View source for X.Org Foundation

{{Short description|Nonprofit organization}}
{{about|the post-2004 X.Org organization|the pre-2004 organization|X Window System#X.Org and XFree86}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = X.Org Foundation
| logo = [[File:X.Org Logo.svg|frameless|class=skin-invert|upright=0.4]]
| type = Non-profit
| founded_date = {{Start date and age|df=yes|2004|01|22}}
| founder = 
| location = <!-- this parameter modifies "Headquarters" -->
| origins = 
| area_served = 
| product = [[X.Org Server]]
| mission = 
| focus = 
| method = Development
| revenue = 
| endowment = 
| num_volunteers = 
| num_employees = 
| num_members = 
| subsid = 
| owner = 
| Non-profit_slogan = 
| parent_organization = [[Software Freedom Conservancy]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Information for Sponsors |url=https://x.org/wiki/SponsorshipPage/#informationforsponsors |website=X.Org |publisher=X.Org Foundation |access-date=20 August 2025}}</ref>
| homepage = {{URL|https://x.org}}
| dissolved = 
| footnotes = 
}}

The '''X.Org Foundation''' is a non-profit corporation chartered to research, develop, support, organize, administrate, standardize, promote, and defend a free and open accelerated graphics stack. This includes, but is not limited to, the following projects: [[Direct Rendering Manager|DRM]], [[Mesa 3D]], [[Wayland (display server protocol)|Wayland]], and the [[X Window System]] and its primary implementation, the [[X.Org Server]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.x.org/wiki/BylawReview/ProposedBylawsSPI2015.pdf |title=Proposed Bylaws of the X.Org Foundation |date=2015-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://fosdem.org/2014/schedule/event/xorg_foundation/ |title=FOSDEM2014: State of the X.Org Foundation |date=2014-02-01 |access-date=2014-02-16}}</ref>

==Organization==
The X.Org Foundation was founded on 22 January 2004.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://lwn.net/Articles/79302/ | title=X.Org Foundation releases X Window System X11R6.7 | publisher=[[LWN.net]] | date=2004-04-07 | access-date=2014-09-14}}</ref>

The modern X.Org Foundation came into being when the body that oversaw X standards and published the official reference implementation joined forces with former [[XFree86]] developers.<ref>{{cite web|last=Coopersmith|first=Alan|title=The difference between Xorg and XFree86|url=https://blogs.oracle.com/solaris/the-difference-between-xorg-and-xfree86-v2|date=28 May 2004|access-date=17 September 2018}}</ref> The creation of the Foundation marked a radical change in the governance of X (see [[X Window System#History|the history of the X Window System]]). Whereas the stewards of X since 1988 (including the previous X.Org, part of [[The Open Group]]) had been vendor organizations, the Foundation is led by software developers and using community development on the [[The Cathedral and the Bazaar|bazaar model]], which relies on outside involvement. Membership is also open to individuals, with corporate membership being in the form of sponsorship.

In 2005 the X.Org Foundation applied for 501(c)(3) non-profit status. In 2012, with the help of the [[Software Freedom Law Center]] (SFLC), the Foundation gained the status. In 2013, the Foundation lost the status because they did not fill a tax form (it had no income to declare and did not get any info from SFLC) and in the same year it regained the status, after clearing up the issue.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://who-t.blogspot.fr/2013/10/the-xorg-foundation-and-501c3-status.html |title=The X.Org Foundation and the 501(c)(3) status}}</ref> In 2016, the X.Org Foundation joined [[Software in the Public Interest]] (SPI)<ref name=Larabel2023/> who would manage the bureaucracy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.fosdem.org/2014/schedule/event/xorg_foundation/|title=State of the X.org foundation|website=archive.fosdem.org}}</ref>

In 2019, [[freedesktop.org]] formally joined the X.Org Foundation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.phoronix.com/news/Xorg-FreeDesktop-Vote-Approved|title=X.Org To Join Forces With FreeDesktop.org While Foundation Elections Hit A Snag|access-date=31 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/|title=freedesktop.org|access-date=31 October 2025}}</ref>

In 2023, The X.Org Foundation decided to join [[Software Freedom Conservancy]],<ref name=Larabel2023>{{cite web|url=https://www.phoronix.com/news/X.Org-SFC-Vote-Approved|title=X.Org Foundation To Become Part Of The SFC|author=Michael Larabel|date=2023-05-23}}</ref> which took over the bureaucratic roles SPI had had previously.<ref>{{cite web |title=X.Org |url=https://www.spi-inc.org/projects/x.org/ |website=SPI |publisher=Software in the Public Interest, Inc. |access-date=20 August 2025}}</ref>

==Fields of activity==
The X.Org Foundation does not provide technical guidance, roadmaps or deadlines, releases or supervision of any kind.

The X.Org Foundation does provide communication tools (in relation with [[freedesktop.org]]), an annual physical meeting and money to help developing the free graphics stack.

