Introduced the second preview release of the Xfwl4 composite server using the Wayland protocol. Xfwl4, written in Rust using the Smithay library, aims at implementing all the functionality available in xfwm4 window manager. The project does not overlap with the xfwm4 code base but takes into account the specifics of using Wayland instead of X11 to provide a seamless user experience. The goal is to allow users to switch between Xfwl4 and xfwm4 without noticing the differences.
Xfwl4 includes advanced functions such as reworking the logic for launching sessions, implementing the Wayland protocol xdg-session-management, and supporting launching X11 applications using XWayland. Built on the Smithay library, Xfwl4 leverages almost all official extensions to the Wayland protocol, as well as the wlroots and KDE protocols. The code for Xfwl4 is distributed under the GPLv3 license, in contrast to the GPLv2 license for the xfwm4 window manager code.
Changes in the second preview version include bug fixes, improved compatibility with xfwm4, and additional functionality. Updates in this version of Xfwl4 introduce support for expanding windows vertically and horizontally, implementation of the xfce-foreign-toplevel-management-private-v1 protocol, a confirmation dialog for forcibly terminating frozen applications, keyboard shortcuts for cyclic switching between windows and applications, and the ability to adjust window transparency by horizontally scrolling with the mouse in the window title area.