Why is Peppermint OS using an LXDE/Xfce hybrid

[Fritz74]

Just wondering: As (to my knowledge) no other Linux distribution is doing this: What are the benefits of using an LXDE/Xfce hybrid over pure Xfce?

[PCNetSpec]

We're not a hybrid of LXDE and Xfce (no matter what the press suggest) we simply cherry pick the best components no matter where they come from then incorporate them into a cohesive whole with our own software. If you think about it very few distros use a full DE including ALL its components , most swap out peripheral components such as using gedit instead of leafpad/mousepad, and/or choosing a more functional terminal emulator over the stock one, etc. Peppermint was from the very beginning following such a path and replacing components where better ones were available that didn't impact performance but added functionality.

In our opinion no DE is perfect .. for example, LXDE's session management is lighter and more modular than Xfce's, but the Xfce panel is more functional and has MANY more plugins than the LXDE panel/menu, Cinnamons Nemo file manager hands down beats PCManFM/Thunar/and even the now stripped down Nautilus for functionality and plugin/script extensibility, the MATE Calculator is the only calculator that acts exactly the same way as the Windows/OSX/iOS/Android one (yet doesn't have client side decorations), sakura as well as being Gtk3 is more configurable than LXterminal .. I could go on...

We decided that the whole point of open source freedoms and the UNIX philosophy of KISS and "do one thing well" were specifically designed to encourage people to build new (and hopefully better) things by stringing together existing code, this being why Linux has historically had a very modular design, something that is often lost in todays all inclusive non-modular DE's. So (hopefully) we're simply following those long standing principles and creating something better than any stock DE without (as VinDSL says) reinventing the wheel.

After all, isn't that the whole point of Linux/FOSS and its freedoms

Short answer:-

We're not a hybrid of LXDE and Xfce .. we're a hybrid of the best bits of ALL desktop environments, we see no point or need to stick with all components from any single DE where those components aren't the best for the job.

[Fritz74]

@PCNetSpec: Thanks for the thorough explanation!

[PCNetSpec]

You're most welcome Fritz74

If we tied ourselves to a single full DE we'd be tied to its components even where they weren't the best for the job .. so I guess the best answer to your question "what are the benefits ?" is that we don't accept those limitations

[AndyMender]

I think the quick answer could also be "why not?" .

Many other Linux distributions use Xfce components in a LXDE base like the XFCE power manager plugin to show battery levels + control power states (hibernate/suspend/etc.). I think I saw it in Lubuntu since some releases already (12.04 or 13.04, can't remember). Heck, one could easily splice some of these onto Openbox's tint2 panel even !