02.07.06
Linux : Finally on the desktop thanks to OpenGL ?
Thanks to Novell !! See this announcement from Miguel de Icaza or this one from Alexandre Gomes for Xgl and the new compositing manager ..
I am looking forward to having everything working on my Ubuntu box… And having applications (f-spot, etc…) using this technology intensively.
So now, what does the Graphical Layering look like, under Linux ? How is Cairo/Glitz related to Xgl ? As far as I understand :
- Cairo is the equivalent of Apple Quartz: it provides a vector-based graphics library. In other words: an API that allows you to draw lines, rectangles, etc. Cairo then uses one of its backends (such as Glitz) to do the actual rendering
- Glitz is an image compositing library based on OpenGL. It can be used directly, but also integrates with Cairo. An example of OpenGL rendering with Glitz can be found here.
- GTK+ is a widget toolkit that uses Cairo for the drawing of its components. In other words : GTK+ provides windows, buttons, text areas, etc, and Cairo is used to draw the lines to represent these buttons.
- Xgl is the future of X.org Server, layered on top of OpenGL and Glitz.
So, as far as I understand, things would be rendered this way :
- For GTK+ Applications (Inside Application Windows) : GTK -> Cairo -> Glitz -> OpenGL
- For classical X applications using the traditional X API :
- With Xgl : Application -> Xlib -> Glitz -> OpenGL
- With standard X : Application -> Xlib -> Driver-specific acceleration ?
More information about this ?
Other information about the subject :