Linux 窗口管理器 Compiz 简史
Compiz
![](/data/attachment/album/202308/15/142548ptnne97ce848c04t.jpg)



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> 你会在 Linux 讨论中听到 Compiz 这个词。在此简要介绍一下 Compiz。
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今天，我们听到人们谈论 “[发行版快闪](/article-15949-1.html)”。我们中的一些人可能对此深有感触。尝试具有新功能的新 Linux 发行版是很难抗拒的。即使我也不能幸免，我有几台笔记本电脑，我经常在上面尝试新的操作系统（如果我怀旧的话，可以尝试旧的操作系统）。


但曾经有一段时间，发行版快闪并不常见，因为在 Linux 诞生之初，发行版较少。我们许多早期用户所做的就是使用不同的窗口管理器。


![compiz - magic lamp effect - Courtesy of Wikimedia](/data/attachment/album/202308/15/142754wuoyxnc7v3u3l3b1.png)


[Compiz](https://code.launchpad.net/compiz) 是这些窗口管理器之一，于 2006 年发布。它是 [X Window 系统](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_Window_System) 最古老的合成窗口管理器之一，在当时相当先进。窗口管理器不再像以前那样流行，但 Compiz 仍然在维护中，仍然具有出色的性能和大量的功能。


### Compiz 是什么？


Compiz 是一个开源 [X 窗口管理器](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_window_manager)，可实现高级视觉效果和桌面增强。它提供了广泛的功能，包括窗口管理、窗口装饰、桌面效果、动画等等，并以可加载插件的形式实现。Compiz 可以用作大多数其他桌面的默认窗口管理器和合成器的直接替代品。


![compiz - burn effect - Courtesy of Wikimedia](/data/attachment/album/202308/15/142754iwnwen7zk7kssd42.png)


### Compiz 的历史


在其早期阶段，Compiz 专门与 [Xgl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xgl) 支持的 3D 硬件一起运行。与 Xgl 一起使用时，大多数 [英伟达](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NVIDIA) 和 [ATI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATI_(brand)) 显卡与 Compiz 兼容。从 2006 年 5 月 22 日开始，Compiz 通过利用 [AIGLX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIGLX) 与标准 [X.Org 服务器](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X.Org_Server) 兼容。


在 2000 年代初期，[ATI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATI_Technologies) 和 [英伟达](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia) 驱动程序在 Linux 上变得越来越流行，这使得先进的 [OpenGL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenGL) 开发能够扩展到昂贵的 UNIX 工作站之外。大约在同一时间，Xgl、Xegl 和 AIGLX 使 Xorg 能够利用 OpenGL 进行窗口转换和效果。


Compiz 于 2006 年 2 月由 [Novell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novell)（[SUSE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUSE)）作为自由软件推出，成为 X 的早期合成窗口管理器之一。到 2006 年 3 月，[红帽](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hat) 将 Compiz 移植到了 AIGLX。


对 Compiz 的早期评论大多是正面的，称赞其性能、视觉吸引力和创新性。同时开发的还有 Metisse 和 Project Looking Glass 等项目，但没有一个项目获得了与 Compiz 相同的认可或广泛采用。后来，合成效果也被集成到窗口管理器中，例如 [GNOME Shell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME_Shell) 和 [KWin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KWin)。


Wayland 于 2010 年左右出现，将合成器和图形服务器的功能合并到一个程序中，从而使单独的窗口管理器和合成器变得过时。因此，Compiz 不再被广泛使用，但这并不意味着它的时代已经结束。继续包含 Compiz 的发行版通常只启用一些实用的插件，同时禁用更多视觉上奢侈的插件。此外，发行版越来越多地将 [KDE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDE) 和 [GNOME](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME) 与其默认窗口管理器结合在一起。最后一个以 Compiz 作为 Unity 桌面管理器的 Ubuntu 版本是 Ubuntu 16.04，此后其开发基本陷入停滞。


Compiz 仍然得到维护，有两个现有版本：Compiz 0.9 和 Compiz 0.8。Compiz 0.9 是用 C++ 重写的，而 Compiz 0.8 继续使用原始 C 版本。Ubuntu 维护和开发 Compiz 0.9，而 Debian 中的软件包是 Compiz 0.8 “Reloaded”。两个版本都很相似，但区别在于插件支持的级别，因为 0.9 重写版不得不排除了某些功能。Compiz 0.8 被认为更快、更稳定。


### 总结


我在使用时，Compiz 的所有功能和效果确实让我付出了很多时间。我记得我花费了大量的时间以独特的方式改造我的工作空间。然而，随着时间的推移，我发现自己花越来越多的时间在 Compiz 上修修补补，而不是专注于我的工作。虽然其视觉奇观的吸引力是不可否认的，但它也成为了分散注意力的来源：我摆弄 Compiz 的次数越多，我未完成的任务就越长。最终，我不得不更换窗口管理器才能完成工作。


对我来说，Compiz 在桌面环境的历史上占有特殊的地位。这证明了其开发人员和社区的独创性，将技术推向了极限。


如果你想了解 Compiz 的一些功能，请观看以下视频：[Compiz Fusion：快速演示](https://youtu.be/E4Fbk52Mk1w)。对于“旧代码”来说，它确实可以做很多事情并且有点领先。






顺便说一句，如果你对复古的东西感兴趣，我写了几篇文章来带你回忆起来。


我想你会喜欢它们的。



> 
> **[怀旧 Coherent 操作系统](https://itsfoss.com/coherent-operating-system/)**
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> 
> **[在现代 Linux 发行版上体验 CDE](https://itsfoss.com/common-desktop-environment/)**
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---


via: <https://itsfoss.com/compiz/>


作者：[Bill Dyer](https://itsfoss.com/author/bill/) 选题：[lkxed](https://github.com/lkxed/) 译者：[geekpi](https://github.com/geekpi) 校对：[校对者ID](https://github.com/%E6%A0%A1%E5%AF%B9%E8%80%85ID)


本文由 [LCTT](https://github.com/LCTT/TranslateProject) 原创编译，[Linux中国](https://linux.cn/) 荣誉推出


OK
![Warp Terminal](/assets/images/warp-terminal.webp)


![Warp Terminal](/assets/images/warp-terminal.webp)

Today, we hear of people "[distro hopping](https://itsfoss.com/distrohopping-issues/)." Some of us may be guilty of it. It's hard to resist, trying out that new Linux distro with the new features. Even I am not immune, and I have a couple of laptops that I routinely try a new OS (or older if I'm feeling nostalgic) on.

