Compiz
Encyclopedia
Compiz is one of the first compositing window manager
s for the X Window System
that uses 3D graphics hardware to create fast compositing
desktop effects for window management. The effects, such as a minimization effect and a cube workspace are implemented as loadable plugins. Because it conforms to the Inter-Client Communication Conventions Manual
standard, Compiz can substitute for the default Mutter
in GNOME
or KWin
in KDE
.
Compiz plugins include the cube effect (example to the right), Alt-Tab
application-switching with live previews or icons, and a feature similar to Exposé
. The Composite extension
to X is used, as is the OpenGL
extension GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap. The first version of Compiz was released as free software
by Novell
(SUSE
) in January 2006 in the wake of the (also new) Xgl
.
and ATI
graphics cards are known to work with Compiz on Xgl. Since May 22, 2006 Compiz works on the standard X.Org Server
, by using AIGLX
. Besides the Intel GMA
graphics cards, AIGLX also supports using the ATI graphics cards (including R300, R400 and R500 cards) using the open-source radeon driver which supports GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap since fall 2006.
NVIDIA's binary drivers (since Version 1.0-9629) support GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap on standard X.Org server.
ATI
/AMD's binary drivers do since version 8.42.
(a fork of Compiz) and Compiz communities led to a merger of the two communities which results in two new software packages:
Outcomes include plans to fund a code review panel consisting of the best developers from each community who will see that any code included in a release package meets the highest standards and is suitable for distribution
in an officially supported package.
and OpenGL
layers for the rendering of the window manager without compositing effects, and the port from C
to C++
programming language. NOMAD was geared towards the improvement of remote desktop
performance for Compiz installations. However NOMAD is now defunct and the home page no longer exists.
On July 4, 2010, Sam Spilsbury announced the release of Compiz 0.9.0, still in unstable release, with a new API, rewritten in C++.
In addition, Emerald, Beryl
's custom decorator with its own theme format, has been ported to Compiz as part of the Compiz Fusion project (see below) and is available in unofficial packages.
Compiz (Aiglx and XGL) can also be set up on almost any other GNU/Linux-based distribution if the code is compiled correctly; however, there is no support available for this and it is not always a straight-forward procedure. In addition to these Linux distributions, PC-BSD
also provides out of the box support for Compiz. However, this option is not enabled by default. FreeBSD
is also capable, and the required sources are found in the ports tree.
.
Compositing window manager
A compositing window manager is a type of window manager. A window manager is software that draws a graphical user interface on a computer display – it positions windows, draws additional elements on windows , and controls how windows interact with each other, and with the rest of the desktop...
s for the X Window System
X Window System
The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
that uses 3D graphics hardware to create fast compositing
Compositing
Compositing is the combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. Live-action shooting for compositing is variously called "chroma key", "blue screen", "green screen" and other names. Today,...
desktop effects for window management. The effects, such as a minimization effect and a cube workspace are implemented as loadable plugins. Because it conforms to the Inter-Client Communication Conventions Manual
Inter-Client Communication Conventions Manual
In computing, the Inter-Client Communication Conventions Manual is a standard for interoperability between X Window System clients of the same X server. It is primarily used for communication between normal clients and the window manager. It was designed by David S. H. Rosenthal of the MIT X...
standard, Compiz can substitute for the default Mutter
Mutter (window manager)
Mutter is the window manager for which GNOME Shell is a plugin in GNOME 3, replacing Metacity....
in GNOME
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
or KWin
KWin
KWin is a window manager for the X Window System. It is an integral part of the KDE Software Compilation, although it can be used on its own or with other desktop environments.- History :- Look and feel :...
in KDE
KDE
KDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
.
Compiz plugins include the cube effect (example to the right), Alt-Tab
Alt-Tab
' is the common name for a keyboard shortcut that has been in Microsoft Windows since Windows 3.0. This shortcut switches between top-level windows without using the mouse; hence it was named Task Switcher ....
application-switching with live previews or icons, and a feature similar to Exposé
Exposé (Mac OS X)
Exposé is a feature of the Mac OS X operating system. First previewed on 23 June 2003 at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference as a feature of the then forthcoming Mac OS X v10.3, Exposé allows a user to quickly locate an open window, or to hide all windows and show the desktop without the need...
