When I got my new computer a short time ago, I had some thinking to do. I really like OpenBox, I really do. The problem with OpenBox is that it’s based on xlib, which means it’s dependent on Xorg, and they have no plans on changing that anytime soon. I’m not a fan of full featured desktop environments, so OpenBox is perfect for me in so many ways except that. When I do run a full DE, I usually run LXDE because it’s light enough to stay out of my way, but generally I don’t even run that. I switchted from OpenBox to LXQT with Kwin.
Why? Well, even though KWin is still very much an Xorg window manager, it’s going to get Wayland support in the future. Wayland isn’t ready yet, so the fact that it doesn’t support it yet is fine for now. The main thing for me is that it’s moving in that direction, so I can be reasonably sure that when Xorg does phased out on Linux and Wayland takes it’s place, I can still use my WM. I know there will be an interim where Wayland will still run X apps via XWayland, but I’d rather not be dependent on a compatibility crutch in order to keep my machine going. It’s better that I switch to a system that is dependent on libraries that are being migrated, rather than on a system that may never make the cross over when it’s time. That way I can be ready for it, and I won’t have to change things up too much all at once.
If the OpenBox team ever decides to shift towards Wayland, I’ll be more than happy to switch back, but I don’t want to count on something that has no official plans for the future of the Linux desktop. It’s pretty much established that Linux will be moving toward Wayland, and even now, the BSD’s are starting to make the same move. Xorg has lived long past it’s prime, and it’s overdue to be put to the pasture. At the same time, I’m only making preparations for Wayland, but I will not be moving to it yet. Wayland is still far too young and buggy to replace Xorg for me just yet. They have a few major issues with child window placement ( menu dropdowns ), as well as with evicting those windows when they are no longer required ( they stay up until you kill the parent process ). This means that Wayland is still completely unusable for me, but at the same time, I need to be ready for it when it does come.
In the event that OpenBox, or the other BlackBox clones never migrate to a wayland compatible platform, I hope to see the WM cloned for Wayland. I’d do it myself, but I’m just not knowlegeable enough to be able to tackle that kind of task just yet. I might do it privately as a learning project, but I won’t announce anything publicly unless it ends up being at least decent. Not good, just decent is good enough for me to expose such a thing. If it becomes decent, other people wiser and smarter than I will get interested, and may start to contribute. I just would rather wait till I have something for them to contribute too, especially when it’s in a field that I’m not currently experienced in, and therefore not confident about.
To be fair, OpenBox has never said they wouldn’t migrate to Wayland that I’m aware of, so they might still do it. They haven’t announced any plans to even research it either, so I’m not confident in their reliability when the inevitable does happen. I’ll miss you OpenBox, and you’ll forever have a place in my heart!
Mark LaDoux 