rdt@houxv.UUCP (R.TRAUBEN) (08/23/86)
Hello: Does anyone have a pointer in the public domain literature to a program called XWINDOWS? It is a portable bitmapped window manager developed at MIT which runs under Berkeley UNIX. I would like to find out more about its capabilities and whether its functionality is similar to the ATT DMD 5620 layers software. Can it run under UNIX 5.2 or greater? How similar is it to the DGIS window management software? Does it subsume CGI/VDI software while doing window management or does it make assumptions about some underlying CGI/VDI functions. Does any 3rd party software house port XWINDOWS? (As GSS and others do for DGIS). I am interested in any experiences others may have had with such firms and wonder whether they would use XWINDOWS again if they had the choice. Richard
guy@sun.uucp (Guy Harris) (08/25/86)
> Can it run under UNIX 5.2 or greater? Not without some work. It may use the new reliable signal mechanism from 4.2BSD. It is a server-based window system; programs running under X do not directly paint bits on the screen, they send messages to the X server and it paints the bits. Furthermore, it does not directly read events from keyboards or mice either; the server reads them and sends messages to clients. As such, it requires a bidirectional interprocess communication mechanism of some sort; it currently uses UNIX-domain sockets and Internet-domain sockets. You may be able to make it use named pipes or message queues. Note, however, that one of the major benefits of a server-based window system - the ability to run programs that use the window system on machines other than the machine that has the keyboard and display - is not available if you don't have some sort of IPC mechanism that works *between* machines. A TCP-IP based mechanism would be preferable here, as it would permit X to work with X on other machines, as the other implementations use TCP-IP. > Does it subsume CGI/VDI software while doing window management No. It offers some low-level drawing primitives for drawing lines, and also offers low-level RasterOp-type primitives. > or does it make assumptions about some underlying CGI/VDI functions. No. OVERlying CGI/VDI functions may make assumptions about IT, however. X has no direct relationship to CGI/VDI/etc.; I presume one could implement them on top of X. -- Guy Harris {ihnp4, decvax, seismo, decwrl, ...}!sun!guy guy@sun.com (or guy@sun.arpa)
bhoward@funvax.UUCP (Bruce Howard) (08/26/86)
> Hello: > > Does anyone have a pointer in the public domain literature to > a program called XWINDOWS? > I suggest that you join the xpert and xport mailing lists. Xpert is used to exchange questions and answers, and to make general announcements regarding the Xwindows package developed at MIT. Xport is for questions and such relating to the porting of Xwindows to new hardware. Their addresses should be: (UUCP) ...ihnp4!decvax!mit-eddie!mit-athena!xpert-request ...ihnp4!decvax!mit-eddie!mit-athena!xport-request or on ARPA net: xpert-request@athena.mit.edu xport-request@athena.mit.edu Er, you may need to flip these around to something like request-xpert and request-xport. It's been awhile since I was added to the list! Cheers! Bruce -- --------------------------------- ...decvax!ittatc!funvax!bhoward Bruce Howard @ Fairfield University ...ihnp4!itivax!funvax!bhoward Located in Scenic Fairfield, CT 06430 ---------------------------------
alan@mn-at1.UUCP (Alan Klietz) (08/27/86)
In article <6514@sun.uucp>, guy@sun.uucp (Guy Harris) writes: > > Can it run under UNIX 5.2 or greater? > > Not without some work. It may use the new reliable signal mechanism from > 4.2BSD. It is a server-based window system; programs running under X do not > directly paint bits on the screen, they send messages to the X server and it > paints the bits. Furthermore, it does not directly read events from > keyboards or mice either; the server reads them and sends messages to > clients. As such, it requires a bidirectional interprocess communication > mechanism of some sort; it currently uses UNIX-domain sockets and > Internet-domain sockets. > I ported client X Windows to a CRAY-2 running Unicos (a System V variant) without much problem. You do need some kind of reliable transport protocol. (I used Wollogong's TCP/IP implementation, which follows the 4.2bsd socket protocols close enough that I ported the socket code pretty much unchanged.) -- Alan Klietz Minnesota Supercomputer Center (*) 1200 Washington Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55415 UUCP: ..ihnp4!dicome!mn-at1!alan (unreliable) Ph: +1 612 638 0577 ..caip!meccts!dicome!mn-at1!alan ARPA: aek@umn-rei-uc.ARPA (*) An affiliate of the University of Minnesota [Warning: umn-rei-uc is down until September 11th. dicome will no longer feed mail after Aug 29th. Good luck..]