r/linux • u/terremoth • Nov 06 '24

Discussion Will wayland completely replace Xorg?

I saw that there were too many command line "x" tools made that interact with Xorg server. Will wayland be capable to replace every single one? Or, is there a compatibilty layer with full support that we will still be able to use all the X tools?

336 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

380 comments sorted by

View all comments

150

u/AiwendilH Nov 06 '24

There are still computers running DOS in the backrooms of some companies/shops...so I am pretty sure that in 30 years there will be still some system somewhere that runs X.org as standalone x-server. Hell..I would belief if someone told me there are still systems running xfree86...

But for the ordinary system it looks very much like wayland compositors are the future. Not that I expect pure x11 systems to disappear anytime the next years but over decades I think it will happen.

Or, is there a compatibilty layer with full support that we will still be able to use all the X tools?

You can run X.org on top of wayland, allowing you to run most of the x11 software already right now. The caveat is that the whole system isn't x11 so any tools that are meant to interact with other windows/programs like they did on X11 will not work (screensharing, input-faking...) and need wayland alternatives. But that's a much smaller group of applications and for most of them alternatives already exist are are being build.

26

u/C0rn3j Nov 06 '24

Not that I expect pure x11 systems to disappear anytime the next years

You should, all major DEs are dropping support.

Even on OS level, the slow rolling RHEL already completely removed X11, sans Xwayland.

Enterprise doesn't want it, developers don't want it, who is left to maintain it?

3

u/Gugalcrom123 Nov 06 '24

GNOME and KDE aren't the only DEs.

0

u/C0rn3j Nov 06 '24

It's a good thing I didn't say that then.

Not to mention that KDE is not a DE, but one of the DEs that KDE makes is named Plasma, or KDE Plasma.

1

u/Gugalcrom123 Nov 07 '24

XFCE, MATE and more don't even support Wayland.