This Month in Xilem, August 2024

content/blog/2024-09-11-tmix-08/index.md

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+title = "This Month in Xilem, August 2024"
+authors = ["Daniel McNab"]
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+
+Linebender is an informal open-source organization working on various projects to advance the state of the art in GUI for [the Rust programming language](https://rust-lang.org).
+
+<figure>
+
+<img style="height: auto; margin: 0 auto" src="../../linebender.svg" alt="Linebender logo; smoothly stroked overlapping lowercase letters, an l and a b." height="200" width = "200">
+
+<figcaption>
+
+Linebender has a new logo, which was contributed by [Markus Siglreithmaier](https://github.com/msiglreith).
+We're seeking feedback on Zulip in [#linebender>logo](https://xi.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/419691-linebender/topic/logo).
+
+</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+## Xilem
+
+Xilem is our flagship GUI project, inspired by SwiftUI.
+
+- We integrated basic animated variable font rendering ([xilem#507][]).
+- Philipp Mildenberger moved us back to using `ViewMarker` in [xilem#472][].
+  This restores the ability to return `ViewSequence`s, by making a tradeoff to work around Rust's faulty trait ambiguity rules.
+- We added Views for some existing and new widgets:
+  - spinners, useful for showing indetermine progress ([xilem#497][]);
+  - progress bars ([xilem#513][]); and
+  - the `Portal` widget, which brings support for scroll areas to Xilem ([xilem#561][]).
+
+Xilem Web is a community managed experimental DOM implementation of the Xilem pattern.
+This month, the updates include:
+
+- Support for returning multiple views from the main logic ([xilem#482][]).
+- Support for DOM templating, for efficient repeated creation of similar views ([xilem#495][]).
+
+<figure>
+
+<img style="height: auto" src="stopwatch.png" alt="A timer with the value '0:00:26.4' (26.4 seconds) above two buttons, reset and start. Below these are 5 laps, labelled 'lap 5' to 'lap 1', each with a lap time of approximately 5 seconds and a corresponding elapsed time. This is all contained in an OS window titled 'Stopwatch'." height="388" width = "559">
+
+<figcaption>
+
+Jared O'Connell additionally contributed a stopwatch example in [xilem#492][].
+
+</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+## Masonry
+
+Masonry is the widget system used by Xilem.
+This month has been dominated by Olivier's implementation of pass specification ([rfcs#7][]):
+
+- [xilem#512][]: The new compose pass, which is used to minimise redraw when scrolling.
+- [xilem#510][]: Adds the mutate pass, which allows later passes to assume the tree structure is stable by limiting when tree mutation can occur.
+- [xilem#522][]: Implements paint and accessibility as passes, with follow-up by Tom Churchman in [xilem#557][].
+- [xilem#488][] and [xilem#540][]: updated event and pointer handling, and disabled handling respectively.
+- In progress work includes layout in [xilem#529][], focus in [xilem#538][], animation in [xilem#539][] and scroll requests in [xilem#550][].
+
+We also had some great community contributions, such as:
+
+- Richard Dodd added a new progress Bar widget ([xilem#513][]).
+- Fixes for Portal scrolling, by Tom Churchman ([xilem#563][]).
+
+<figure>
+
+<img style="height: auto" src="progress_bar.png" alt="A horizontal progress bar which is 70% filled with blue, with white text overlaid saying 70%. Below this is a checkbox labelled 'set indetermine progress', and a button labelled 'change progress'." height="129" width = "431">
+
+<figcaption>
+
+The progress bar widget was contributed by Richard Dodd in [xilem#513][].
+
+</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+We continue to make progress on other key features.
+
+- Snapshot tests now are cross-platform and run in CI ([xilem#233][]).
+- Pan/flick gestures are being developed in [xilem#562][].
+- Progress continues on text input for Android. This involves creating our own `Activity`, with support for both text input and accessibility.
+  This new `Activity` will use `SurfaceView` like other modern native code based activities (`GameActivity`, `MakepadActivity`, etc.), and our aim is that it won't require a Java toolchain to build a simple application.
+- Progress continues on the Accessibility integration for Android. You can try this in [xilem#575][], or see it in the below video.
+
+<figure>
+
+<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/IObBk40MdJs?si=GXDNRNelhVz4nTjU" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
+
+<figcaption>
+
+The Xilem `to_do_mvc` example running with [TalkBack](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_TalkBack) integration.
