what x does (and doesn't do)
Some of the things X does:
- Full 3D acceleration with OpenGL, through subsystems
such as Mesa, or Utah GLX.
- Full and proper transparency - not just the dodgy
display-the-background hack (only in XFree86)!
- Display applications on/from remote
servers/clients, even when mixing and matching platforms
(e.g. Linux program displaying on Windows X
server).
- Provides a standard library (libX11), that remains
binary-compatible for ages, ensuring old, binary-only
apps will continue to run.
- Allows the protocol to be extended (e.g. DRI for
3D) as necessary, while still remaining compatible.