. The Composite extension
Composite (graphics)
The Composite Extension of the X Window System renders the graphical output of clients "...to an off-screen buffer. Applications can then take the contents of that buffer and do whatever they like...
to X is used, as is the OpenGL
OpenGL
OpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
extension GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap. The first version of Compiz was released as free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
by Novell
Novell
Novell, Inc. is a multinational software and services company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Attachmate Group. It specializes in network operating systems, such as Novell NetWare; systems management solutions, such as Novell ZENworks; and collaboration solutions, such as Novell Groupwise...
(SUSE
SUSE Linux distributions
SUSE Linux is a computer operating system. It is built on top of the open source Linux kernel and is distributed with system and application software from other open source projects. SUSE Linux is of German origin and mainly developed in Europe. The first version appeared in early 1994, making...
) in January 2006 in the wake of the (also new) Xgl
Xgl
Xgl was an X server architecture designed to take advantage of modern graphics cards via their OpenGL drivers, layered on top of OpenGL via glitz. It supported hardware acceleration of all X, OpenGL and XVideo applications and graphical effects by a compositing window manager such as Compiz or...
.
Hardware requirements
Initially, Compiz only worked with 3D hardware which was supported by Xgl. Most NVIDIANVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
and ATI
ATI Technologies
ATI Technologies Inc. was a semiconductor technology corporation based in Markham, Ontario, Canada, that specialized in the development of graphics processing units and chipsets. Founded in 1985 as Array Technologies Inc., the company was listed publicly in 1993 and was acquired by Advanced Micro...
graphics cards are known to work with Compiz on Xgl. Since May 22, 2006 Compiz works on the standard X.Org Server
X.Org Server
X.Org Server refers to the X server release packages stewarded by the X.Org Foundation,which is hosted by freedesktop.org, and grants...
, by using AIGLX
AIGLX
Accelerated Indirect GLX is an open source project founded by Red Hat and the Fedora community, led by Kristian Høgsberg, to allow accelerated indirect GLX rendering capabilities to the X.Org Server and DRI drivers...
. Besides the Intel GMA
Intel GMA
The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator, or GMA, is a series of Intel integrated graphics processors built into various motherboard chipsets....
graphics cards, AIGLX also supports using the ATI graphics cards (including R300, R400 and R500 cards) using the open-source radeon driver which supports GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap since fall 2006.
NVIDIA's binary drivers (since Version 1.0-9629) support GLX_EXT_texture_from_pixmap on standard X.Org server.
ATI
Ati
As a word, Ati may refer to:* Ati, a town in Chad* Ati, a Negrito ethnic group in the Philippines* Ati-Atihan Festival, an annual celebration held in the Philippines* Ati, a queen of the fabled Land of Punt in Africa...
/AMD's binary drivers do since version 8.42.
Merge of the Compiz and Beryl communities
On March 30, 2007, discussions between the BerylBeryl (window manager)
Beryl was a compositing window manager for the X Window System which forked from Compiz in September 2006 and was re-merged in 2007, under the name of Compiz Fusion.-Origin:...
(a fork of Compiz) and Compiz communities led to a merger of the two communities which results in two new software packages:
- Compiz, (also Compiz-core) which contains only the core functionality of compiz and base plugins
- Compiz Fusion, consisting of the plugins, decorators, settings tools and related applications from the Beryl and Compiz communities. Compiz Fusion concentrates on installation, configuration and additional plugins to add to the core functionalities of Compiz.
Outcomes include plans to fund a code review panel consisting of the best developers from each community who will see that any code included in a release package meets the highest standards and is suitable for distribution
in an officially supported package.
Further branches
In the fourth quarter of 2008, two separate branches of Compiz were created: compiz++ and NOMAD; compiz++ was geared toward the separation of compositingCompositing window manager
A compositing window manager is a type of window manager. A window manager is software that draws a graphical user interface on a computer display – it positions windows, draws additional elements on windows , and controls how windows interact with each other, and with the rest of the desktop...
and OpenGL
OpenGL
OpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
layers for the rendering of the window manager without compositing effects, and the port from C
C (programming language)
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....
to C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
programming language. NOMAD was geared towards the improvement of remote desktop
Remote desktop software
In computing, the term remote desktop refers to a software or an OS feature allowing applications, either command line programs or graphical applications, to be run remotely on a server, while being displayed locally. Remote desktop applications have varying features...
performance for Compiz installations. However NOMAD is now defunct and the home page no longer exists.
Merge of the Compiz branches
On February 2, 2009 a conference call was held between developers of Compiz, Compiz++, NOMAD and Compiz Fusion where it was decided to merge the projects together into a unified project, simply named Compiz, with a unified roadmap.On July 4, 2010, Sam Spilsbury announced the release of Compiz 0.9.0, still in unstable release, with a new API, rewritten in C++.
