Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Unity8 VS dwm

Compare Unity8 VS dwm and see what are their differences

Unity8 logo Unity8

Mir compositor with Wayland apps support.

dwm logo dwm

dwm is a dynamic window manager for X. It manages windows in tiled, monocle and floating layouts. All of the layouts can be applied dynamically, optimising the environment for the application in use and the task performed.
  • Unity8 Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-18
  • dwm Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-09-12

Unity8 features and specs

  • Convergence
    Unity8 is designed with convergence in mind, allowing a seamless experience across multiple device types like desktops, tablets, and phones.
  • Modern Interface
    The interface is modern and visually appealing, providing a fresh alternative to other desktop environments.
  • Community-Driven
    As part of the UBports project, Unity8 benefits from a community-driven development approach, making it responsive to user feedback.
  • Customization
    Users can customize the interface according to personal preferences, improving user experience and productivity.
  • Lightweight
    Unity8 is relatively lightweight compared to other desktop environments, which can help improve system performance on older hardware.

Possible disadvantages of Unity8

  • Limited Software Support
    Due to its niche status, Unity8 may not have as extensive software support as more mainstream environments like GNOME or KDE.
  • Development Pace
    As a community-driven project, the pace of development can be slower compared to commercially-backed alternatives.
  • Stability Issues
    Being under constant development, users may experience occasional stability issues or bugs.
  • Learning Curve
    Users who are accustomed to more traditional desktop environments might face a learning curve when transitioning to Unity8.
  • Limited Market Adoption
    Unity8 has limited adoption in the broader market, which can affect the availability of third-party applications and extensions.

dwm features and specs

  • Lightweight
    dwm is extremely lightweight, resulting in minimal use of system resources. It is designed to have no unnecessary bloat, making it suitable for older hardware or low-spec systems.
  • Customizable
    dwm is highly customizable, with the configuration being done through editing the C source code. This allows for deep customization to meet specific user preferences.
  • Simplicity
    The software is designed with simplicity in mind. It has a straightforward design and a gentle learning curve for users familiar with tiling window managers.
  • Tiling Window Management
    dwm automatically arranges windows in a tiling format, which can help improve productivity by making better use of screen real estate and reducing the need to manually arrange windows.
  • Community Support
    A robust community following and good documentation provide ample support for troubleshooting and extending dwm. Many patches and tips are shared among users.

Possible disadvantages of dwm

  • Steep Initial Learning Curve
    For users not familiar with tiling window managers or who are used to traditional desktop environments, the initial setup and usage might be challenging.
  • Manual Compilation for Configuration
    Configuration changes require editing the source code and recompiling the window manager. This can be inconvenient for users who prefer a dynamic configuration option.
  • Limited Out-of-the-Box Functionality
    dwm does not come with many features available in other window managers by default. Users might need to apply patches or write custom scripts to get additional functionality.
  • Fewer Graphical Tools
    Since dwm focuses on simplicity and minimalism, it lacks graphical configuration tools, which might deter non-technical users or those who prefer GUI-based management.
  • Compatibility
    Some applications may not play well with dwm's tiling mechanism, requiring additional configuration or even the use of floating mode for specific apps.

Analysis of dwm

Overall verdict

  • dwm is considered a good choice for users who value performance, simplicity, and customizability. However, it might not be suitable for everyone due to its steep learning curve and the requirement to modify its source code for customization.

Why this product is good

  • dwm (dynamic window manager) is known for its minimalistic design and efficient use of system resources. It is highly customizable through its source code, allowing users to tailor it to their needs. Being a product of the suckless community, it adheres to simplicity and clarity in its design philosophy, making it a favorite among users who prefer a no-frills, elegant solution to window management.

Recommended for

    dwm is recommended for advanced users, programmers, and those who enjoy configuring software from the ground up. It's suitable for people who appreciate minimalism and have experience or a willingness to delve into coding and patching to achieve their desired setup.

