Revision 397987704 of "SharpE" on enwiki

{{Infobox software|
  name = SharpE |
  logo = <!-- [[Image:Sharpe.JPG]] --> |
  screenshot = |
  caption = |
  developer = [http://sharpe-shell.org/ SharpE Development Team] |
  latest_release_version = ---|
  operating_system = [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]] XP/Vista/7 (32/64bit) |
  programming_language = [[Object Pascal]] ([[Embarcadero Delphi]]) |
  genre = [[Windows shell replacement]] |
  license = [[GNU General Public License|GPL]] |
  website = [http://www.sharpe-shell.org/ www.sharpe-shell.org] |
}}

'''SharpE''', also shortened as '''#E''', is an [[open-source]] [[Shell (computing)|shell]] replacement for [[Microsoft Windows]] XP and later versions, released under the [[GNU General Public License]] (GPL). The goal of the project is to create a user friendly desktop environment that provides advanced and modern desktop features but remains easily configurable. As for any windows shell replacement it is still possible to run any native Windows application when SharpE is used.

SharpE has been in active development since 1997 and has been undergoing several rewrites and development team changes. It was originally developed by members of Low Dimension International, many of whom are no longer involved in LDI but are still involved in the project. SharpE split from LDI in summer 2005 and since then has been under continued development by the current development team.

SharpE is now known as '''SharpEnviro''', since 2008.

== Current Version ==
The shell is a complete rewrite, and hence currently there is not any officially labelled or stable release. The developers are only releasing beta versions (which are called Testing Day or TD versions) on a regular basis. Therefore, the releases are only recommended for experienced users, since no installer is included in the download package.

The current Testing Day release is TD6R5 and can be downloaded from the [https://sourceforge.net/projects/sharpe/files/ Project Page] on [[SourceForge|SourceForge.net]].

The next release, which is the official and stable release (Version 0.8), is scheduled for mid-2010.

== User Interface ==
A key improvement the SharpE shell has over Microsoft Windows Explorer shell is that it does not limit the desktop to a single or a fixed setup of the [[taskbar]]. Therefore, any number of toolbars (called a SharpBar) may be created and customized with any module the user desires. The range of modules available span from standard system functionality like a taskbar or start menu button to advanced features like cpu monitor, notes or media controller. By April 2010, more than 20 modules for the SharpBar had been available. The choice of modules to be put onto a bar and the alignment of modules and bars on screen is entirely decided by user's configuration.

{{wide image|Taskbar-SharpEnviro-v8.png|800px|Possible setup of a SharpBar, which is very similar to the taskbar in [[Windows 7]]. Features such as "pinning" applications to the taskbar are also supported.}}

The visual appearance of all graphical elements is powered by a complex skin system which utilizes alpha blending and a layer-based rendering engine. An important characteristic of the SharpE skin system is the feature to change the colors of certain parts of the skin independently. For example, skins allow the user to change the color of background elements independently of other elements (such as button or highlight colors).

Configuring SharpE can be fully done using an easy-to-use [[graphical user interface]]. With SharpCenter, all settings of the shell can be managed and customized without the need to edit any settings file by hand. Even more complex parts of the shell such as the color scheme and toolbar management can be fully configured from within SharpCenter.

== Technology ==
SharpE is developed to compile on [[Embarcadero Delphi|Borland Delphi 2007]], and targets Windows 2000 or higher. It makes heavy use of the [http://www.delphi-jedi.org/ JCL], [http://jvcl.delphi-jedi.org/ JVCL] and [http://graphics32.org/wiki/pub/page/Main/Graphics32 Graphics32] libraries for Delphi.

The shell is based on a modular design where the majority of functionality is loaded dynamically from external modules ([[Dynamic Link Libraries]]). There are three core components (SharpBar, SharpCore, SharpCenter) which uses and manages those modules, to  expose the functionality of the modules to the end user. Such a modular system has the advantage where every interaction between modules and the hosting components is standardized through deployment of multiple [[Interface (object-oriented programming)|Interfaces]]. Thus the interface data exchange and communication between the host components and modules is nearly unlimited, making it possible to share even complex functionality such as the skinning system.

The distinguishing feature from other shell replacement systems is that the modules are linked together by the core functionality provided by SharpCore. This means that certain functions such as [[Taskbar]], System Notification Area, [[Virtual desktop|Virtual Desktops]], Application launching, among others, are always routed through and managed by SharpCore - thus making all modules use, share and access the same core functionality of the shell environment.

Due to the absence of [[64bit]] compiler for Delphi, a small number of parts and components of the shell are written in [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]], requiring SharpE to be run with the presence of [[.NET Framework]] 3.5. Using C# in addition to Delphi was a necessary step to ensure compatibility with 64bit versions of Windows.

== New Functionality ==
Some of the features which are distinctly new when compared to features in the [[Windows shell]] are:
* Multiple and independently configurable toolbars (which are similar to the [[taskbar]]).
* Application Bars (pinning applications to the [[taskbar]], similar to what was introduced with Windows 7).
* Up to 12 [[Virtual desktop|Virtual Desktops]].
* Multi Monitor support (toolbars/taskbars on each monitor, different wallpapers on each monitor, etc).
* Allows most common media players to be controlled directly from the toolbars or with special keys on multimedia keyboards (without the need of installing additional software).
* Allows taking and organizing notes anywhere on screen.

== Critique ==
* Due to the modular design and the shell being written in Delphi, the memory and disc space usage is higher compared to other [[Windows shell replacement]]s. With an overall memory usage of 40 MB to 60 MB and disc space requirements of about 120 MB, SharpE cannot be counted as among the lightweight minimalistic shells.

* The absence of any free/personal version of Delphi 2007 (or later) available is a discouragement for third party developers to create new modules or contribute source code patches to the shell.

* Although it is planned for future releases, Unicode support is still unavailable at this point.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Free software}}

* [[Shell (computing)]]
* [[Windows shell]]
* [[Windows shell replacement]]

==External links==
* [http://www.sharpe-shell.org/ Main SharpE site]
* [http://sourceforge.net/projects/sharpe/ SharpE Project Page on SourceForge.net]

[[Category:Desktop shell replacement]]
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