A modest proposal for a
much needed new
rendering model for X, from X11 veteran Keith Packard: (via Slashdot)
As application development has advanced, the X protocol has devolved into
little more than an image transport mechanism.
Applications perform rendering in client-side buffers and transport the result
to the screen. A shared memory mechanism for
delivering images to the X server exists when the application is running on the
same machine as the display, but performance
suffers when attempting to run these applications over the network.
The strongest argument for building a new rendering model is in evidence on
almost every Linux machine these days. The
combination of KDE, Gnome, and Enlightenment demonstrate that the world of 2D
graphics is rapidly leaving the X Window
System behind. These applications use sophisticated rendering primitives like
outlined text and cubic splines. They improve image
quality with anti-aliasing and blend images together with alpha compositing.