New X Roadmap from Jim Gettys

A reader points to a roadmap on freedesktop.org that provides a good summary of what is out there for *nix desktops, with emphasis on X but also covering some other areas.

Comments

Re:X Can Be Sold...

[alset_tech]

The difference (and this is not a slam towards X - I love it) is that learning a video game is a recreational process. Learning X in a business setting is a productivity issue. In many cases this isn't a big deal, but in some situations this can be a serious consideration. When you have to take time for employee training the benefits of an X system may have some competition for budget. Dan

There is no specific roadmap

[sisukapalli1]

Except a long list of associated technologies. For a non X-pert, the article is just a summary of what is there out there. I was expecting some sort of "this is what the future plans are."

Roadmap is a little bit misleading term.

S

One cool thing in the roadmap...

[Realistic_Dragon]

Low level xlib (ie, generic level) support for X session movement from machine to machine.

This sounds a bit like screen implimented for X - you can take apps to work and back again without shutting them down, and keep apps running whilst restarting an X server. (With a bit of luck it will support echoing one app to mutliple windows as well.) It also allows for graceful app shutdown when an X server dies.

Up until now I have been using VNC to do this, but adding it directly into xlib should make it a good deal less clunky. Way to go guys.

Re:how about basic copy & paste?

[ChrisJones]

Umm, X's clipboard does work in a universal alt-c/alt-p type way (although some programs do have different bindings, e.g. ctrl-c/ctrl-p).
You are aware that the selection/middle-mouse buffer is not the clipboard at all, right? There is a completely seperate and proper clipboard, which is why most programs have Edit->Copy/Paste menu entries. People do tend to get confused and think the selection buffer is the same as the clipboard. IT IS NOT.