<chapter id="frequently-asked-questions">
<title>Frequently Asked Questions About &kde; </title>

<epigraph>
<attribution>Batman Animated Series</attribution>
<para>What are you?</para>
<para>I'm your worst nightmare...</para>
</epigraph>

<para>There are some questions that are always raised on the &kde;
mailing lists. To keep the traffic as low as possible (making the
lists more readable), we have included them in this section. So please
be kind and do not ask them in the mailing lists anymore - think of
the quote above! </para>

<!-- pretty short list.. going to watch mailing lists a little, and
see if there aren't any more questions that ought to be here -->

<qandaset id="faq">
<qandaentry>
<question><para>What does <quote>&kde;</quote> stand for?</para></question>
<answer><para>Originally the <emphasis>K</emphasis> stood for <emphasis>Kool</emphasis>,
nowadays the K has no meaning and &kde; simply stands for the
<emphasis>K Desktop Environment</emphasis>. &kde; is intended to
be a collection of small tools, a window manager, a file manager and
tools that bring all this together.  It is created to make your life with &UNIX;
easier. </para></answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry>
<question><para>I cannot compile package xxx</para></question>
<answer>

<para>Always be sure that you have the newest version of the &kde;
libraries installed. The software is in constant development, so the
dependencies can change from one day to another if you are using
<acronym>CVS</acronym>.  For most users, using a released version is
much more practical.</para>

<para><!-- You may also find the <link
linkend="source-distribution">general compilation hints</link>
helpful.--> Another problem could be that you are using a program written
for a very old version of &kde;, which depends on outdated include
files. Check in the source archive's <filename>README</filename> to
see if it explains which version of &kde; the application is looking
for.  If that file doesn't exist, check the file dates. They should be
more recent than your current &kde; version.</para>
</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry> 

<question><para>What version of &kde; should I use for a
stable desktop?</para></question>
<answer><para>One can, in general, obtain &kde; in many ways.
Obtaining pre-compiled binaries in a package format (rpm,deb,tgz)
labeled with a particular version (&eg; 3.2) is the best way to
encourage stability on your &kde; desktop.</para>

</answer>
</qandaentry>

<qandaentry> 
<question><para>But I heard that my problem/wishlist item is
<quote>already in <acronym>CVS</acronym></quote>.  I want to get my
hands on the new features, why shouldn't I try
<acronym>CVS</acronym>?</para></question>

<answer>
<para>The price of stability is that one must wait for each release to
get new features.  Conversely the price of being the first to see new
features, is that you risk stability.  &kde; has a fairly frequent
release schedule, and stability of released versions is a particular
focus.  For the majority of &kde; users, unless you are planning to
help develop &kde;, there is little advantage to running development
versions of &kde;.</para>

<para>However, there is always a place for experienced users who know
what they are letting themselves in for, and are willing to report
bugs found.  If this is you, then there is no reason not to try the
<acronym>CVS</acronym> versions.  Be prepared for things to break
occasionally, <acronym>CVS</acronym> gives you a snapshot of source
code that is currently being worked on.</para>

<para>These are daily snapshots of whatever the developers are working
on, and some things are guaranteed to be broken.</para> 

<warning>
<para><emphasis>Do not rely on <acronym>CVS</acronym> snapshots to maintain
operational desktops</emphasis>. You will get burned eventually!</para>
</warning>

</answer>

</qandaentry>
</qandaset>

</chapter>
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