It's super confusing because "KDE" is literally the acronym for "K Desktop Environment".
this post was submitted on 06 Feb 2025
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Wait until you learn what "GNU" stands for.
I have an irrational fear of this acronym. I think I'm worried I might accidentally recurse forever, and that will become the only thing I do for the rest of my existence.
WINE would like to join the party
I thought it stood for "Kool Desktop Environment"
KDE is a community of developers.
KDE Plasma is the desktop environment made by the KDE community.
This has been the correct terminology since 2009, much longer than "the past year or so", but a lot of people do still call KDE Plasma just "KDE" colloquially, so maybe you have just been noticing people using the correct terminology more recently.
Kids these days and their "Plasma". BACK IN MY DAY it was just KDE!
I'm not sure why this feels new to me. Perhaps it's because I spent a lot of time on other DEs after 2009.
But also, from that link:
We will use "KDE" exclusively in two meanings:
- KDE, the community, which creates free software for end users
- As an umbrella brand for the technology created by the KDE community
So I don't feel like it's wrong to just call it KDE, just imprecise.
Well KDE used to stand for K Desktop Environment as a rif off of CDE Common Desktop Environment. They named kde 4 plasma when kde was overhauled during that release. Since kde does much more than just the DE they moved to just be KDE stands for KDE like how KFC no longer stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken.
The "K" stood for "Kool"
Yeah I think that was dropped to just K before the release of 1.0.
Was it 4? I thought it came around for the 5 release. I think I switched DEs for almost the entire 4 debacle then switched back at 5 when it stopped sucking.
Edit: NM, I see I just missed it by skipping 4: https://dot.kde.org/2009/11/24/repositioning-kde-brand/
Ha, yes, I remember pretty much the entire Linux community dropped KDE 4. What a time for a rebranding.
Ah KDE netbook when the world thought that was going to be an ongoing thing. It's a shame MS killed the concept. Linux powered Netbooks like the OLPC and the Eeepc were great for on the go when you just need more than your phone. I'm still glad OLPC is still around.
Plasma is currently the name of the Desktop Environment made by KDE.
KDE refers to the umbrella project that houses all the software made for Plasma, like KDE Connect and Kdenlive. The name used to refer to the desktop environment; but now they develop more stuff than the desktop environment.
Quote from https://www.reddit.com/
KDE is officially a community dedicated to developing FOSS software. It's legally represented by the KDE e.V. and the KDE Free Qt Foundation. The latter is to ensure that the dual-licensed Qt software used by KDE stays open source.
KDE Plasma is the desktop environment made by KDE. It's sometimes called just KDE because, duh, it shorter. The apps included in Plasma are also made by the KDE (also see KDE Gear).
There's the KDE Frameworks, built on top of Qt.
Plasma mobile is a distribution for mobile devices.
KDE Neon is a "distribution" showcasing the lastest KDE software.
Since sometime around Plasma 4, KDE has been the name of the organization and Plasma had been the name of the desktop.
I think it was the name of the new desktop concept introduced with KDE 4 and then got synonymous with the whole DE
Not just synonymous, it the official name of DE itself.
i think plasma is just the shell that KDE develops. KDE also develops the other programs that are included in the desktop environment, like dolphin and konsole.
KDE is the name of the overall community. They produce Plasma which is the desktop, frameworks and applications.
I have no idea about the history behind this but I assume it has to do with the abbreviation DE being inside KDE. I could see how that makes people think that KDE is the DE, and not the community that develops Plasma.
The issue is that it was the DE originally, some people (myself included) just didn't fully get the memo when it changed like 15 or so years ago. I haven't used the KDE DE since before that change, so I get how it could be missed. Rebranding is hard, even years later. I am sure many people think KFC still stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken too.