There was a time though, when distro hopping wasn't common as there were fewer distros in the beginning days of Linux. What many of us early users did instead was to play around with different window managers.

![compiz - magic lamp
effect - Courtesy of Wikimedia](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/07/Magic_Lamp_effect.png)

[Compiz](https://code.launchpad.net/compiz) was one of those window managers, released in 2006. It is one of the oldest compositing window managers for the [X Window System](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_Window_System) and it was quite advanced for its day. Window managers aren't as popular as they once were, but Compiz is still maintained, still has remarkable performance and a large number of features.

## What is Compiz?

Compiz is an open-source [X window manager](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X_window_manager) that enables advanced visual effects and desktop enhancements. It provides a wide range of features, including window management, window decorations, desktop effects, animations, and much more, implemented as loadable plugins. Compiz can be used as a drop-in substitute for the default window managers and compositors of most other desktops.

![compiz - burn effect -
Courtesy of Wikimedia](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2023/07/Burn_effect.png)

## History of Compiz

In its early stages, Compiz exclusively functioned with 3D hardware supported by [Xgl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xgl). Most [NVIDIA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NVIDIA) and [ATI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATI_(brand)) graphics cards were compatible with Compiz when used alongside Xgl. Starting from May 22, 2006, Compiz became compatible with the standard [X.Org Server](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X.Org_Server) through the utilization of [AIGLX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIGLX).

During the early 2000s, both [ATI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATI_Technologies) and [Nvidia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia) drivers became increasingly prevalent on Linux, which allowed advanced [OpenGL](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenGL) development to extend beyond expensive UNIX workstations. Roughly during this same time, Xgl, Xegl, and AIGLX enabled Xorg to leverage OpenGL for window transformation and effects.

Compiz, introduced by [Novell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novell) ([SUSE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUSE)) as free software in February 2006, emerged as one of the pioneering compositing window managers for X. By March 2006, [Red Hat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hat) ported Compiz to AIGLX.

Early reviews of Compiz were mostly positive, lauding its performance, visual appeal, and innovative nature. Other projects such as Metisse and Project Looking Glass were developed at the same time, but none gained the same recognition or widespread adoption as Compiz. Later on, compositing effects were also integrated into window managers like [GNOME Shell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME_Shell) and [KWin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KWin).

The emergence of Wayland around 2010 merged the functionalities of the compositor and graphics server into a single program, making separate window managers and compositors obsolete. Because of this, Compiz isn't used much anymore, but that doesn't mean that its days are over. Distributions that continued to include Compiz typically enabled only a few practical plugins while disabling more visually extravagant ones. Additionally, distributions increasingly incorporated [KDE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDE) and [GNOME](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNOME) with their default window managers. The last version of Ubuntu to feature Compiz as the Unity desktop manager was Ubuntu 16.04, after which its development mostly stagnated.

Compiz is still maintained, with two existing versions: Compiz 0.9 and Compiz 0.8. Compiz 0.9 is a C++ rewrite, while Compiz 0.8 continues to utilize the original C version. Ubuntu maintains and develops Compiz 0.9, whereas the package in Debian is the Compiz 0.8 "Reloaded" version. Both versions are similar, but the distinction lies in the level of plugin support, as the 0.9 rewrite had to exclude certain features. Compiz 0.8 is considered to be faster and more stable.

## Conclusion

Compiz, with all of its features and effects certainly kept me busy when I used it. I can remember spending an inordinate amount of time transforming my workspace in unique ways. As time went on, however, I found myself spending more and more time tinkering with Compiz rather than focusing on my work. While the allure of its visual spectacle was undeniable, it also became a source of distraction - the more I played with Compiz, the longer my unfinished tasks became. Eventually, I had to change window managers in order to get any work done.

To me, Compiz holds a special place in the history of desktop environments - a testament to the ingenuity of its developers and the community that pushed technology to its limits.

If you would like to see some of what Compiz can do, here is a video: [Compiz Fusion: A Quick Demonstration](https://youtu.be/E4Fbk52Mk1w). For "old code," it really could do a lot and was a bit ahead.

By the way, if you are interested in retro stuff, I have written a couple of articles to take you down memory lane.

[Getting Nostalgic With the Coherent Operating SystemThe 90s was a wonderful decade. Apart from great music, you also had interesting tech. Coherent was part of the 90s UNIX-like operating systems.](https://itsfoss.com/coherent-operating-system/)![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2022/11/coherent-unix-os.png)


![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2022/11/coherent-unix-os.png)

[Trying Common Desktop Environment on a Modern Linux DistroBill shares his re-experience with Common Desktop Environment (CDE), the de-facto standard windowing environment on UNIX systems in the 90s.](https://itsfoss.com/common-desktop-environment/)![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2021/12/common-desktop-environment.png)


![](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/wordpress/2021/12/common-desktop-environment.png)

I think you'll enjoy them.