Unity8 videos

Unity8 Desktop Greeter Preview (Split Greeter)

dwm videos

dwm (suckless) - why I prefer it to i3 [ricing FreeBSD & OpenBSD]

More videos:

  • Review - Super MINIMALIST tiling window manager - dwm
  • Review - Suckless's dwm: So easy even a caveman could do it!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Unity8 and dwm)
Linux
8 8%
92% 92
Operating Systems
100 100%
0% 0
Window Manager
6 6%
94% 94
Utilities
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Unity8 and dwm

Unity8 Reviews

We have no reviews of Unity8 yet.
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dwm Reviews

Top 13 Best Tiling Window Managers For Linux In 2022
Spectrwm is a fast, compact, and brief reparenting and tiling window manager for X11 that is inspired by xmonad and dwm. It was created to address the problems that xmonad and dwm have. Also check Fulfillify alternatives
Source: www.hubtech.org
13 Best Tiling Window Managers for Linux
spectrwm is a small, dynamic, xmonad, and dwm-inspired reparenting and tiling window manager built for X11 to be fast, compact, and concise. It was created with the aim of solving the issues of xmonad and dwm face.
Source: www.tecmint.com
5 Great Tiling Window Managers for Linux
DWM is, well, a dynamic window manager. Tiling isnโ€™t the only way you can manage your windows. Itโ€™s also possible to lay the windows out in a floating or monocle style. All modifications to DWM can be done within its source code. Easy keyboard shortcuts allow for a great navigation experience while managing windows.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, dwm seems to be a lot more popular than Unity8. While we know about 67 links to dwm, we've tracked only 2 mentions of Unity8. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Unity8 mentions (2)

  • What happened to lomiri
    Https://lomiri.com links to https://github.com/ubports/unity8 and this repository is accessible. Source: over 2 years ago
  • Any GNOME-like DEs without all the GNOME bs?
    Unity. Yes, it's still around (now going by "unity8" and maintained and developed by UBports now instead of Canonical but it's still the same DE we all know and hate er love). Obv not my cup of tea so I'm not very knowledgeable about it so could be way off but who knows, maybe we'll get a Unity lover here and they can chime in. github. Source: over 3 years ago

dwm mentions (67)

  • The Future Is Niri
    Hm, I am using [dwm](https://dwm.suckless.org/) with a custom keybinding to shift to the left or right workspace. That seems similar enough, other than the fact that changing the split ratio will affect all workspaces on dwm while on Niri it most likely will not ... - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • Shifted 3 Shapes โ€“ Making a w3M Logo
    I associate this style with the suckless foundation, even though it is distinct from e.g. The dwm logo. https://dwm.suckless.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • AT&T says criminals stole phone records of 'nearly all' customers in data breach
    Https://dwm.suckless.org/ > This keeps its userbase small and elitist.. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
  • Tinygrad 0.9.0
    The only one I can think of the dwm window manager (https://dwm.suckless.org/), that used to prominently mention a SLOC limit of 2000. Doesn't seem to be mentioned in the landing page anymore, not sure if it's still in effect. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Show HN: Hancho โ€“ A simple and pleasant build system in ~500 lines of Python
    This is sort of the suckless approach. Most (all?) of their projects are customized by editing the source and recompiling. From their window manager, dwm: dwm is customized through editing its source code, which makes it extremely fast and secure - it does not process any input data which isn't known at compile time, except window titles and status text read from the root window's name. You don't have to learn... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Unity8 and dwm, you can also consider the following products

Wayfire - Wayland compositor with 3d effects.

i3 - A dynamic tiling window manager designed for X11, inspired by wmii, and written in C.

GNOME - An easy and elegant way to use your computer, GNOME is designed to put you in control and get things done.

bspwm - A tiling window manager based on binary space partitioning

Arcan - Game engine and multimedia framework and display server.

Openbox - Openbox is a highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.