Wayland sets waypoint for next release

Kristian Høgsberg, creator of the Wayland project to develop a new compositing graphics layer for Linux, has outlined the plans for the next version of the Wayland protocol and the reference implementation Weston. Announcing the release of the 1.0.3 update with some fixes for the test suite, Høgsberg noted that there were now no major gaps or issues with the 1.0 release. Moving on, the next major release will be 1.2 as the developers are already using the 1.1 version numbering for unstable development. For this release, he hopes to see a number of changes that have been in development made ready for release.

The xwm component of Weston, which works with XWayland to allow X clients to display through Weston, is to be spun out as a client for better reliability and to simplify the graphics systems architecture. Jan Arne Petersen has been working on input methods and on-screen keyboard implementations for Wayland that will be integrated into the upcoming version. Wayland 1.2 should also see the addition of remote rendering functionality, previously demonstrated at the X.Org developer conference as an early prototype; lack of remote rendering in Wayland had been the basis for much criticism of it as a replacement for the X Window System. Finally, an extension to the Wayland protocol to enable subsurfaces [-] extra surfaces tied to an application window [-] will be integrated if it is ready.

Development of 1.2 will begin in earnest in the new year, but for now, Høgsberg is taking a well deserved holiday break. Further details such as planned release dates will appear in the new year.

See also:

• Wayland - Beyond X, a feature from The H.

(djwm)