RWS@ZERMATT.LCS.MIT.EDU (Robert Scheifler) (10/04/87)
Announcing plans for the Second Annual X Window System Conference! (X-II should not be confused with X-11. :-) The tentative date is January 14-15, 1988 (the intention is to devote two full days this time). The place is MIT, in Cambridge, MA. The price will hopefully be "free". This is to be an educational, technically-oriented conference; it is not for hyping commercial products. The focus will be V11 and beyond. The idea is to have both talks and BOFS (birds of a feather sessions). Whether there will be concurrent sessions, etc. will depend on how many speakers we get and how many BOFS get organized. Exactly how speakers will be selected, whether written "papers" will be required, and whether "proceedings" will be published, is still somewhat open. The desire is to keep this rather informal, but high in quality. If you would like to give a talk, contact me before Nov. 20; this is not an absolute cutoff, but your chances will diminish after that. I would like to know who you are, what you do, what the talk will be about in reasonable detail, how long you think you need and what you live with, your A/V needs, and whether you will provide a paper or other written materials (and their length) for possible inclusion in a proceedings. Any written materials provided before Nov. 20 will certainly help the selection process. If you would like to be a member of the "Program Committee" for selecting talks and BOFS, etc., please contact me before Nov. 1. If you would like to organize a BOF, send me details. If there are particular talks or BOFS you would like to see happen, send me details. Bob Scheifler Laboratory for Computer Science 545 Technology Square Cambridge, MA 02139 617-253-0628 rws@zermatt.lcs.mit.edu
RWS@ZERMATT.LCS.MIT.EDU (Robert Scheifler) (12/01/87)
Announcing the Second Annual X Window System Conference! The date is January 14-15, 1988, with tutorials on the 13th. The place is MIT, in Cambridge, MA. The price is right (free). Meals will not be provided. Parking will be limited. The conference will likely run from 8:30am to 5:30pm the first day, and 9:00am to 5:00pm the second day. Details of exact location, etc., will be available later. Likely talks: Xtk toolkit BE2 toolkit validation suites how clients should cope with window managers Siemens RTL Tiled Window Manager X3D-PEX extension extension mechanisms X on a high performance workstation X/NeWS merge Possible Birds of a Feather sessions (BOFs): X and Lisp X and Ada X servers on diskless terminals Xtk toolkit BE2 toolkit window managers documentation european and internationalization concerns computer conferencing server implementors video 3D image processing testing and validation Tutorials (held on the 13th): Programming with X11 Xtk toolkit To register for the conference, send mail to xconference@zermatt.lcs.mit.edu or as a last resort (*please* use the net if at all possible) Bob Scheifler Laboratory for Computer Science 545 Technology Square Cambridge, MA 02139 You *must* include, for *each* person, the name of the person, the name of the organization s/he works for, a postal address and phone number, and a list of the BOFs s/he would like to attend (ranked by desirability). Interest in attending specific tutorials, if any, must also be indicated. Requests without this information, or sent to the wrong address, have a high probability of being completely ignored. Registration by network mail will be acknowledged, receipt by post will not be acknowledged (although location information will be sent out later). Registration will be on a first-come-first-serve basis; if we cannot accommodate you, you will be informed as soon as possible. The conference talks and tutorials will be videotaped, and copies will be available for purchase at a later date.
yduJ@lucid.com (Judy Anderson) (01/25/89)
Having a great time at the conference! You guys put an a good show. One minor nit, however... One thing I like to do at conferences is wander around looking at everyone's namebadge to see if they're someone I know electronically so I can introduce myself. But no namebadges makes this awkward. The only way to really make a personal contact is to either barge up to everyone in sight introducing yourself, which is awkward, or wait until a BOF session (which is what I did, but it meant I was bored during the breaks...) Next year how about some quickly run off namebadges and some safety pins? yduJ (Judy Anderson) Lucid, Inc. yduJ@lucid.com edsel!yduJ@labrea.stanford.edu ...!sun!edsel!yduJ (617)784-6114
converse@EXPO.LCS.MIT.EDU (Donna Converse) (01/26/89)
> Having a great time at the conference! You guys put an a good show. The thanks are due to Bob Scheifler, whose attention to detail is remarkable, along with his ability to get up early in the morning. > Next year how > about some quickly run off namebadges and some safety pins? That's a good idea, except the X Consortium staff doesn't have the resources, especially time, to do this. Maybe next year we could supply blank badges, and folks could write in their own names. Donna Converse
kek@DINORAH.WUSTL.EDU (Ken Krippner) (01/26/89)
Regarding the requests for name tags: Consistant with the mechanism/policy stance, I would assume that the application/confirmation mail would be in a format that, if printed and cut along dotted lines, could be pinned on by all attendees with their own pin. We already can't believe how complete the arrangements are (video projectors not withstanding) and would hesitate to add additional stress for name tags. Thanks again you guys/gals!
rws@EXPO.LCS.MIT.EDU (Bob Scheifler) (01/27/89)
From: Donna Converse <converse@expo.lcs.mit.edu>
The thanks are due to Bob Scheifler ...
