The article “Custom Compositors for Embedded Systems: Enhancing Performance and User Experience” delves into the design, advantages, and implementation of custom compositors built using Qt and Wayland for embedded systems. It highlights the limitations of default compositors like GNOME Shell and Weston in meeting the unique requirements of embedded devices such as IoT setups, kiosks, automotive displays, and industrial controls.  

Custom compositors offer tailored solutions for resource efficiency, specialized display requirements, and personalized user interfaces, enabling enhanced user experiences, performance optimization, and hardware-specific support. These compositors allow for dynamic layouts that adapt to user input or environmental factors, rapid prototyping for hardware testing, and minimalism by removing unnecessary features and dependencies. 

The implementation process involves using Wayland Development Libraries, Qt 5/6 with Wayland support, and tools like CMake or Qmake. Key components include “Surfaces” for managing window lifecycles and advanced shells (e.g., wl shell, Xdg shell) for handling client surfaces and inputs. Custom protocols such as custom-shell.xml are defined to manage surface creation, destruction, and custom properties. Classes like Custom Shell Surface and Custom Shell Surface View facilitate surface management and label handling, while a custom platform enables shell surface creation for specific windows. The Custom Shell Integration class integrates with Qt Wayland Client to manage advanced window behaviour, including parent-child mapping and custom properties. 

The custom compositor supports various Wayland shells, including Xdg Shell, WL Shell, and IvI Application, and integrates with Qml Application Engine for QML interface handling. It is designed to launch applications automatically on system boot-up, ensuring efficient performance in resource-constrained environments. The article concludes by emphasizing the flexibility, control, and seamless integration offered by custom compositors, empowering developers to create optimized solutions for embedded systems.