The experimental Wayland compositor xfwl4 of the Xfce desktop has received its second preview. Version 4.21.1 arrives less than two months after the first preview, 4.21, in June, and brings noticeable progress in window management, input and X11 compatibility.
Xfce has been working for some time on its move to Wayland, the modern display server that is replacing X11. xfwl4 is the compositor built specifically for that purpose. While it is still considered a preview, the quick second release shows that development is gathering pace.
What the second preview brings
- Window management: horizontal and vertical maximization, switching between windows of the same application via shortcuts, and stricter, more correct handling of minimizing, focus and client-side decorated windows.
- Input: touchscreens can be assigned to a specific monitor, and pointer devices support rotation and reflection.
- X11 compatibility: support for X11 window icons via WM_HINTS and Motif hints, implementation of X11 unminimize requests, plus various fixes for override-redirect windows, restacking and focus.
There is also a new --session option that lets xfwl4 launch a specified command at startup. For Xfce fans who want to try the Wayland switch already, the foundation is becoming steadily more usable day to day.
Sources: Linuxiac, Xfwl4 FAQ (Xfce Wiki).
