Trying to get an idea of how to minimize processes in KDE. It didn't take me very long to realize that klipper was not my thing. However, I'm not quite sure which other kdeinit4's I can do without. Any advice on this would be appreciated.

Also, "kio_file file local:/tmp/ksocket" etc etc etc's... is it possible to turn that kind of function off? I really don't care to have tmp files around on the "just in case" that I might open said document(s) again. In my view... if I closed it, I wanted it closed and if I open it again... then I want it open.. then.

I am trying to get an idea of what resources are being used after building new kernels / changing sound hardware etc. The System Monitor in KDE seems like the most likely place to do this but it keeps filling up with useless cache'd files which only distract me.

I have read the posts here (many of them) where dev's say "Well, this is just the way that Linux handles memory" and "Un-used memory is wasted memory". Ok, I can agree with that in theory. In practice, however, there is absolutely no point for it. When I shut down a process (ie: close it) I want it to be gone, stopped, not to return until I tell it to. If you were running a server, told a process to stop and then found that it was being cache'd without your consent you would be irritated yes? No different for the desktop.

So 1) how to go about minimizing KDE's processes without interrupting the base functionality? and 2) how to set it to where when you close a document it stays closed?

All the kio_* processes were started at the request of an application by KLauncher.

Those daemons critical to KDE operation are ksmserver, kdeinit4 ( killing these will terminate your session ), kded4 ( provides numerous services ), klauncher ( spawns KIO slaves, and launches apps when requested to )

The following provide additional usually essential services: kglobalaccel ( provides Global Shortcuts ), knotify4 ( provides KDE notifications to all applications ), kwalletd ( provides access to your KDE wallet for securely storing credentials ), kuiserver ( provides support for tracking of KIO jobs )

Note that "cached" memory as shown by applications such as KInfoCenter is entirely kernel managed and outside KDE's control. KDE caches data retrieved from remote protocols however locally, and except for HTTP will delete this when the operation is completed.

Note that if KDE applications find themselves without essential daemons such as kded4 or klauncher they will automatically spawn them. essential items will also generally be automatically invoked when an applications request their services.

The applications that provide the KDE workspace are plasma-desktop and krunner, as well as kwin if you are using it as your window manager. If killed, these will not be respawned, however in the case of both krunner and kwin, your desktop functionality will be severely limited as other applications depend on them to perform tasks ( such as start screensavers and lock the screen or decorate windows respectively )