Included plugins
- Annotate: draw things on top of all windows
- Clone: duplicate output on two screens
- Cube: each virtual desktop becomes a face on a prismPrism (geometry)In geometry, a prism is a polyhedron with an n-sided polygonal base, a translated copy , and n other faces joining corresponding sides of the two bases. All cross-sections parallel to the base faces are the same. Prisms are named for their base, so a prism with a pentagonal base is called a...
- Decoration: a plugin to communicate decoration settings to a decorator
- D-Bus: D-BusD-BusIn computing, D-Bus is a simple inter-process communication open-source system for software applications to communicate with one another. Heavily influenced by KDE2–3's DCOP system, D-Bus has replaced DCOP in the KDE 4 release. An implementation of D-Bus supports most POSIX operating...
interfacing - Fade: windows fade in and out
- Gconf: settings come from GNOME
- Ini: Text based configuration
- Inotify: an inotify plugin which allows plugin developers to easily access inotify. It is currently used to notify settings programs when new plugins are added to the plugins directory.
- Minimize: windows minimize (and maximize/restore) with an animation effect
- Move: window moving
- Place: placement of new windows
- Png: allows plugin developers to load PNG files as textures without worrying about the image format.
- Resize: window resizing
- Rotate: the desktop cube can be rotated
- Scale: an overview of all open windows (similar to Mac OS XMac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
's ExposéExposé (Mac OS X)Exposé is a feature of the Mac OS X operating system. First previewed on 23 June 2003 at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference as a feature of the then forthcoming Mac OS X v10.3, Exposé allows a user to quickly locate an open window, or to hide all windows and show the desktop without the need...
) - Svg: allows plugin developers to load svg files as textures. Other image plugins can be added so that extra image types will be seamlessly supported.
- Switcher: active windowActive windowAn active window is the currently focused window in the current window manager or explorer. Different window managers indicate the currently-active window in different ways and allow the user to switch between windows in different ways. For example, in Microsoft Windows, if both Notepad and...
can be chosen with Alt-Tab - Video: accelerated video output
- Water: ripples trailing mouse and rain effect
- Widget layer: display a configurable set of widgets (similar to Mac OS X's Dashboard)
- Wobbly: windows wobble while they move (Based on the ACM UIST paper of Bruce H. Thomas and Paul Calder)
- Zoom: magnifies a part of screen
Community plugins (Compiz Fusion)
- Animation: animation effects for window events
- Benchmark: plugin to gauge performance
- Bs: brightness and saturation control
- Crashhandler: crash handling through gdb and recovery
- Cube Gears: 3D animated gears in the center of the cube
- Cube Reflection: Draws a reflection of the cube
- Group And Tabs: group windows and access them through a tab bar similar to the well-known feature in browsers
- Negative: inverts color of a window or screen
- Put: moves windows using key bindings
- Reflection: watermarks window decorations, similar to Aero-Glass by default
- Screenshot: mode to capture screen regions with the mouse
- Shift Switcher: Provides Flip 3d and Cover Switching of windows
- State: set default opacity and other options for types of windows
- Trailfocus: unfocused windows fade with time
- Mousegestures: advanced mouse gestures to control effect
Third-party plugins
Experimental
- AnaglyphAnaglyph imageAnaglyph images are used to provide a stereoscopic 3D effect, when viewed with glasses where the two lenses are different colors, such as red and cyan. Images are made up of two color layers, superimposed, but offset with respect to each other to produce a depth effect...
- Cube Atlantis
- Firepaint
- Freewins
- Visual Event
- Sound
- Wiimote + Wiitrack
Decorators
Compiz uses small programs called decorators which draw the window borders with the usual minimize, maximize and close buttons. Compiz provides two window decorators.- gtk-window-decorator uses either a basic cairoCairo (graphics)cairo is a software library used to provide a vector graphics-based, device-independent API for software developers. It is designed to provide primitives for 2-dimensional drawing across a number of different backends...
based rendering engine or can use metacityMetacityMetacity was the window manager used by default in the GNOME desktop environment until GNOME 3, where it was replaced by Mutter. The development of Metacity was started by Havoc Pennington and it is released under the GNU General Public License....
themes. - kde-window-decorator uses native KDEKDEKDE is an international free software community producing an integrated set of cross-platform applications designed to run on Linux, FreeBSD, Microsoft Windows, Solaris and Mac OS X systems...
themes
In addition, Emerald, Beryl
Beryl (window manager)
Beryl was a compositing window manager for the X Window System which forked from Compiz in September 2006 and was re-merged in 2007, under the name of Compiz Fusion.-Origin:...
