Wayland

Wayland

Wayland is a display server protocol that is intended to replace the X Window System. It works directly with Linux kernel mode-setting and buffer management systems, allowing for faster performance and better security than X.
Os & Utilities Display Servers
Wayland image
display-server x11-replacement compositing-window-manager
Wayland alternatives ➤

Wayland: A Faster Display Server Protocol

Wayland is a display server protocol intended to replace the X Window System, offering direct integration with Linux kernel mode-setting and buffer management systems for improved performance and security.

What is Wayland?

Wayland is a display server protocol that is intended to eventually replace the X Window System (X11) on Linux systems. Unlike X11, Wayland does not include a built-in network transparency model and direct rendering managers. Instead, Wayland works directly with the Linux kernel mode-setting and buffer management systems to provide a faster and simpler display architecture.

Some key advantages of Wayland over X11 include:

  • Improved security - Clients run under isolated toolkits instead of directly accessing hardware through the display server, limiting the potential attack surface.
  • Simplified design - Wayland offloads many tasks to clients and existing kernel infrastructure like the Direct Rendering Manager (DRM), making the overall architecture lighter.
  • Better performance - Working directly with modern Linux graphics stacks avoids unnecessary copying and conversions for a faster user experience.

Wayland is intended as a simpler replacement for the complex X11 system. However, transition has been gradual as Wayland still lacks some features like network transparency and compatibility tools that X11 offers. As of 2022, some Linux distributions use Wayland by default as the display technology continues to mature.

Wayland Features

Features

  1. Direct communication with the Linux kernel
  2. Improved performance and security over X Window System
  3. Supports hardware acceleration
  4. Simplified client-server architecture
  5. Wayland compositors provide window management functionality

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Faster and more efficient than X Window System

Improved security with direct kernel access

Simplified and more modern architecture

Better support for modern hardware and display technologies

Cons

Limited backwards compatibility with X11 applications

Adoption and migration from X11 can be challenging

Fewer features and customization options compared to X11

Official Links

Official Website
https://wayland.freedesktop.org/

The Best Wayland Alternatives

Top Os & Utilities and Display Servers and other similar apps like Wayland

Here are some alternatives to Wayland:

X11 icon
X11
Compiz icon
Compiz
XQuartz icon
XQuartz
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X11 icon

X11

X11, also known as X Window System, is a popular graphical user interface and network-transparent windowing system used on many Unix and Unix-like operating systems. It provides the standard toolkit and protocols to build GUI applications that can display windows on the screen and interact with a mouse, keyboard, and...
X11 image
Compiz icon

Compiz

Compiz is an open source compositing window manager for the X Window System. It was developed by Novell for Linux Desktops based on GNOME and KDE. Compiz uses 3D graphics hardware to provide enhanced desktop visual effects including transparency and animations that improve usability and provide an appealing user experience.As...
XQuartz icon

XQuartz

XQuartz is an open-source implementation of the X Window System that enables running X11 applications on macOS. It works by providing an X11 server environment along with the core X11 client libraries needed to run and display X11 applications on macOS.Without XQuartz, it would not be possible to natively run...
XQuartz image