Arcan Display Server 0.6.2 – It’s all connected

> wayland: if we move the compositor into the kernel we can solve several performance problems.

Where exactly does Wayland introduce a kernel-based compositor?

Existing Wayland implementations just consolidate what was often several userspace processes in the composited X11 model into a single monolithic userspace process responsible for the window management, input multiplexing/routing, and compositing. I'm not certain this is even a strictly specified aspect of Wayland either, it may just be convenient and simpler to implement this way while enjoying some natural performance advantages.

There's no kernel Wayland compositors AFAIK. Perhaps you're conflating KMS with Wayland since they kind of overlapped chronologically? KMS enabled running XOrg without requiring root using the modesetting driver, it's been a huge step towards cleaning up the graphics stack on Linux, independent of Wayland.

> disclamer: I made a port of arcan to openbsd and could never quite figure out what to do with it. the curse of a display server with not enough software I guess.

Port stuff to it?

Out of curiosity, did you base the OpenBSD port on the NetBSD port?

I think they just have strong design ideas and are rapidly blasting them out in stream-of-consciousness form. It’s a lot of information without as much structure as would sometimes be helpful, but it doesn’t seem like a TempleOS-type situation where they’re actually detached from consensus reality.

They made cool stuff but with a complete disregard for a lot of what the rest of the industry has been up to and as a result have and are trying to reinvent wheels they are under-qualified to reinvent. The display server is dope but they don't need to be trying to design a new paradigm of distributed compute in their networking layer, they got beat to that faster and better by other products.

For what it's worth I happened to talk to the author a while back and we incidentally had a perfectly functional and pleasant conversation, he explained Arcan had been used in a variety of different contexts including machine-vision image recognition. I think this is more of a fundamental focal-point issue: this person can see something in what they're building that would only be appreciated by not just fellow engineers, but those specialized in the niche subfield of graphics that Arcan occupies. But that's the problem: I can't figure out what that niche is, and it would seem I'm not the only one. It feels extremely interesting, abstractly speaking, but that raw interestingness doesn't Do The Thing and resolve or "snap" to a relatable reference point. Which is really sad; without that extra "oh I get it!" this project is sadly going to have a hard time self-advertising and passively attracting interest. Even *cough* Mir (a Wayland alternative that's fallen into obscurity) has a tad more understandability going for it.

The upshot of this, though, is that if this ever gets to a point where it is relatable and can be appreciated at knee-jerk face value, it will be somewhere new and unfamiliar, and has the chance to have a noteworthy influence on how the Linux graphics status quo is reasoned about.