Console TDM vs SDDM
When comparing Console TDM vs SDDM, the Slant community recommends Console TDM for most people. In the question“What is the best Linux Display Manager?” Console TDM is ranked 5th while SDDM is ranked 7th. The most important reason people chose Console TDM is:
It doesn't require much more than a POSIX shell and dialog/Ncurses.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Very lightweight
It doesn't require much more than a POSIX shell and dialog/Ncurses.
Pro Supports both X11 and Wayland
Pro SDDM can start each DE
Unlike GDM which is stubborn in many ways, SDDM can start both Wayland and X11 sessions and any matter of valid session type, even if it's something obscure like Windowmaker.
Pro Recommended for Plasma 5 and LXQT
QML-based display manager. Successor to KDE4's KDM.
Pro Security
It doesn't support XDMCP.
Pro SDDM can provide full eyecandy
SDDM themes can include animated videos/gifs, background music/sounds, and any combination of the various QML animations.
Cons
Con Unmaintained
Console TDM has never been updated since 2015. You should instead use CDM, tbsm, or any other option because such an unmaintained program could lead to potential security issues. Like CTDM, tbsm can run Wayland sessions.
Con No customization
Apart from changing the console colors there isn't much you can do.
Con Very old
The display manager looks ancient and will look ancient due to the lack of customization.
Con It does not support some essential funtionality, like XDMCP
Con Buggy and..
- Missing suspend/hibernate/sleep shutdown buttons
- Needs to much clicks to switch user
- Missing proper keyboard control
Con Slow
Con Difficult to customize without KDE
SDDM-KCM only works for KDE.
Con Does not support expired passwords
You can not force users to change passwords on login.
Con No Bluetooth support on the Loginscreen
Con Heavy
It's not very lightweight.
Con Customizing is hard
Customizing this login manager is hard since you need to know QML very well.
Con A bit bloated
It requires Qt which is a huge dependency compared to other login managers.