's custom decorator with its own theme format, has been ported to Compiz as part of the Compiz Fusion project (see below) and is available in unofficial packages.
Patches
Along with plugins, the Compiz community developers often release code patches for existing plugins when the feature does not warrant a plugin of its own; or when it utilizes many of the portions of an existing plugin. Code patches can then be sent to the mailing list for eventual inclusion in the main Compiz distribution. The community provides a valuable testing ground for new ideas.Deployments
Compiz is currently available in the following Linux and Unix distributions (either officially or through a third party):- Arch LinuxArch LinuxArch Linux is an independently developed, Linux-based operating system for i686 and x86-64 computers. It is composed predominantly of free and open source software, and supports community involvement....
- available in the [community] repository. - CentOSCentOSCentOS is a free operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux . It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution...
5 - Debian GNU/LinuxDebianDebian is a computer operating system composed of software packages released as free and open source software primarily under the GNU General Public License along with other free software licenses. Debian GNU/Linux, which includes the GNU OS tools and Linux kernel, is a popular and influential...
- available since version 4 (etch) - DreamlinuxDreamlinuxDreamlinux is a Brazilian computer operating system based on Debian GNU/Linux. It can boot as a live CD, from USB flash drive, or can be installed on a hard drive...
- installed but not activated - FedoraFedora (operating system)Fedora is a RPM-based, general purpose collection of software, including an operating system based on the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported Fedora Project and sponsored by Red Hat...
installed by default since version 6. - Foresight LinuxForesight Linux- External links :* *...
- installed but not activated in a default 1.0.1 installation. - Frugalware LinuxFrugalwareFrugalware Linux is a general-purpose Linux distribution designed for intermediate users who are familiar with command-line operations. Early versions were based on Slackware, but it is now an independently-developed distribution...
- available in the extra repository in 0.4 and onwards (see howto) - Gentoo LinuxGentoo LinuxGentoo Linux is a computer operating system built on top of the Linux kernel and based on the Portage package management system. It is distributed as free and open source software. Unlike a conventional software distribution, the user compiles the source code locally according to their chosen...
- available in main portage tree- SabayonLinuxSabayonLinuxSabayon Linux or Sabayon , is a Gentoo-based Linux distribution created by Fabio Erculiani and the Sabayon development team. Sabayon follows the "Out of the box" philosophy, aiming to give the user a wide number of applications ready to use and a self-configured operating system...
- a live DVD-CD distribution based on Gentoo that automatically sets up Xgl when added to boot time parameters - KororaaKororaaKororaa is a remix of the Fedora GNU/Linux distribution. Originally Kororaa was a binary installation method for Gentoo Linux which aimed for easy installation of a Gentoo system by using install scripts instead of manual configuration. The name is an alternate spelling for the Māori word, ...
- a live CDLive CDA live CD, live DVD, or live disc is a CD or DVD containing a bootable computer operating system. Live CDs are unique in that they have the ability to run a complete, modern operating system on a computer lacking mutable secondary storage, such as a hard disk drive...
distribution of Gentoo Linux - VidaLinuxVidaLinuxVidaLinux is an operating system based on Gentoo Linux. Because Gentoo is notorious for its arduous installation process, VidaLinux uses the Red Hat Anaconda installer to make it easier for end users to install it. Its default desktop environment is GNOME. The purpose of VLOS is to make the Linux...
- available in the 1.3-alpha4 release. VidaLinux homepage
- SabayonLinux
- Mandriva LinuxMandriva LinuxMandriva Linux is a Linux distribution distributed by Mandriva. It uses the RPM Package Manager...
- both Xgl and Aiglx with Compiz are included as standard in Mandriva starting in version 2007, and continuing with later versions, including "Mandriva One" live CDs releases. - openmamba http://www.openmamba.org - available as default settings.
- OpenSolarisOpenSolarisOpenSolaris was an open source computer operating system based on Solaris created by Sun Microsystems. It was also the name of the project initiated by Sun to build a developer and user community around the software...
- OpenIndianaOpenIndianaOpenIndiana is a Unix-like computer operating system released as free and open source software. It forked from OpenSolaris after the discontinuation of that project by Oracle and aims to continue development and distribution of the OpenSolaris codebase. The project operates under the umbrella of...
