kwin/COMPOSITE_TODO

This file lists TODO items for the compositing code.

See file COMPOSITE_HOWTO for setting up kwin_composite.
See file HACKING for details on developing KWin, including building
    the kwin_composite branch.
See effects/howto.* for a HOWTO on writting effects.
See documentation in source (mainly in scene.cpp) for description
    of the design of the compositing framework.

TODO
=================================

* = not done, will be either done by me, or should be at least discussed first with me
+ = not done, I don't plan on doing it that soon
    - in other words, these should be the best ones for you if you want to help
! = like +, but they should be relatively simple
    - in other words, these should be the best if you want to get started with the code
/ = work in progress
? = should it be done?
% = should be probably done later, during cleanups and preparations for being stable


General TODO
=================================

? alpha clear hack
+   - find out if it affects performance
+   - if yes, try to find a better way of solving the problem
!   - since kompmgr has an option to make only the decoration transparent,
        it should be possible to do the same here - if the window has alpha and a decoration
        or if there should be only the decoration transparent, paint first the contents
        and then the decoration - this should make it possible to paint the decoration
        without the random alpha that is right now handled by the alpha hack

? wait for decoration repaints
    - it is sometimes visible that the window contents are painted first and the decoration
        only afterwards with a small delay
?       - this has been already greatly improved by r632378, so it's maybe not worth it anymore
    - maybe posted paint events need to be processed immediatelly, or maybe the compositing
        code should not update the window until the decoration is finished painting

? Expose events for overlay window - is it necessary to track it, like with root window?

% paint throttling
    - there's 5ms grace period per repaint to avoid overloading the system with just compositing
        and not letting the system do anything else - check and evaluate 

% support for new window types from the wm spec for compositing
    - this will have to be done in Qt, kdecore and kwin

* handle properly stacking order of deleted windows for showing in effects

* handle properly deleted windows that reappear (windowReadded() function?)

/ consider using an extra class for representing deleted windows
    - cleaning up Client/Unmanaged instances may still leave e.g. timers around if they're overlooked
    - an extra class could copy some interesting data and "replace" the old instance

% during screensaving, do no let non-screensaver windows show above screensaver
    - kdesktop_lock watches for such things and raises again, but there's a small gap

% nvidia drivers by default use fake refresh rates as a workaround for some X limitations
    - see the DynamicTwinView section in nvidia README
    - this makes KWin repaint at a different rate than it should

/ handling of window pixmap for unmapped windows
    - currently it's kept around after a window is unmapped
*       - but it's still discarded on e.g. resize - how to solve this?
*   - perhaps there should be an option not to unmap windows in order to always have live thumbnails
*       - another option could be to unmap but quickly map when a live thumbnail is needed

* cursorPos() does not work reliably now (not from e.g. timers, it needs events), so it's disabled

* window grouping is not implemented for unmanaged windows (used e.g. by DimInactive)

% clean up and sort out shortcuts so that they don't conflict and make sense
    - also make configurable etc.

% installed headers currently include config.h files to find out about e.g. OpenGL
    - this needs to be sorted out somehow, installed headers shouldn't do this


OpenGL TODO
=================================

/ Check/make it work with other gfx cards

? Xgl support
    - Compiz itself doesn't work when compiled with the libGL from nvidia,
        it ships its own and links against it
?   - might be worth trying to use that libGL as well
    - it may be just because of the special libGL, but when testing with Xgl
        it even seemed non-conformant - none of the provided configs had
        GLX_RENDER_TYPE with GLX_RGBA_BIT even though required by GLX
        and other funny things. Indeed, it may be just me being still pretty
        clueless about these things.
?   - is there a good reason to support Xgl? With the 9625 nvidia drivers
        it seems to work fine without them and there's AIGLX
    
+ AIGLX support
    - kind of works, needs more work
+   - it needs indirect rendering, should be autodetected and disabled somehow
%   - may require LIBGL_ALWAYS_INDIRECT set with older X.org
        (http://lists.kde.org/?l=kwin&m=116439615124838&w=2)
        (http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/xorg/2006-December/020323.html)

/ GL_ARB_texture_rectangle vs GL_ARB_texture_non_power_of_two
%   - works; bugs in tfp_mode with power_of_two textures
        - ati (others?): power_of_two windows are drawn white unless non-tfp_mode
            is forced in findTextureTarget()

? in SceneOpenGL::bindTexture() with tfp_mode, with some gfx cards it seems
    to be faster to not short-circuit the texture binding when there's been
    no damage

+ strict binding
    - there is code to support strict binding as required by AIGLX, but it's disabled, because
        copy_buffer in bindTexture() ensures strict binding as a side-effect
    - since copy_buffer hack should be removed in the future, strict binding will need to be enabled then
    - http://lists.kde.org/?l=kwin&m=116363084129170&w=2

% bindTexture() optimize copied areas
    - right now bindTexture() updates every damaged area and resets the window damage
    - it might make things faster to update only areas that need to be repainted
        and keep the rest damaged until needed

% clipping optimization
    - like XRender code has paintTransformedScreen(), avoid painting parts that are
        obscured (makes a difference with many windows open)
    - http://lists.kde.org/?l=kwin&m=116585618111882&w=2

/ shm mode needs support for more data formats than GL_BGRA
    - http://www.xfree86.org/current/glTexImage2D.3.html
    - this now works for 16bpp, but maybe not 15bpp or less
    - endian issues?

