Wayland vs X11

Wayland and X11 are two different display server technologies that allow you to see your desktop and manage the windows that each application and tool generates on the desktop. They have a lot in common but also some key differences — mainly in the way that the graphical data is relayed between application, window manager/compositor.

What is X11? #

X11 (version 11 of X Server) has been in use since 1987. It is primarily a display protocol, so it was designed to render graphics over the network. This is why it is possible to forward X11 sessions over SSH, giving you a secure remote session to a graphical desktop on a networked server or PC. The client’s applications need to communicate with the X11 server before the compositor (window manager) can generate the window that is needed for the application to render properly. This is reliable, but it is very slow by modern standards, and when comparing it to newer systems, such as Wayland.

What is Wayland? #

Simply put, Wayland is a display server protocol that seeks to replace X11. It is not an application or a downloadable program. Instead, it is a standard or specification that needs to be adopted by window managers and desktop environments. Wayland is designed to be easier to use than X11. Wayland also aims to be easier to integrate into Linux systems with more straight-forward code.

Key Differences #

The main difference between Wayland and X11 lies in their approach towards rendering graphics. While X11 uses a client/server model for rendering windows, Wayland uses a simple, modern approach: client-side rendering. This cuts out any server type component that acts as a middleman, and lets the application communicate directly with the compositor that it wishes to render a window for. This makes load times much quicker in theory and is technically easier to implement, thanks to the simplified codebase that Wayland brings to the table.

Under X11, the desktop environment’s window manager is responsible for placing windows and drawing window decorations such as title bars and frames. Under Wayland, the functions of the display server and the window manager are combined in the respective Wayland Compositor.

Conclusion #

Both X11 and Wayland have their own strengths and weaknesses. While X11 has been around for a long time and has proven its reliability, it’s starting to show its age due to legacy code that bloats the system. On the other hand, Wayland offers a more modern approach with its client-side rendering, which could potentially offer faster load times and easier implementation. However, it’s still relatively new and may not be fully supported by all applications yet. The choice between X11 and Wayland will depend on your specific needs and circumstances.