Wayland Is About To Change For The Better

Summary

The video discusses the frustrations surrounding Wayland protocols, citing stalled development and theoretical debates that hinder progress. The creator, known as a fan and critic, highlights Joshua Ashton's initiative called Frog protocols, designed to create a more iterative approach to Wayland development. While some support the project, others see it as bypassing the consensus in the Wayland community. The video explores the challenges of governance in Wayland and advocates for experimental protocols to drive real-world testing and quicker adoption, urging reform in Wayland's governance and development process.

Takeaways

• 🐸 Joshua Ashton from Valve initiated the Frog Protocols project to improve Wayland protocol development, aiming for a faster, more iterative process.
• 🚦 The Wayland Protocols repo has significant issues, with many protocols stalled, dead, or stuck in theoretical discussions without addressing real-world needs.
• 🕰️ Several essential protocols, such as screen tearing and v-sync protocols, have taken years to be implemented, causing delays in essential functionality.
• 🔄 Frog Protocols aims to iterate on protocols more rapidly, allowing for faster development and testing instead of waiting for the perfect solution.
• 🏗️ The project is not meant to replace Wayland Protocols but rather serve as a development space to work on and experiment with protocols more flexibly.
• 👩‍💻 The protocol creation process is technically simple but suffers from implementation bottlenecks due to bureaucratic barriers within the Wayland ecosystem.
• 💻 There are community supporters of Frog Protocols, like Neal Gompa (Fedora) and Campbell Jones (Arch), who have begun packaging Frog for distributions.
• 🌩️ Critics of Frog Protocols, such as Simon Ser (wlroots), argue it undermines Wayland Protocols and doesn't represent the Wayland community’s consensus.
• 🛠️ The governance model of Wayland Protocols is seen as broken, with only a small group of developers holding voting rights for major decisions.
• 🌐 The discussion reflects a broader issue within the open-source community: the balance between adhering to design principles and meeting user demands for practical, usable features.

Q & A

What is the main critique the speaker has about the Wayland protocols repository?

The main critique is that the Wayland protocols repository has stalled, with many protocols sitting for years due to theoretical discussions and bike-shedding. The speaker believes it is stuck in focusing on things that don't matter while real-world issues and necessary protocols remain unresolved.

What is the 'Frog protocols' project, and who started it?

'Frog protocols' is a project initiated by Joshua Ashton to address the slow and stalled development in Wayland protocols by allowing for a more iterative approach to protocol development. The goal is to develop and experiment with new protocols more quickly, bypassing the bureaucratic hurdles that have slowed Wayland protocol development.

What is Joshua Ashton’s connection to Valve, and does Valve officially endorse Frog protocols?

Joshua Ashton is from Valve, but Frog protocols is not an officially endorsed or Valve-sponsored project. However, it is implied that people at Valve, as well as others in the ecosystem, are frustrated with the slow development in Wayland protocols.

What is one of the key problems users still face with Wayland, according to the speaker?

One of the key problems is missing functionality, which is why many users are still using X11. Issues like global shortcuts, accessibility features, and basic functionalities such as v-sync and GPU starvation remain unresolved under Wayland.

How does the speaker describe the process for submitting a protocol to Frog protocols?

To submit a protocol to Frog protocols, a developer needs to provide a client (an application that uses the protocol), a server (a Wayland compositor that implements the protocol), and ensure that the protocol will be used by more than one client. The project aims for rapid iteration and does not require perfect protocols before implementation.

What is the core philosophy behind Frog protocols' development approach?

The philosophy behind Frog protocols is to iterate quickly on protocols without requiring perfection before shipping. Instead of replacing entire protocols when an issue arises, developers can add new methods or events (like v2) and continue supporting older versions to avoid disruptions for end-users.

What specific examples of stalled protocols are mentioned in the transcript?

The speaker mentions a screen tearing protocol that sat around for multiple years before being merged. Another example is a protocol that is labeled as four years old on GitLab, but in reality, its development started six to eight years ago.

What criticisms does Simon Ser, head of wlroots, have regarding Frog protocols?

Simon Ser is critical of Frog protocols, arguing that bypassing the Wayland protocols consensus is not a good idea. He believes that the bar for Wayland protocols is not too high and that supporting third-party protocols like Frog's does not represent the Wayland community as a whole.

How does the speaker characterize the current state of Wayland protocols' governance model?

The speaker characterizes the Wayland protocols' governance model as 'broken,' with the process being dominated by theoretical debates and ideological biases. They argue that it resembles a standard body with unnecessary bureaucracy, resulting in the slow development of critical protocols.

What is the ultimate goal or hope for the future of Wayland protocols as suggested by the speaker?

The ultimate goal is for Frog protocols to force Wayland protocols to improve its processes, allowing for more rapid development and implementation of protocols. The speaker hopes this project will push Wayland to adapt and address the real-world needs of users and developers more effectively.