Donna's just being modest, she and Michelle Leger did the lion's
share of the work for this conference.
We welcome comments, criticisms, suggestions on the X Conference.
Please send them to xconference@expo.lcs.mit.edu, but feel free
to send them to xpert/comp.windows.x as well.Michaels@MCC.COM (Wilson M. Michaels) (01/28/89)
Date: 25 Jan 89 05:02:43 GMT
From: Judy Anderson <fernwood!edsel!yduJ@decwrl.dec.com>
Having a great time at the conference! You guys put an a good show.
One minor nit, however... [...] Next year how
about some quickly run off namebadges and some safety pins?
I would like to make a suggestion concerning name badges. Why not
request that attendees wear their company name badges (if they have
one). Those that don't have company name badges probably have one left
over from some other conference that they could use. I like the simple
email registration for the conference. Check in was even better... if
you were there you were registered. No lines, no hassle.
The conference provided a good look at work in progress and was very
well done. I prefer coffee at the coffee breaks instead of name badges
thank you.
-- Wilson M. Michaelskane@XENURUS.GOULD.COM (Patrick E Kane) (01/28/89)
The X conf. was very good, reminded me of the first few Unix conf. last decade... Instead of name tags people should bring personalized T-shirts. Pat Kane Motorola, Inc Urbana, IL
dwm@ihlpf.ATT.COM (Meeks) (01/31/89)
In article <1780@edsel>, yduJ@lucid.com (Judy Anderson) writes: > I did, but it meant I was bored during the breaks...) Next year how > about some quickly run off namebadges and some safety pins? ----- I nominate Judy for namebadge person at the next Tech Conference. We can all send her our logins, names, etc. and she can create a program to generate the namebadges. I'll supply the safety pins if someone else can supply the tape to stick them to the back of the badge. cheers, --dwm
yduJ@lucid.com (Judy Anderson) (02/02/89)
In article <7523@ihlpf.ATT.COM> dwm@ihlpf.ATT.COM (Meeks) writes: >I nominate Judy for namebadge person at the next Tech Conference. We can >all send her our logins, names, etc. and she can create a program to generate >the namebadges. I'll supply the safety pins if someone else can supply the >tape to stick them to the back of the badge. OK. *IF* I am still working with X and planning to attend the conference, *THEN* I'll volunteer for this. I even already have a nifty TeX program that takes names and produces namebadges; minor alterations to the macro would allow company names etc. to be included. (This program was created for a square dance group I was in charge of.) So then all I'd need is access to a papercutter, which isn't very hard to get. If someone wanted to be really high tech and actually spend a little money on this they could buy those little plastic holders; my program produces badges for 3 1/4" x 2" holders. They cost a quarter each. Naturally if I'm not going to the conference I'm not interested in volunteering to do this; I can't predict this now so you should ask me again in November... (Probably I'll remember I've volunteered to do this and will speak up if my plans include the conference.) yduJ (Judy Anderson) Lucid, Inc. yduJ@lucid.com edsel!yduJ@labrea.stanford.edu ...!sun!edsel!yduJ (617)784-6114
thsrem@tumuc.UUCP (Thomas Schneider) (02/06/89)
What about sending the badges with the registration acknowledgement: 1. everybody brings his/her own safety pin 2. no person required at a conference booth to hand out badges Thomas Schneider UUCP: ...!uunet!unido!tumuc!ths
lsc%chryse@Sun.COM (Lisa S Chabot) (02/09/89)
In article <486@tumuc.UUCP> thsrem@tumuc.UUCP (Thomas Schneider) writes: >What about sending the badges with the registration acknowledgement: >1. everybody brings his/her own safety pin >2. no person required at a conference booth to hand out badges Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this equivalent to sitting at your desk, armed with your favorite text processing equipment (e.g., pen, scissors, and paper; or vi, xterm, and laser printer) and writing your own name? Actually, my scheme even eliminates two common problems: accuracy and the delay inherent in waiting for a round-trip between your desk and the MIT X-Conference-name-badge server. All power corrupts, but we need electricity.
