Explore the latest release of Wayland-Protocols 1.33, featuring crucial updates, and stable protocol transitions that promise a more reliable and optimized user environment.
The release of Wayland-Protocols 1.33 is now live after six months of meticulous development. This release introduces a slew of updates, marking a milestone in the evolution of the Wayland protocol and its extensions.
Let’s quickly round up the release.
Key Updates in Wayland-Protocols 1.33
Transition of “linux-dmabuf” to Stable Category
One standout feature in this release is the migration of the “linux-dmabuf” protocol to the stable category. This protocol facilitates the seamless sharing of multiple video cards using DMA-BUF technology, enabling the creation of wl_buffer based on DMA-BUF. This enhancement is pivotal for optimizing video card utilization and improving overall system performance.
Introduction of “ext-transient-seat” Protocol
A notable addition to the “staging” category is the introduction of the “ext-transient-seat” protocol. This innovative protocol empowers users to create temporary independent sessions (seats) designed for use with virtual input devices, implementing protocols like “virtual_keyboard_unstable_v1” and “wlr_virtual_pointer_unstable_v1.” This feature is particularly beneficial for scenarios such as remote desktop connections, allowing the creation of separate sessions for each user with virtual input devices.
Stable Protocols for Backward Compatibility
Wayland-Protocols 1.33 boasts several stable protocols, ensuring backward compatibility and a smooth transition for users:
- “viewporter”: Enables clients to perform scaling and cropping actions on the server side.
- “presentation-time”: Provides essential functionality for video display.
- “xdg-shell”: Serves as an interface for creating and interacting with surfaces as windows, allowing users to manipulate them on the screen with ease.
Protocols Tested in the “Staging” Branch
The “staging” branch introduces protocols that are currently undergoing testing and offer advanced capabilities:
- “drm-lease”: Provides resources necessary for generating stereo images with different buffers for virtual reality headsets.
- “ext-session-lock”: Defines a means of locking a session, useful for scenarios like screen savers or authentication dialogs.
- “single-pixel-buffer”: Allows the creation of single-pixel buffers with four 32-bit RGBA values.
- “xdg-activation”: Facilitates the transfer of focus between different first-level surfaces, enhancing user interaction.
Content-Type Protocol for Enhanced Display Optimization
The new “content-type” protocol empowers clients to convey information about the displayed content to the composite server. This information can be utilized to optimize content-aware behavior, such as setting specific DRM properties like “content type” for various content types, including photo, video, and game.
Tearing-Control for Multimedia Applications
The “tearing-control” protocol offers a valuable tool for multimedia applications, allowing users to disable vertical synchronization (VSync) with a vertical damping pulse. This feature protects against tearing artifacts in full-screen applications, ensuring a seamless and artifact-free user experience.
Ext-Foreign-Toplevel-List for Window Organization
The “ext-foreign-toplevel-list” protocol provides essential information about surfaces placed at the top level. This functionality allows users to organize windows for docking on top of other content, facilitating the attachment of custom panels and window switches.
Security-Context Protocol for Enhanced Client Identification
The “security-context” protocol enhances security by allowing clients to register new connections to a Wayland-based composite server with attached security contexts. This enables composite managers to restrict the capabilities available to the established connection based on the specified security context, contributing to improved overall system security.
Cursor-Shape Protocol for Customized Cursor Appearance
Introducing an alternative approach to customize cursor appearance, the “cursor-shape” protocol allows users to pass a series of cursor images instead of snapping to a surface (wl_surface), providing a more flexible and customizable user experience.
Conclusion
Wayland-Protocols 1.33 brings a host of enhancements that cater to both developers and end-users. Users can anticipate improved performance, enhanced security, and a more tailored and flexible user experience with this latest release.
Debian, Ubuntu, and Fedora are yet to package this version for their stable repo. Hopefully, this version will land in the future releases due in Q1 2024.
You can also download the source from the below link.
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