The developers of the SDL library, known as Simple DirectMedia Layer, have decided to cancel the planned change that would have transitioned the SDL3 branch to use the Wayland protocol alongside X11. This decision was made due to unresolved problems within the Wayland ecosystem, particularly related to blocking surfaces and the implementation of FIFO (VSYNC). These issues have been linked to a decrease in performance and cannot be fully resolved without the implementation of additional protocols such as fifo-v1 and commit-timing-v1.
It has been highlighted that without addressing these problems, the shift from X11 to Wayland would not provide any benefits for regular applications and games, but instead lead to a significant performance decrease and regression. The SDL developers have stated that they will only reconsider the transition to Wayland after the approval and implementation of the FIFO-V1 and Commit-Timing-V1 protocols in stable versions of the main composite managers.
Moreover, the first test release of the new SDL 3 branch has been announced. This release includes significant changes such as the restructuring of subsystems, introduction of API-breaking changes, and removal of outdated features that are no longer relevant in modern contexts. The sound code has been completely redesigned, support for Opengl ES 1.0 and DirectFB has been discontinued, and code for platforms like QNX, Pandora, WinRT, and OS/2 has been deleted. The API for 2D-scenes has been added for rendering via the Vulkan API, and support for HDR and color spaces has been expanded. New features include API changes for transparent windows, support for video capture via web cameras, and compatibility with tablets and digital pens. Additionally, new dialogs for file opening and saving have been introduced, along with integration with the multimedia server Pipewire. Click here for further details.