[Updated Jan. 6, 2005] — A project to produce a free, lightweight X11 window manager for resource-limited embedded systems has achieved a new release. Matchbox 0.9 features improved internals, and targets handhelds, set-top boxes, kiosks, and other systems where screen space, input mechanisms, or system resources are limited.

According to project leader Matthew Allum, internal improvements in the new Matchbox release have “led to lower memory usage throughout, much better dialog and focus handling, and numerous other minor improvements.”

Embedded Linux systems sometimes use custom windowing systems, or lightweight graphical frameworks, in hopes of reducing memory and storage requirements. However, using X permits a much wider range of Linux applications to be easily ported to embedded devices. And, according to Allum, “IMHO, it's a bit of a misconception that Opie/Qtopia has a smaller footprint than X. You can make X very small, and there are ongoing developments to further improve on this.”

Allum presented a talk on reducing the footprint of X, at FOSDEM, in February, 2004. Slides are available here. A 2002 whitepaper by Allum introducing Matchbox is also available, here.

The previous Matchbox 0.7 release, in October of 2003, brought internationalization and Gconf enhancements.

The new version of Matchbox can be downloaded from the project Website.

 
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