Being clear about what we mean by 'dual monitors'...

Yes, I know it sounds pretty obvious. But bear with me, please.
I've received a very helpful response to my earlier question about getting dual monitors to work with that mac mini that's sitting on the shelf waiting for me. But now I have another doubt; with 'dual monitors' does that mean I can see two different apps at once?
I work with two apps open all the time, because I need to refer to one whilst working in the other. So the dual screen approach is imperative for me, otherwise I'm constantly switching between those apps.
What I want is to (use Spaces to) open my two apps, and have one visible on one monitor, and the other on the other. Just like in Windows (sorry...)
What I DON'T need is to simply make my desktop larger so that it spans the width of two screens. (Or do I? Would this enable me to have two apps visible too?)
Please forgive my mac newbiness and tell me if this is possible. I can't wait to buy this thing.
Thanks for being here.
Jeff

Based on your previous post, I gather you intend to connect two displays via one per each of the offered ports on the back of the mini. This is supported, and should support mirrored (two of the same) or a spanned desktop. The spanning in the way Macs do it is similar to how you've seen in Windows, where the Taskbar doesn't necessarily extend across both monitors. You wouldn't really want or need your Dock extending across both monitors.
I am not aware of using dual monitors with one Space on each, but there really wouldn't be much point - you probably don't want two Docks and Menu bars with differing content on each. You can just as easily have two applications running and place one window on one display and one on the other - that works fine, just like it does in a similar Windows situation. The only time that gets peculiar is when you minimize an application, as it goes back to the Dock on the main monitor. If the application is on the secondary monitor, this means it zips back to the primary. If you are planning to use two applications at once, you probably won't be minimizing them all that often.

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