* a physical annual meeting (X.Org Developer's Conference)
* Travel sponsorship: 
* The X.Org Foundation participated as an organization of the [[Google Summer of Code]] (GSoC). This allows students to participate to X.Org-related projects over the summer .
*Endless Vacation of Code (EVoC): EVoC is a GSoC-like project, funded by the X.Org Foundation. It allows students to participate to X.Org-related projects during their vacation, at any time of the year.
* Communication: Google+{{Update inline|date=July 2021|reason=Google+ has been discontinued for years at this point.}} and Twitter Google+/YouTube: Store and/or link to talk videos, slides, blog articles or G+ posts related to projects under our umbrella (Martin Peres); Twitter: Mostly security issues, random updates (Alan Coopersmith).
* There is an X.Org developer guide written by Alan Coopersmith, Matt Dew and the X.Org team; edited by Bart Massey at https://www.x.org/wiki/guide/

The X.Org Foundation organizes the annual [[X.Org Developer's Conference]] (XDC) and sponsors students to work on X.Org as part of their [[X.Org Endless Vacation of Code]] (EVoC) initiative.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.x.org/wiki/XorgEVoC | title=The X.Org Endless Vacation of Code (EVoC) | date=2008-09-21 | access-date=2014-09-14}}</ref>

The [[X.Org Server]] and [[xlib]] are the [[reference implementation]] of the [[X Window System core protocol|X protocol]], and is commonly used on Linux and UNIX; it is the fundamental technology underlying both the modern [[GNOME]] and [[KDE]] desktops and older [[Common Desktop Environment|CDE]] desktop environment; applications written for any of these environments can be run simultaneously.
[[File:Xclock animation linux.gif|thumb|xclock]]
{{anchor|xutils}}Along with reference implementation of X protocol, the X.org Foundation hosts development of several [[utility software|utilities]] and example applications, including <code>xcalc</code> on-screen [[calculator]], <code>xclock</code> simple digital and analog clock, <code>xedit</code> text editor, <code>xload</code> periodically updated [[histogram]] of the average [[Load (computing)|system load]], <code>[[xterm]]</code> terminal emulator, and <code>xeyes</code> which shows, by default, a pair of eyes that follow the [[Pointer (user interface)|mouse cursor]].

As of April 2013, the Board of Directors consisted of Alan Coopersmith, Alex Deucher, Martin Peres, Matt Dew, Matthias Hopf, Peter Hutterer (Secretary), Stuart Kreitman (Treasurer), and [[Keith Packard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.x.org/wiki/BoardOfDirectors | title=The X.Org Foundation Board of Directors | date=2013-04-19 | access-date=2013-04-20}}</ref>

=={{Anchor|XDC}} X.Org Developer's Conference==
The physical meeting is the X.Org Developer's Conference (XDC/XDS),<ref>{{cite news | url=https://lwn.net/Articles/539620/ | title=The 2013 "State of X.Org" report | work=LWN.net | date=2013-02-22 | access-date=2013-04-20}}</ref> which is organized once a year, around September/October and alternates between North America and Europe and lasts for 3 days. The board of directors can cover the travel and accommodation expenses to the developers who couldn't attend an X.Org-related conference (XDC or FOSDEM?) otherwise.

