I'd just like to interject for a moment. What you’re referring to as KDE, is in fact, Plasma, or as I’ve recently taken to calling it, KDE/Plasma. KDE is not a desktop environment unto itself, but rather a vast umbrella project composed of numerous free software components developed by the KDE Community, with Plasma being only one part of it.

Many computer users unknowingly refer to their entire graphical interface as “KDE,” when in fact, they are only using Plasma, a desktop environment running on top of a larger KDE ecosystem. Through a peculiar turn of events, the desktop developed by KDE which is widely used today is still called "KDE" by the general public, and many of its users are not aware that it is properly named Plasma, developed and maintained by the KDE Project.

There really is a KDE, and these users are indeed running software from KDE, but it is only a portion of what KDE encompasses. KDE is the name of the community — the developers, the libraries, the frameworks, and the massive suite of applications that make up a complete, modular computing experience. The desktop environment is just one of these components — its name is Plasma.

The Plasma desktop provides the panel, the launcher, the window manager, and the graphical interface you interact with daily. However, it operates atop KDE Frameworks and integrates tightly with KDE Gear applications such as Dolphin, Konsole, Kate, and hundreds more. Without these components, Plasma would be little more than a shell.

Referring to the entire system as “KDE” is a common, yet technically inaccurate shorthand. What you’re actually using is Plasma, on top of KDE technologies. This distinction may seem trivial to the casual user, but it is of utmost importance to those who understand and contribute to the architecture of the system.