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Date:      Thu, 21 Dec 2017 00:29:40 +0100
From:      Michael Gmelin <freebsd@grem.de>
To:        portmaster@BSDforge.com
Cc:        freebsd-ports@freebsd.org
Subject:   Re: Vote: making wayland=on default
Message-ID:  <8EDCE5A5-391E-4529-9713-79901739CC6F@grem.de>
In-Reply-To: <9142f3e2938c84bd838b3764197226be@udns.ultimatedns.net>
References:  <9142f3e2938c84bd838b3764197226be@udns.ultimatedns.net>

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> On 20. Dec 2017, at 18:50, Chris H <portmaster@BSDforge.com> wrote:
>=20
> On Wed, 20 Dec 2017 17:13:43 +0000 <freebsd-ports-owner@freebsd.org> said
>=20
> On Wed, 20 Dec 2017 16:23:59 +0000 "Johannes Lundberg" <johalun0@gmail.com=
>
> said
>=20
>> On Wed, Dec 20, 2017 at 4:08 PM, Chris H <portmaster@bsdforge.com> wrote:=

>> > On Wed, 20 Dec 2017 09:20:20 +0000 "Johannes Lundberg"
>> <johalun0@gmail.com>
>> > said
>> >
>> >> Hi
>> >>
>> >> I want to suggest that we enable wayland by default. In current state
>> >> having some parts of wayland in ports is basically useless the
>> >> end-users themselves re-build gtk30 and mesa-libs with wayland
>> >> enabled.
>> >>
>> >> libwayland-egl.so from mesa-libs and the extra libraries and headers
>> >> from gtk30 adds like a few KB, a drop in the ocean compared to xorg
>> >> packages. (might be something more that I missed)
>> >>
>> >> Personally I see no reason not to make it default on, even with
>> >> flavors coming up. For any Desktop user (as well as embedded devices
>> >> like IVI-systems and whatnot), Wayland is the future. There's no
>> >> escaping that.
>> >>
>> >> Wayland has been quite usable on FreeBSD for over a year now but
>> >> access to it is limited due to the extra efforts required to use it.
>> >>
>> >> If we are to compare with the other guys, several Linux distros are
>> >> already switching to wayland-based compositors as default window
>> >> server.
>> >>
>> >> What do you think?
>> >
>> > IMHO it's (still) too early. Too much other X(org) related work
>> > still being completed. In fact, I just built a new dev box to
>> > track 12 (CURRENT), and this was the first time I was not required
>> > to pre generate a config file for Xorg. I was only required to
>> > inform /usr/local/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/nvidia-driver.conf that
>> > the driver was "nvidia", not "nv". Everything work(s|ed) famously.
>> > A real treat. I'm also a bit concerned about the progress (or lack
>> > there of) on network transparency.
>> > I (personally) could conceive it as a KERNEL OPTION, but would not
>> > want to see it in the Default kernel.
>> >
>> > Well, those are *my* thoughts. Because you asked. :-)
>> >
>> > --Chris
>> >
>> Thanks for your feedback!
>> Just to clarify, we're not talking about changing any defaults that
>> would impact or change users' choice of desktop. We only want to
>> enable Wayland compositors as an alternative to X (leaving X as is).
>> This does not break or modify anything existing. It does not force you
>> to do anything differently. It simply adds a couple of libraries that
>> you won't use unless you run Wayland stuff (if you install qt5/gtk30
>> and mesa-libs).
>> The reference to Linux making it default might have been unclear.
>> Since FreeBSD doesn't have a default desktop, it's hard to change. It
>> is and will continue to be up to the end user what they choose to use,
>> we only add more options :)
> Thanks for the informative reply, Johannes.
> So no kernel (libs/extensions)?
> Hmm, gtk3. Why is it not possible to make the Wayland stuff a sub
> package/option? I think this is the preferred track/policy anyway.
> I do this for all the ports I currently maintain. IOW any DE related
> stuff I install, that uses GNOME related material, will pull in gtk3,
> which, as I understand you say, will ultimately pull in Weston,mesa,...
> is that correct? While I understand, you indicate it's only a few Kb.
> I think it's cruft/(unnecessary)overhead. Which, in and of itself
> seems insignificant. But in the "big picture", and over many (100's)
> of builds/installations, is *not* insignificant. This also dismisses
> the security related work, maintaining extra un(used|needed) material.
> I suppose some will think that I'm just being nit-picky. But IMHO
> I'm not. This sort of thing, if overlooked, *does* affect the bottom
> line.
>=20
> Thanks again, Johannes!
>=20
> P.S. I have nothing against Wayland. I'm just not ready to run it
> on anything "production" related, just yet. :-)
>=20
> --Chris
>=20

The key is to have it in a state that easy to maintain and allows people to i=
nstall it using pkg install without conflicting with X, so you can switch ba=
ck and forth easily. I'm also not ready to switch to wayland yet (favorite w=
indow manager not available, so many custom configurations I came up with ov=
er the years etc.), but giving users an easy way to test it (or use it, as i=
t's becoming more and more mainstream now) is a good thing.=20

Having a modern, working, out of the box desktop (read: no custom kernel bui=
lds, no need to use ports, a laptop is the point of first contact for many p=
otential users) is incredibly important for proliferation and compared to th=
e total size of binaries required to run X, I think the usefulness of provid=
ing wayland easily outweighs the extra overhead.

Yours,
Michael


>> >>
>> >>
>> >> /Johannes
>> >
>> >
>>>=20
>=20
>=20
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