===Conference history===
{{table alignment}}
{{sort-under}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sort-under col2right col3right" style="font-size:90%;" 
! Event and year !! Date !! Host city !! Venue !! Resources !! Themes
|-
| XDC2004 || 28&ndash;30 April || [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]], USA || Cambridge Research Laboratory || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDC2004/] ||
|-
| XDC2005 || 12&ndash;14 February || [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]], USA || Cambridge Research Laboratory || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDC2005/] || [[X.Org Server]], [[Cairo (graphics)|Cairo]], [[xephyr]], ...
|-
| XDC2006 || 8&ndash;10 February || [[Santa Clara, California]], USA || [[Sun Microsystems]] campus || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDC2006/] || [[Xgl]], 
|-
| XDC2007 || 7&ndash;9 February || [[Menlo Park, California]], USA || [[TechShop]] Menlo Park facility || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDC2007/] ||
|-
| XDS2007 || 10&ndash;12 September || [[Cambridge]], United Kingdom || [[Clare College, Cambridge|Clare College]] || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDS2007/] ||
|-
| XDC2008 || 16&ndash;18 April || [[Mountain View, California]], USA || [[Google]] campus || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDC2008/] ||
|-
| XDS2008 || 3&ndash;5 September || [[Edinburgh]], United Kingdom || [[Edinburgh Zoo]] || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDS2008/] || [[X keyboard extension|XKB]], [[Multi-Pointer X|MPX]], ...
|-
| XDC2009 || 28&ndash;30 September || [[Portland, Oregon]], USA || University Place Hotel, [[Portland State University]] || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDC2009/] ||
|-
| XDS2010 || 16&ndash;18 September || [[Toulouse]], France || [[Toulouse 1 University Capitole]] || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDS2010/] ||
|-
| XDC2011 || 12&ndash;14 September || [[Chicago]], Illinois, USA || [[McCormick Tribune Campus Center]] || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDC2011/] ||
|-
| XDC2012 || 19&ndash;21 September || [[Nuremberg]], Germany || [[SUSE S.A.|SUSE]] campus || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDC2012/] ||
|-
| XDC2013 || 23&ndash;25 September || [[Portland, Oregon|Portland]], Oregon, USA || University Place Hotel, [[Portland State University]] || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDC2013/] || [[Direct Rendering Manager|DRM]], [[Direct Rendering Infrastructure#DRI3|DRI3]], [[XCB]], [[nouveau (software)|nouveau]], etc.
|-
| XDC2014 || 8&ndash;10 October || [[Bordeaux]], France || [[Laboratoire Bordelais de Recherche en Informatique]] (LaBRI) || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDC2014/] || [[Wayland (display server protocol)|Wayland]], [[Tizen]], [[FreeBSD]], [[DragonflyBSD]], [[Mesa 3D]], etc.
|-
| XDC2015 || 16&ndash;18 September || [[Toronto]], Canada || [[Seneca College#Seneca @ York|Seneca@York campus, Seneca College]] || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDC2015/] || GLSL compiler, [[Nouveau (software)|Nouveau]], [[libinput]], [[Freedreno]], [[Etnaviv]], [[amdgpu]], [[Direct Rendering Manager|drm]], etc.
|-
| XDC2016 || 20&ndash;22 September || [[Helsinki]], Finland || [[Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences]] || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDC2016/] || 
|-
| XDC2017 || 20&ndash;22 September || [[Mountain View, California]], USA || Google Bldg 1055 || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDC2017/] || 
|-
| XDC2018 || 26&ndash;28 September || [[A Coruña]], [[Galicia (Spain)]] || Computer Science Faculty of [[University of A Coruña]] || [https://www.x.org/wiki/Events/XDC2018/] || 
|-
| XDC2019 || 2&ndash;4 October || [[Montreal]], [[Canada]] || Concordia University Conference Centre || [https://archive.today/20190521041245/https://xdc2019.x.org/]||
|-
| XDC2020 || 16&ndash;18 September || Virtual || Virtual || [https://xdc2020.x.org/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200707212735/https://xdc2020.x.org/ |date=7 July 2020 }} ||
|-
| XDC2021 || 15&ndash;17 September || Virtual || Virtual || [https://indico.freedesktop.org/event/1/] ||
|-
| XDC2022 || 4&ndash;6 October || [[Minneapolis]], [[Minnesota]] || [[University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)|University of St. Thomas]] || [https://indico.freedesktop.org/event/2/] ||
|-
| XDC2023 || 17&ndash;19 October || [[Coruña]], [[Spain]] || [[:gl:PALEXCO|PALEXCO]] || [https://indico.freedesktop.org/event/4/] ||
|-
| XDC2024 || 9&ndash;11 October || [[Montréal]], [[Canada]] || Concordia University Conference Center || [https://indico.freedesktop.org/event/6/] ||
|-
| XDC2025 || 29 September &ndash; 1 October || [[Vienna]], [[Austria]] || [[TU Wien]] || [https://indico.freedesktop.org/event/10/] ||
|}

=={{Anchor|EVOC}} X.Org Endless Vacation of Code (EVoC)==
X.Org Endless Vacation of Code (EVoC) is a [[Google Summer of Code]] (GSoC)-like project initiated in 2008 funded by the X.Org Foundation. It allows students to participate to X.Org-related projects during their vacation, at any time of the year.

An example of an accepted EVoC project from 2014 is to work on [[nouveau (software)|nouveau]], the [[free and open-source graphics device driver]] for [[GeForce]]-branded GPUs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/nouveau/2014-June/017577.html |title=[Nouveau] EVoC Proposal: REclock - Reverse-engineer and implement NVA3/5/8 Voltage- and Frequency Scaling in Nouveau |date=2014-06-12 |publisher=[[freedesktop.org]]}}</ref> NVA3/5/8 are the engineering names of the [[Tesla (microarchitecture)|Tesla]]-based GT215, GT216 and GT218.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nouveau.freedesktop.org/wiki/CodeNames/ |title=Engineering vs. marketing names |publisher=[[freedesktop.org]]}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
* [[Free and open-source graphics device driver]]
* [[List of free-software events]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://www.x.org/wiki/XorgFoundation/ | X.Org Foundation website}}

{{XWinSys}}
{{FOSS}}
{{Software in the Public Interest}}

[[Category:501(c)(3) organizations]]
[[Category:Free software project foundations based in the United States]]
[[Category:X Window System]]

[[fr:X.Org#Fondation X.Org]]