I have a disability and I’m trying to switch to Linux. To do that I’m making replacements for the accessibility software I use on Windows. Right now I’m focusing on an On Screen Keyboard because Onboard development seems to have stopped and the new GNOME keyboard lacks features like free floating, layout editing, text prediction.
On other Wayland desktops I can use layer shell to create a surface that remains above application windows and accepts pointer/touch input without taking keyboard focus away from the application. With GNOME it seems I need to implement an extension. I’m currently trying to figure out if that’s even possible. It seems GNOME extensions don’t have a stable API so my ability to control my PC can break with every update. This is in addition to the layer shell implementation work for other desktop environments.
I understand the security implications of allowing layer shell. On Android there is an accessibility permission to allow applications like this to read/draw over the screen. In my opinion GNOME should have something similar. It doesn’t matter to me if that’s layer shell or something GNOME specific, as long as it’s stable.