+Video provided by Matt Campbell.
+
+</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+## Vello
+
+Vello is our GPU vector renderer.
+We have made some really great progress in August<!-- , TODO: and are actively planning a 0.3.0 release? -->.
+
+- We now support blurred rounded rectangles, contributed by Markus Siglreithmaier ([vello#665][])
+- Blend stack spilling was implementing, which allows blends more than four layers deep ([vello#661][]).
+- Fixes for some visual artifacts in [vello#651][], [vello#659][] and [vello#673][].
+- Embedding existing wgpu textures is now supported ([vello#636][]).
+- We now support bitmap glyphs (i.e. emoji), in addition to our previous COLR support ([vello#641][]).
+- Work has begun on sparse strips, which is tracked in [vello#670][].
+- Frame pacing for Android is being investigated and developed in [vello#674][].
+- Thomas Smith has been doing some deep-dives into parallel scan, which is the core operation in Vello.
+  This work can be found in [#gpu>Progress for GPU's Without Forward Progress Guarantees](https://xi.zulipchat.com/#narrow/stream/197075-gpu/topic/Progress.20for.20GPU's.20Without.20Forward.20Progress.20Guarantees).
+
+<figure>
+
+<img style="height: auto" src="rounded_rectangles.png" alt="A vertically split image. On the left are three blurred shapes: a blue rectangle with rounded corners, and two black ellipses. The ellipses are partially occluded by the boundaries of the image. On the right is a web page, showing three blog post titles and summaries, each in a box with a black box shadow." height="644" width = "944">
+
+<figcaption>
+
+Vello now supports blurred rounded rectangles, based on the maths from [Raph's blog](https://raphlinus.github.io/graphics/2020/04/21/blurred-rounded-rects.html).
+Left: Vello's blurred rounded rectangles test scene.
+Right: [Blitz](https://github.com/DioxusLabs/blitz/)'s `servo` example which renders box shadows using this feature.
+
+</figcaption>
+</figure>
+
+## Parley
+
+Parley is a text layout library.
+
+- Primitives required for robust text editing were added in [parley#106][].
+
+## Others
+
+- Bruce Mitchener has started work on [Interpoli](https://github.com/linebender/interpoli/), an animation support library.
+- We have performed a [retrospective](@/blog/2024-08-24-roadmap-may-2024-retro.md) on our last roadmap.
+- Daniel and Olivier's "office hours" appointments can still be booked by anyone for open-ended time-limited discussion of the ecosystem.
+  - [See Daniel's schedule here](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ32eQYJ9DtZ_wJaYNtT36YioETiloZDIdImFpBFRo5-XsqGzpikgkg47LPsiHhpiwiQ1orOwwW2).
+  - [See Olivier's schedule here](https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/0/appointments/schedules/AcZssZ2t767ZRETD_TkRI_VxK2ZTG0VrO9OZ4l7HvTxefhtJcg85iK0ZN7zWNnAEZtH0Dn7C1GKxrmYM).
+
+[parley#106]: https://github.com/linebender/parley/pull/106
+[rfcs#7]: https://github.com/linebender/rfcs/pull/7
+[vello#636]: https://github.com/linebender/vello/pull/636
+[vello#641]: https://github.com/linebender/vello/pull/641
+[vello#651]: https://github.com/linebender/vello/pull/651
+[vello#659]: https://github.com/linebender/vello/pull/659
+[vello#661]: https://github.com/linebender/vello/pull/661
+[vello#665]: https://github.com/linebender/vello/pull/665
+[vello#670]: https://github.com/linebender/vello/pull/670
+[vello#673]: https://github.com/linebender/vello/pull/673
+[vello#674]: https://github.com/linebender/vello/pull/674
+[xilem#233]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/233
+[xilem#472]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/472
+[xilem#482]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/482
+[xilem#488]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/488
+[xilem#492]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/492
+[xilem#495]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/495
+[xilem#497]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/497
+[xilem#507]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/507
+[xilem#510]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/510
+[xilem#512]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/512
+[xilem#513]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/513
+[xilem#522]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/522
+[xilem#529]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/529
+[xilem#538]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/538
+[xilem#539]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/539
+[xilem#540]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/540
+[xilem#550]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/550
+[xilem#557]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/557
+[xilem#561]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/561
+[xilem#562]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/562
+[xilem#563]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/563
+[xilem#575]: https://github.com/linebender/xilem/pull/575