science

Tiling window manager

Tiling window manager is a 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 Tiling window manager rather than just read about it. In short: In computing, a tiling window manager is a window manager with the organization of the screen often dependent on mathematical formulas to organise the windows into a non-overlapping frame. This is opposed to the more common approach used by stacking window managers, which allow the user to drag windows around, instead of windows snapping into a position.

Key takeaways

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

Reference excerpt

In computing, a tiling window manager is a window manager with the organization of the screen often dependent on mathematical formulas to organise the windows into a non-overlapping frame. This is opposed to the more common approach used by stacking window managers, which allow the user to drag windows around, instead of windows snapping into a position. This allows for a different style of organization, although it departs from the traditional desktop metaphor.

History

Xerox PARC The first Xerox Star system (released in 1981) tiled application windows, but allowed dialog boxes and property windows to overlap. Later, Xerox PARC also developed CEDAR (released in 1982), the first windowing system using a tiled window manager.

Various vendors Next in 1983 came Andrew WM, a complete tiled windowing system later replaced by X11. Microsoft's Windows 1.0 (released in 1985) also used tiling (see sections below). In 1986 came Digital Research's GEM 2.0, a windowing system for the CP/M which used tiling by default. One of the early (created in 1988) tiling WMs was Siemens' RTL, up to today a textbook example because of its algorithms of automated window scaling, placement, and arrangement, and (de)iconification. RTL ran on X11R2 and R3, mainly on the "native" Siemens systems, e.g., SINIX. Its features are described by its promotional video. The Andrew Project (AP or tAP) was a desktop client system (like early GNOME) for X with a tiling and overlapping window manager. MacOS X 10.11 El Capitan released in September 2015 introduces new window management features such as creating a full-screen split view limited to two app windows side-by-side in full screen by holding down the full-screen button in the upper-left corner of a window.

Dynamic window manager In computing, a dynamic window manager is a tiling window manager where windows are tiled based on preset layouts between which the user can switch. Layouts typically have a main area and a secondary area. The main area usually shows one window, but one can also change the number of windows in this area. Its purpose is to reserve more space for the more important window(s). The secondary area shows the other windows. Tiling window managers that don't use layouts are called manual tiling window managers. They let the user decide where windows should be placed.

Tiling window managers

Microsoft Windows

The first version (Windows 1.0) featured a tiling window manager, partly because of litigation by Apple claiming ownership of the overlapping window desktop metaphor. But due to complaints, the next version (Windows 2.0) followed the desktop metaphor. All later versions of the operating system stuck to this approach as the default behaviour. The built-in Microsoft Windows window manager has, since Windows 2.0, followed the traditional stacking approach by default. It can also act as a rudimentary tiling window manager. To tile windows, the user selects them in the taskbar and uses the context menu choice Tile Vertically or Tile Horizontally. Choosing Tile Vertically will cause the windows to tile horizontally but take on a vertical shape, while choosing Tile Horizontally will cause the windows to tile vertically but take on a horizontal shape. These options were later changed in Windows Vista to Show Windows Side by Side and Show Windows Stacked, respectively. Windows 7 added "Aero Snap" which adds the ability to drag windows to either side of the screen to create a simple side-by-side tiled layout, or to the top of the screen to maximize. Windows 8 introduced Windows Store apps; unlike desktop applications, they did not operate in a window, and could only run in full screen, or "snapped" as a sidebar alongside another app, or the desktop environment. Along with allowing Windows Store apps to run in a traditional window, Windows 10 enhanced the snapping features introduced in Windows 7 by allowing windows to be tiled into screen quadrants by dragging them to the corner, and adding "Snap Assist" — which prompts the user to select the application they want to occupy the other half of the screen when they snap a window to one half of the screen, and allows the user to automatically resize both windows at once by dragging a handle in the center of the screen. Windows 10 also supports FancyZones, a more complete tiling window manager facility allowing customized tiling zones and greater user control, configured through Microsoft PowerToys. Windows 11 added more built-in tiling options, activated by hovering the mouse pointer over the maximize button.

3rd-party replacements AquaSnap - made by Nurgo Software. Freeware, with an optional "Professional" license. Amethyst for windows - dynamic tiling window manager along the lines of amethyst for MacOS. bug.n – open source, configurable tiling window manager built as an AutoHotKey script and licensed under the GNU GPL. MaxTo — customizable grid, global hotkeys. Works with elevated applications, 32-bit and 64-bit applications, and multiple monitors. WS Grid+ – move and/or resize window's using a grid selection system combining benefits of floating, stacking, and tiling. It provides keyboard/mouse shortcuts to instantly move and resize a window. Stack – customizable grid (XAML), global hotkeys and/or middle mouse button. Supports HiDPI and multiple monitors. Plumb — lightweight tiling manager with support for multiple versions of Windows. Supports HiDPI monitors, keyboard hotkeys, and customization of hotkeys (XAML). workspacer — an MIT-licensed tiling window manager for Windows 10 that aims to be fast and compatible. Written and configurable using C#. dwm-win32 — port of dwm's general functionality to win32. Is MIT-licensed and is configured by editing a config header in the same style as dwm. GlazeWM — a tiling window manager for Windows inspired by i3 and Polybar. Komorebi — a window manager for Microsoft Windows SO written in Rust. Like bspwm it does not handle key-binding on its own, so users have to use AHK or WHKD to manage the shortcuts. Komorebi also has a GUI User Friendly version called Komorebi UI. Whim -- dynamic window manager that is built using WinUI 3 and the .NET framework.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tiling window manager

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tiling window manager claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In 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 Tiling window manager 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 Tiling window manager 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 Tiling window manager

In research: Tiling window manager appears in 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 Tiling window manager 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: Tiling window manager is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics User interface techniques, Window managers, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tiling window manager 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 Tiling window manager in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tiling window manager 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 Tiling window manager out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tiling window manager in simple terms?

Why does Tiling window manager matter?

Because it connects several 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 Tiling window manager?

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 Tiling window manager.