The launch of the new version of Mir display server 2.5 which comes with some pretty cool improvements of which we can mention the addition of new Wayland extensions, as well as the work done for the on-screen keyboard support and more.
For those who do not know about Mir, they should know that there is a screen server that is developed by Canonical, despite the fact that I abandoned the development of the Unity shell and the Ubuntu edition for Smartphones.
Mir still in demand in Canonical projects and now I knowe positions as a solution for embedded devices and Internet of things (IoT). Mir can be used as a composite server for Wayland, allowing any Wayland-based application (eg built with GTK3 / 4, Qt5, or SDL2) to run in Mir-based environments.
The compatibility layer for X, XMir, is based on XWayland, while other parts of the infrastructure used by Mir originate from Android. These parts include the Android input stack and Google's Protocol Buffers. Mir currently runs on a variety of Linux-powered devices, including traditional desktops, IoT, and embedded products.
The Mir graphical server enables device manufacturers and desktop users to have a well defined, efficient, flexible and secure platform for their graphical environment.
Main novelties of Mir 2.5
In this new version that is presented of Mir 2.5 we can find that it is offer some additional tools to simplify the creation of Internet kiosks, demo stands, self-service terminals and other systems limited to working with a site or application.
It is also mentioned that this new version of Mir support for Wayland extensions included required for various on-screen keyboard implementations.
En particular, extensions have been added zwp_virtual_keyboard_v1, zwp_text_input_v3, zwp_input_method_v2 and the fourth version of the extension wlr_layer_shell_unstable_v1, these new extensions zwp_text_input_v3 and zwp_input_method_v2 require explicit activation by defaultas attackers can use them to intercept input events or substitute clicks. Bug fixes related to Wayland and Xwayland compatibility.
On the other hand it is mentioned that work is underway to integrate on-screen keyboard support into Ubuntu Frame, which is designed to create full screen integrated graphics environments focused on kiosks, digital signage, smart mirrors, industrial displays, IoT devices and other similar applications.
And it is that for the use in Ubuntu Frame, the developers have prepared the Electron Wayland app with the implementation of a full-screen browser designed to work with individual web sites or pages. Additionally, Ubuntu Frame can be used to run GTK, Qt, Flutter, and SDL2 based applications.
Finally if you are interested in knowing more about this new version of Mir, you can check the details In the following link.
How to install Mir on Ubuntu and derivatives?
The installation packages of this new version are prepared for Ubuntu 18.04, 21.04 and 20.04 (PPA) and Fedora 34,33 and 32.
For those who are interested in being able to install this graphic server on their systems, all they have to do is open a terminal on their systems (they can do it with the key combination Ctrl + Alt + T or with Ctrl + T) and in it we are going to type the following commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:mir-team/release sudo apt-get update
With this, the repository is already added to your system, before installing the graphical server it is fully recommended that if you are using private drivers on your system for your video card or integrated, change these to free drivers, this in order to avoid conflicts.
Once we are sure that we have the free drivers activated, we can install the server by executing in the terminal:
sudo apt-get install mir
At the end you will have to restart your system so that the user session with Mir is loaded and you choose this for your session.
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