication-ready figures KBibTeX – an application to manage bibliography databases in the BibTeX format Semantik – a mindmapping-like tool for document generation RKWard – an easy-to-use, transparent frontend to R KTechLab – an IDE for electronic and PIC microcontroller circuit design and simulation

Games

Toys AMOR – Amusing Misuse Of Resources. Desktop creature KTeaTime – Tea cooking timer KTux KWeather

Graphics

Internet

Multimedia

Playback

Production

Office Kontact provides personal information management, backed by the Akonadi framework (including Akregator, KNode, KMail, etc.) The Calligra Suite provides an office suite, including Calligra Flow – a flowchart and diagram editor Calligra Plan – a project management tool Calligra Sheets – Spreadsheet Calligra Stage – Presentation application Calligra Words – Word processor Kexi – a visual database creator KEuroCalc – a currency converter and calculator Kile – integrated LaTeX environment KMyMoney – a personal finance manager TaskJuggler – a project management tool Skrooge – Personal finances manager LabPlot – a data plotting and analysis tool LemonPOS – a point of sales application for small and mid–size business Tellico – a collection organizer

System

Utilities

Accessibility KMag – a screen magnifying tool KMouseTool – Automatic Mouse Click KMouth – a speech synthesizer frontend

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with KDE Gear

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what KDE Gear claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to KDE Gear before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about KDE Gear ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of KDE Gear

In research: KDE Gear appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses KDE Gear in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: KDE Gear is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics KDE Applications, Lists of software, Software using the GNU Lesser General Public License, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for KDE Gear outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study KDE Gear in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what KDE Gear means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain KDE Gear out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is KDE Gear in simple terms?

Why does KDE Gear matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study KDE Gear?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on KDE Gear.