The X.Org Multi-Touch Protocol Specification Is Drafted

Peter Hutterer, one of the few X.Org input developers and the developer behind Multi-Pointer X when he was a student in Australia, has now published the first public draft of the multi-touch protocol specification. The multi-touch protocol specification is a low-level spec to be integrated with the X Input Extension for further enriching the multi-touch capabilities on Linux and other operating systems using the X.Org Server.

The multi-touch protocol specification adds backwards-compatible pointer emulation for single-touch interaction, supports a dynamic number of simultaneous touch points, and provides support for devices that are both multi-touch and traditional pointer devices. Peter intends for this new specification to be integrated with the X Input Extension for version 2.1.

Those interested in reading this low-level specification and providing any feedback on it can find the text on the xorg-devel mailing list. While X.Org Server 1.9 is expected for release before month's end, X Input Extension 2.1 with this specification update for better the multi-touch protocol may be on the table for X.Org Server 1.10. X Server 1.10 will likely make it out the door in Q1'2011.