- Solaris 11
- PCLinuxOSPCLinuxOSPCLinuxOS, often shortened to PCLOS, is a GNU/Linux distribution, with KDE Plasma Desktop as its default user interface. It is a primarily free software operating system for personal computers aimed at ease of use...
- both Compiz and BerylBeryl (window manager)Beryl was a compositing window manager for the X Window System which forked from Compiz in September 2006 and was re-merged in 2007, under the name of Compiz Fusion.-Origin:...
are available in the 2007 release. - PLD Linux Distribution - available in PLD 3.0 (Th)
- RHEL 5 - Community builds available, although no official support
- RHEL 6
- Slackware Linux - available in the stable 12.0, release.
- openSUSEOpenSUSEopenSUSE is a general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported openSUSE Project and sponsored by SUSE...
- Version 10.1 and above of this Linux distribution contains out of the box support for Xgl and Compiz. Tutorials for using Xgl and Compiz on older SUSE Linux version are available at the OpenSUSE.org website. - SUSE Linux Enterprise DesktopSUSE Linux Enterprise DesktopSUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop , formerly introduced as Novell Linux Desktop, is a Linux distribution supplied by Novell and targeted at the business market. It is targeted for desktops. New major versions are released at an interval of 24–36 months, while minor versions are released every 9–12...
- SLED 10 and newer include both Xgl and Compiz, along with an easy configuration panel icon to enable/disable the visual effects. - UbuntuUbuntu (operating system)Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
- available in Ubuntu 6.06 LTS and later from in the universe aptAdvanced Packaging ToolThe Advanced Packaging Tool, or APT, is a free user interface that works with core libraries to handle the installation and removal of software on the Debian GNU/Linux distribution and its variants...
repository. A limited version is included by default as "Desktop-Effects" in Ubuntu 7.04 (Feisty Fawn). Since Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon), Compiz Fusion is enabled by default. - Linux MintLinux MintLinux Mint is a Linux-based computer operating system best known for its usability and ease of installation, particularly for users with no previous GNU/Linux experience...
- YOPERYOPERYoper Linux—Your Operating System—is a Linux distribution for PCs with i686 or higher processor types. It can be used for both personal computers and server use and uses hardware recognition tools known from Knoppix...
- installed but not activated in a default installation as well as on version 3 - Titanum's live CD.
Compiz (Aiglx and XGL) can also be set up on almost any other GNU/Linux-based distribution if the code is compiled correctly; however, there is no support available for this and it is not always a straight-forward procedure. In addition to these Linux distributions, PC-BSD
PC-BSD
PC-BSD is a Unix-like, desktop-oriented operating system based on FreeBSD. It aims to be easy to install by using a graphical installation program, and easy and ready-to-use immediately by providing KDE SC as the pre-installed graphical user interface. PC-BSD provides official binary nVidia and...
also provides out of the box support for Compiz. However, this option is not enabled by default. FreeBSD
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a free Unix-like operating system descended from AT&T UNIX via BSD UNIX. Although for legal reasons FreeBSD cannot be called “UNIX”, as the direct descendant of BSD UNIX , FreeBSD’s internals and system APIs are UNIX-compliant...
is also capable, and the required sources are found in the ports tree.
Funding
Canonical Ltd. has hired Sam Spilsbury, lead Compiz developer, to further develop Compiz for UbuntuUbuntu (operating system)
Ubuntu is a computer operating system based on the Debian Linux distribution and distributed as free and open source software. It is named after the Southern African philosophy of Ubuntu...
.
See also
- Comparison of X window managersComparison of X window managersThis article compares variety of different X window managers. For an introduction to the topic, see X Window System.- See also :* Comparison of X Window System desktop environments* Window manager...
- VirtualGLVirtualGLVirtualGL is an open source program which redirects the 3D rendering commands from Unix and Linux OpenGL applications to 3D accelerator hardware in a dedicated server and displays the rendered output interactively to a thin client located elsewhere on the network.- The problem :Normally, VNC and...
- DeskSpace
- Project Looking GlassProject Looking GlassProject Looking Glass is a now inactive free software project under the GPL to create an innovative 3D desktop environment for Linux, Solaris, and Windows. It was sponsored by Sun Microsystems....
External links
- The Compiz website
- Video demonstration of IBM motion sensor integration
- Freedesktop.org wiki for Compiz
- Video Card Support Under XGL
- Linux Edge report Compiz Window Manager Released - Slides, screenshots and a video with more effects