I am trying to understand what does backend actually mean..
I was going through Wayland manual page on Ubuntu. I was able to find a few lines like this..
"The DRM backend uses Linux KMS for output and evdev devices for input. It supports multiple monitors in a unified desktop with DPMS."
2 Answers
DRM is Direct Rendering Manager - a method of directly rendering composited images in hardware without going through the entire X graphics stack.
KMS is kernel mode switching - a kernel technology that allows DRM and DRI (direct rendering infrastructure).
The idea is that instead of the cumbersome and over-complicated X technology that currently runs graphics in linux, there will be more direct hardware based methods of producing graphical output.
Wayland and Ubuntu's Mir are new technologies that implement DRM and DRI to replace the X stack.
Here's a link to Mir with a diagram -
Denoting a subordinate processor or program, not directly accessed by the user, which performs a specialized function on behalf of a main processor or software system.
