WindowInform

WindowInform is a proposed framework for standardizing the communication of window state and metadata within graphical user interfaces. It provides a compact information model and a transport mechanism that allow window managers, compositors, accessibility tools, and debugging utilities to exchange data about individual windows—such as title, geometry, focus status, and interaction capabilities—without relying on a specific desktop environment. The goal is to improve interoperability and enable dynamic UI adaptation across platforms.

Origin and status: WindowInform was introduced by contributors in the open-source community during the early-to-mid 2020s as a collection of proposals and reference implementations rather than a formal standard. Several prototype integrations exist in experimental branches of Linux desktop stacks and cross-platform toolkits, and some accessibility projects reference the model, but there is no universal specification approved by a standards body.

Information model and transport: The core model centers on WindowRecord objects carrying fields such as id, title, role, bounds (x, y, width, height), state (normal, minimized, maximized, fullscreen), opacity, decorations, and modality. State changes are conveyed via an event stream, while transport options include IPC channels, sockets, and protocol-like exchanges similar to compositor APIs. Security and privacy controls are recommended to constrain data exposure to authorized clients.

Usage and challenges: In practice, WindowInform aims to assist screen readers, automated testing tools, and UI-research platforms by providing consistent window metadata. Potential benefits include improved accessibility and more reliable window-based automation. Challenges include avoiding performance overhead, preventing information leakage, achieving cross-platform portability, and avoiding fragmentation across independent implementations.

See also: Accessibility, Window manager, Wayland, X11, User interface design.