jiro@shaman.com (Jiro Nakamura) (05/09/91)
I wrote this up for our user group, but I thought other people might
want to have a look at it. There's a copyright on it, at the very
end, but you're free to use it in all not-for-profit publications.
I'll be doing some more over the summer. Upcoming ones will be Diagram!,
TopDraw, and Framemaker. If any company wants to send me one for review,
I'd be more than happy. :-) My address is at the end of this e-mail.
=================== Review of Pencom's co-Xist ====================
====================== by Jiro Nakamura ===========================
As a NeXT User Group leader (FuNK -- the Finger Lakes NeXT
Users Group), some companies send me demo copies of
software to pass around to our users. Pencom was one of
those, they sent me a demo copy of co-Xist. Co-Xist, as you
might know, is an X Window System v11r4 implementation
for the NeXT. The copy they gave me was Release 2.01/demo
-- the server was configured to automatically quit after
about 10-15 minutes.
INSTALLATION
============
Installing the package was quite
simple, it used an installer package. Unfortunately, it
ran into NeXT's Installer Package bug and I had to install
it by hand. Maybe the Install in 2.1 will not have this bug.
I talked to Pencom and they acknowledged the problem and
gave some easier workaround than installing it by hand.
In any case, it looked like it was NeXT's bug and not
Pencom's.
After installing it (the whole package sans
Motif is about 2 megabytes, it fits on a 1.44 megabyte disk
compressed), I dragged the xinit icon to my dock and ran
it. The bare package that I was evaluating came with only
the bare X11r4 runtime module, twm, xclock, xterm, maze
and xhost - so these are the only things I tested. I
couldn't find any libraries to link against so I didn't
try compiling any Xprogs from the net. The full co-Xist
package apparently has the libraries to link against.
GENERAL IMPRESSION
==================
I found the co-Xist package to be pretty good. It does not
take over the whole desktop like other packages, but
instead creates a window (which behaves like other
NeXTStep windows) within which the X environment exists
(I am amply apt to alliteration). It was very well
behaved. When the mouse wandered into the X window, it
switched styles to the (annoying) X default
point-to-focus mode instead of the NeXT's
click-to-focus. Users more used to the NeXT's
click-to-focus mode can re-configure X to do it this way
(sadly NeXTStep cannot be reconfigured like this).
You are able to configure the size of the initial X window
using a config file. Configuration is as "easy" as other X
packages, ie, you can edit the rc files using your own
special rc editor or using emacs or vi.
The interface was a very good X implementation. X
windows in the implementation behaved like X windows on
"real" X workstations. The twm menu popped up like it
should. Xclock worked properly. Dragging and resizing
were just as they are in X. Since it is such a total X
emulation, naive users may get confused since X does many
things differently from NeXTStep. The mouse pointer
changes to an X when you have switched to co-Xist, so it is
easy to tell which mode you are in. I didn't have many demo
programs to test the X emulation. I did try out Xterm and
maze. The emulation for Xterm seemed solid. Emacs ran
fine. I also ran worms, which is a curses base "game" to see
how fast the emulation was. It was just as fast as Terminal
or Stuart -- ie. very fast. Mazes also ran very fast on my
040 board. The folks at Pencom did a good job, since the
Xterm is effectively double-layed onto X and then onto
NeXTStep. I was very impressed with the performance.
BUGS
====
There weren't any blatant ones. I did manage to hang the
interface once by doing a series of strange mouse
movements and control-c's. But this was the only time. It
did not crash NeXTStep and I could quit out of it. The
emulation for three mouse buttons is the same as other
people -- you have to hold down both at one. Maybe I'm
slightly weird, but holding down both simultaneously
was difficult. I hope Steve comes up with a three button
mouse for us.
PROBLEMS
========
Starting up the co-Xist package takes a short while. If
you switch applications while it is starting it up, it
sometimes crashes. The biggest problem I had with the
package is that you *cannot* cut and paste between
co-Xist's X window and NeXTstep windows. This is a
serious design flaw that Pencom has to work on.
Apparently, it is going to be in the "next version"
(hopefully out sooner than Real Soon Now (tm)). Pencom
has told me that "the cut-and-paste client posted by
Howie Kaye (columbia) works very well with co-Xist," but
I wish it was a native feature.
CONCLUSION
===========
In summary, I thought it was an excellent package.
Installation was simple (if it wasn't for the bug in
NeXT's package). I managed to run it without any manuals
(they didn't send me any). The implementation was
smooth, with no noticeable jerkiness. It was also pretty
bug-free. There were some annoying things about the
interface, such as the cut and paste mentioned above, but
all in all it was a good application. The base package is
well worth the $149 academic / $249 commerical price. I
did not evaluate the other packages mentioned below.
Summary
=======
Application Type: X Windows v11r4 implementation
Version Tested: V2.01 demo
JiroRating: **** (demo)
Description: X Windows v11r4 emulation for the NeXT.
Package comes with Motif
(optional/not evaluated)
Price: Academic Commercial
co-Xist: $149 $249
Motif: $100 $100
Dig. Lib: $50 $50
------------------------------------
Package: $279 $379
Contact: Pencom Systems Incorporated
1-800-Pencom-4
9000 Capital of Texas Highway North
Suite 300
Austin, Texas 78759
- Jiro Nakamura
jiro@shaman.com
Group Leader
FuNK -- Finger Lakes NeXT Users Group
#include <std_disclaimer.h>
I have no connections with Pencom System Incorporated,
other than receiving and evaluating the demo copy of co-Xist.
#include <copyright.h>
This article is Copyright (C) 1991 by Jiro Nakamura
All rights reserved. Permission is granted for reproduction
within USENET and for other non-for-profit publications such
as User Group newsletters. All other forms of reproduction
are not allowed without prior permission of Jiro Nakamura.
--
Jiro Nakamura jiro@shaman.com
Shaman Consulting (607) 253-0687 VOICE
"Bring your dead, dying shamans here!" (607) 253-7809 FAX/Modem