KWin Now Supports Suspended Compositing

[phoronix]

Phoronix: KWin Now Supports Suspended Compositing

KDE's KWin compositing window manager now supports suspended compositing that can be toggled by applications to provide a cleaner solution for stopping for removing the OpenGL context created by the KDE window manager and blocking the effects system so that directed full-screen applications and games should work better, especially with less than stellar graphics drivers...

http://www.phoronix.com/vr.php?view=OTI4Ng

[DoDoENT]

Martin is hoping that the user-interface for toggling compositing can be removed in KDE SC 4.8 as manually changing states will no longer be needed.

PLEASE DON'T DO THAT!!!

Even if automatic toggling of compositing would work perfectly in KDE 4.8, please do not remove the user-interface for manually toggling the compositing.

[Joe Sixpack]

KDE's KWin compositing window manager now supports suspended compositing that can be toggled by applications to provide a cleaner solution for stopping for removing the OpenGL context created by the KDE window manager and blocking the effects system so that directed full-screen applications and games should work better, especially with less than stellar graphics drivers.

DAMN that has to be the longest sentence in the history of the internet!! 50 words before we even get a comma =\

[Awesomeness]

PLEASE DON'T DO THAT!!!

Even if automatic toggling of compositing would work perfectly in KDE 4.8, please do not remove the user-interface for manually toggling the compositing.

As far as I can see he does not talk about removing the dbus API which means that just a launcher has to be created that executes:

qdbus org.kde.kwin /KWin org.kde.KWin.toggleCompositing

[Melcar]

PLEASE DON'T DO THAT!!!

Even if automatic toggling of compositing would work perfectly in KDE 4.8, please do not remove the user-interface for manually toggling the compositing.

I second this. I will be really moronic on their part. I can see them doing it though, kind of like how they messed with powerdevil.

[plonoma]

Not all full-screen applications should suspend compositing, such as when running a web-browser full-screen, but in this case of playing back videos full-screen or a game, KWin compositing can be safely suspended. When an application tells KWin to suspend compositing, it's blocked (with the effects system suspend and OpenGL context removed) until no application is requesting this change of state.

Martin Gräßlin is hoping multi-media applications, games, and Wine will implement support for this suspend-compositing call. The KDE developers are also hoping to make this part of the NETWM specification.

It would be better if the KDE developers let KWin see if an application does truly fullscreen or
just like the webbrowser and take the appropriate action accordingly.

Seriously, adapting all applications with something that can be done automatically on the KDE infrastructure side? Horrible way of dealing with stuff. And it's going to take a heck of an efford and time. KWin is made for figuring out this kind of stuff.

[C-MoH]

I hope I'll be able to disable this new feature, so that automatic disabling of effects is disabled.

I use kwin effects to work in other windows while some apps are full-screen, and monitor them in thumbnails or so (movies etc). This works wonderfully with multiple monitors. Even if their devs decide they know better, and stop kwin effects, I want to the option of saying "no, it's my computer, and I know better".

[DoDoENT]

I use kwin effects to work in other windows while some apps are full-screen, and monitor them in thumbnails or so (movies etc). This works wonderfully with multiple monitors. Even if their devs decide they know better, and stop kwin effects, I want to the option of saying "no, it's my computer, and I know better".

[elanthis]

It would be better if the KDE developers let KWin see if an application does truly fullscreen or
just like the webbrowser and take the appropriate action accordingly.

And you think that's even technically possible why, exactly?

X11 doesn't have a "full screen" mode. Apps just set their window size accordingly. It's pretty hokey.

The only thing the WM/compositor can really tell is whether an application has a fullscreen, top-level, on-top window or not. Whether that app happens to be a game or a LibreOffice slideshow or a web browser, the WM has no freaking clue.

That is in part why the KWin folks mentioned a NETWM addition for apps to signal whether they want "maximum performance" full screen. That would then finally allow apps to give the WM enough information to make those kinds of intelligent decisions.

Since that protocol does not yet exist, at all, it means that apps will need to be updated.

And that's what happens when you design a half-ass system without thinking things through from the start and relying on "evolving the API over time, hey it's Open Source, we can just update _every damn app in the world_ to comply with the update!"

[deanjo]

PLEASE DON'T DO THAT!!!

Even if automatic toggling of compositing would work perfectly in KDE 4.8, please do not remove the user-interface for manually toggling the compositing.

Especially since not everyone wants to run a composited desktop.