% with current nvidia glXCreatePixmap in tfp mode fails with pixmaps 32x32 and smaller

+ vertices list (and possibly more things) should not be part of SceneOpenGL::Window
    - otherwise drawWindow() used for thumbnails would use them too
    - they should be probably part of WindowPaintData

% __GL_YIELD=NOTHING for NVidia reportedly improves perceived performance
    - it needs to be set somehow (http://lists.kde.org/?l=kwin&m=117794153720348&w=2)


XRender TODO
==============================

+ SceneXrender::Window::performPaint() doesn't use saturation
+ SceneXrender::Window::performPaint() doesn't use brightness

+ SceneXrender::paintTransformedScreen() doesn't handle properly extending of painted area
    in window's pre-paint - see the transformedShape() comment


Effects framework TODO
==============================

* more notification functions for effects are needed
    - currently there are only very few notification functions (windowAdded, windowActivated,...)
!   - window state changes
    ? more

/ shadows
+   - right now is only a rectangle, probably needs some shape support
+   - right now is only a flat black color, probably should be improved

/ support for grabbing input
    - during some more complicated effects, input (at least mouse) should be disabled,
        because currently there is no way to do input redirection

* PAINT_DISABLED turning off from effects needs some improvement
    - a window may have painting disabled for various reasons and their numbers may increase
        over time
        - so e.g. an effect showing minimized windows cannot simply turn off DISABLED
            for minimized windows, because it may be disabled also for other reasons
        - there should be some utility function that will be called by the effect
            with arguments saying which disabled windows it wants enabled

+ EffectWindow should be completely opaque when kept as the only API for effects
    - no inlines, etc.

+ API for tabbox for effects should be cleaned up

* check Scene::updateTimeDiff() - should the time be 0 or 1?

% post calls are probably not necessary by now (http://lists.kde.org/?t=117770818100003&r=1&w=2)

% consider using http://lists.kde.org/?l=kwin&m=118094888517415&w=2 for notification functions


Effects TODO
===============================

+ adapt the kcontrol module used by Kompmgr
    - in kcmkwin/kwinoptions
!   - uses ~/.xcompmgr, convert to use normal KConfig
?   - I don't think these effects should be plugins or anything like that,
        probably simply write to kwinrc and use the Option class in KWin

/ implements all effects Kompmgr could do
+   - all effects from the Opacity tab should be already doable
!       - applying translucency only to the decoration
            - use clientSize() and clientPos() from Client
            - see also the alpha clear hack todo entry
!       - not usign ARGB visuals
            - just clear the alpha channel in the alpha clear hack
            - or do it while painting (see also the alpha clear hack todo entry)
!       - the rest - should be simple
/   - shadows
+   - tab Effects
+       - fade between changes
            - will need notification about opacity changes
            - not sure if this is doable for other opacity changes then the ones
                initiated by the user or by the application

+ minimize/shade effects
    - to replace the ones from KWin core
/       - minimizing
            - check support for it and the avoid_animation flag
+       - shading
            - shading will probably need special support

/ zoom effect
    - enlarge a portion of the screen

+ logout effect
*   - should be triggered by ksmserver somehow

+ effects to replace widget effects (the ones in the Effects tab in "kcmshell style")
+   - needs support for new window types from the current draft of the EWMH WM spec
+       - needs patching Qt, netwm* classes in kdecore

/ showfps effect
    - for debugging, just shows transparent fps in some corner
    - just painting the number in paintScreen() should do, with glPushMatrix() and glLoadIdentity()
        to avoid all transformations
+   - needs bindPixmapToTexture() or something like that, for displaying the text
    - should also detect kwin being idle - it probably should detect in pre-paint that the only
        damage is its own area and avoid damaging for the next round in post-paint

+ debugpaint effect
    - should show what is damaged during each repaint step
    - probably just e.g. paint a red almost transparent area over damaged areas
    - needs special care to avoid causing infinite loops by its own damage (i.e. it damages
        part of screen to clear its own painting, that triggers itself again next repaint)

? other effects

+ virtual desktop change effects
+   - ... yes, you guessed it, the cube
+   - something that presents all virtual desktops as being in grid (as in pager)
        and zooms out of the old one and into the new one
    - or whatever

* DimInactive flickers when switching between windows (temporarily no window becomes active)