XCB

XCB (X protocol C-language Binding) is a library implementing the client-side of the X11 display server protocol. XCB written in the C programming language and distributed under the MIT License. The project was started in 2001 by Bart Massey and aims to replace Xlib.

Xlib/XCB provides application binary interface compatibility with both Xlib and XCB, providing an incremental porting path. Xlib/XCB uses the protocol layer of Xlib, but replaces the Xlib transport layer with XCB, and provides access to the underlying XCB connection for direct use of XCB. Xlib/XCB allows an application to open a single connection to the X display server and use both XCB and Xlib, possibly through a mixture of libraries designed for one or the other.^[2][3]

The main goals of XCB are to

• Reduce library size and complexity;
• Provide direct access to the X11 protocol.

Secondary goals include making the C interface asynchronous, facilitating better multithreading and making it easier to implement extensions (via XML protocol descriptions).

The core and extension protocol descriptions are in XML, with a program written in Python creating the C bindings. (Previous versions used XSLT and M4.)

A further goal is to be able to use these protocol descriptions to create protocol documentation, more language bindings, and server-side stubs.

Massey and others have worked to prove key portions of XCB formally correct using Z notation.^[4] (Xlib has long been known to contain errors.^[5])

个人理解：XLIB就是libx11.so,XCB是能替换XLIB的一部分Server协议的传输，libxcb.so，两个可以兼容搭配使用，libx11-xcb.so