The following pages contain documentation about KDE's design and architecture in detail. They do not replace other documentation like API documentation, tutorials/howtos and standards, see the development portal for further information.
For a better understanding it might help to be familiar with Trolltech's™ excellent Qt 3.3 or Qt 4.2 documentation and their Developer Pages.
More information about a KDE installation itself is available in the dedicated section for system administrators.
Design Documents
- KDE 4 Architecture Overview
- An overview of the KDE 4 architecture, including discussions of common techniques, library classes, and general development issues. This is for KDE 4.0.
- KDE 3 Architecture Overview (Original)
- An overview of the KDE 3 architecture, including discussions of common techniques, library classes, and general development issues. This is for KDE 3.0.
- KDE 2 Architecture Overview
- An overview of the KDE 2 architecture, similar to the above. This is for KDE 2.2.
- DCOP
- Design documents from 1999-2000.
- Binary Compatibility Issues With C++ (Original)
- A quick overview of issues with binary compatibility with C++. Keep this in mind while altering the API of kdelibs.
KDE TechBase 