The test release of the Xfce 4.20 Pre1 desktop environment has been published, aimed at providing a classic desktop environment that requires minimal system resources. The Xfce 4.20 branch has been moved to a freezing stage, preventing the addition of new features to the core components and shifting the developers' focus to stabilizing the existing codebase. Before the release, scheduled for December 15, one or two more test releases will be formed.
A key innovation in the Xfce 4.20 branch is the experimental support for using the Wayland protocol. To abstract the operation over Wayland and X11, a new library called libxfce4windowing is involved, offering a graphics system-independent layer where window management components (screens, root windows, virtual desktops, etc.) are implemented. Instead of libmutter, the wlroots library, developed by the Sway project, is used in the Wayland session.
The Wayland session in Xfce 4.20 covers the full range of available features but is noted as requiring further refinement for full everyday use. The capability to operate with Wayland is implemented in almost all Xfce components and applications, with exceptions including xfce4-taskmanager, xfce4-screensaver, xfce4-embed-plugin, xfce4-xkb-plugin, xfce4-windowck-plugin, and xfce4-volumed-pulse. Support for X11 is not planned to be removed in the near future.
Developers of the Xfce desktop environment have also announced a competition for creating new wallpapers for the Xfce 4.20 release. Submissions should be in vector graphic formats and distributed under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license. A mandatory condition is the inclusion of the unaltered Xfce mouse image in the work. Entries will be accepted until November 15, after which a winner will be chosen based on community voting.
Source: opennet.ru
