What can I replace X Pixmaps with?

[Simon Ser]

Hi,

On Friday, October 11, 2019 12:58 PM, Brandon Dowdy <brandonrd7 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> I know this mailing list is mainly for anything about Wayland and I know that Wayland doesn't deal with rendering, so this may be the wrong place to ask or get advice about this, but I just wanted to get some advice (and may be some ideas as well) for what I can replace X Pixmaps with(if I'm able to and if it's possible to do so, of course) since I'm feeling a bit stuck with that at the moment.
>
> I am working on a fork of a window decorator and I want to replace X Pixmaps with something else(or at least, an equivalent to it) so I can make it less X-specific and less X-reliant (and kind-of more cross-platform, perhaps...? If I know what I'm talking about and if you know what I'm talking about, that is) for rendering window decorations. 
>
> Is there anything that I can replace X Pixmaps with? I was mainly thinking cairo_surfaces from Cairo(unless I'm missing the point with this or I'm missing the point with how Cairo is *supposed* to be used) or EGLSurfaces from EGL(but it sounds like it would be a bit complicated(and just a *tad* bit over-engineered, perhaps...?) to set up *just* for a window decorator, but I don't know, I just want your opinion on this), but I don't know if those would be suitable to use for a window decorator or not(kind-of my third concern about this).
>
> Also, are there (available) replacements or substitutes or alternatives to using X Pixmaps that don't involve using X functions or do I have to try substituting X Pixmaps on my own (somehow?)
>
> I think that's it for all of the information and all of the questions that I have written down and thought about(at least, for now). I've been thinking and wondering about this for a little while now and I hope all of this is clear and understandable to you.

IMHO Cairo is a fine choice for this use-case. However, what are your
plans to make your window decorator work on Wayland? Is it tied to a
specific Wayland compositor?