meo@stiatl.UUCP (Miles O'Neal) (02/10/89)
In article <486@tumuc.UUCP> thsrem@tumuc.UUCP (Thomas Schneider) writes: >What about sending the badges with the registration acknowledgement: >1. everybody brings his/her own safety pin >2. no person required at a conference booth to hand out badges An idea that disappeared all too quietly for me was the one of people bringing their work badges, or just making them up on site from paper stock or "Hello, I'm a Frog" stick-ons. I like the informal atmosphere, the no-muss, no-fuss online registration, and the fact that we are not having to pay for niceties of dubious necessity, such as badges. -Miles
yduJ@lucid.com (Judy Anderson) (02/10/89)
In article <88986@sun.uucp> lsc@sun.UUCP (Lisa S Chabot) writes: > [...synopsis: why don't we use a pen and paper at home...] But X is about *standards* and using a pen and paper (or even TeX and a laser printer) at home will produce *non-standard* badges. We can't have that... yduJ (Judy Anderson) Lucid, Inc. yduJ@lucid.com edsel!yduJ@labrea.stanford.edu ...!sun!edsel!yduJ (617)784-6114
rws@EXPO.LCS.MIT.EDU (Bob Scheifler) (12/21/89)
4th Annual X Technical Conference
Boston, Massachusetts
15-17 January 1990
Enclosed is information on tutorials, talks, BOFs, and registration.
ADVANCE REGISTRATION
We recommend you register early as seating is limited. Advance registration
must be postmarked by 6 January 1990. Tutorial Session assignments are made
on a first-come, first-served basis. Return the registration form and payment
to the:
M.I.T. Conference Services Office
Room 7-111, 77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
(Telefax: 617/258-8762; Telex: 92-1473;
Telephone: 617/253-1703).
The Program Committee this year consisted of:
Doug Blewett, AT&T Bell Laboratories
Nathaniel Borenstein, Bell Communications Research
Bruce Cameron, Mayo Foundation
Donna Converse, MIT X Consortium
Jim Fulton, MIT X Consortium
Christian Jacobi, Xerox PARC
Scott McGregor, Digital Equipment Corp.
Al McPherson, Boeing Computer Services
Bill Moran, Yale/IBM
Bob Scheifler, MIT X Consortium
The following tutorials will be given on January 15. These
tutorials will run simultaneously; you can only attend one. If you have not
yet sent in your registration for the X Conference, please include your
tutorial choice (name and number) on your registration form. You can also
indicate one alternate tutorial, in case your first choice fills up. If you
do not wish to go to any tutorial, please indicate that. If you have already
sent in your registration, don't worry, you will receive a tutorial selection
form along with your registration confirmation.
TUTORIAL #1: Event-handling in X, and The X Graphics Model
Ollie Jones, Apollo Division of Hewlett-Packard
This tutorial is for C programmers familiar with Xlib and Xt programming
who wish an in-depth coverage of event-handling in X, and the use and
abuse of graphics.
Part 1: Event-handling in X
Overview of the X protocol.
Error-handling.
Event Queues, buffering, soliciting events.
Window configuration events.
Substructure redirection.
Request-Redirecting events.
Overview of direct input events.
Controlling the pointer.
ButtonPress/ButtonRelease events.
MotionNotify events.
Controlling event frequency.
Pointer Grabs (active, passive)
Automatic Pointer Grabs, OwnerGrabButtonMask
The Keyboard.
KeyPress/KeyRelease events.
KeymapNotify events.
Keyboard Grabs (active, passive)
Freezing and Replaying events.
Controlling Keyboard Focus.
EnterNotify, LeaveNotify, FocusIn, FocusOut:
tracking the pointer with a worms-eye view.
Properties, Selections, and XSendEvent
Part 2: The X Graphics Model
GCs and the graphics pipeline
GC attributes
Clipping and Windows
GC allocation from Xlib and Xt
Using Drawing-Area Widgets
When to Draw? Expose Events
Graphics Primitives
Text and Fonts
Scrolling and Copying
When to Scroll? GraphicsExpose and NoExpose Events
Images
Bitmaps
Creating Custom Graphic Widgets
TUTORIAL #2: Inter-Client Communication Conventions
Glenn Widener, Tektronix, Inc.
This tutorial covers the Inter-Client Communication Conventions recently
adopted by the X Consortium as a part of the core X standard. The
conventions are examined from a client developer's perspective.
Attendees will learn the responsibilities of a portable, cooperative X
client, how window and session managers might respond to client actions,
and how to properly design and code a cooperating X client. Conventions
covered include selections, communication of multilingual text, resource
names, manipulating windows, icons, and popups, handling input focus,
input devices, and colormaps, and starting and stopping windows, clients,
and sessions. The R4 ICCC changes in the Xlib and X toolkit intrinsics
programmatic interfaces are described, with examples.
TUTORIAL #3: OSF/Motif (TM)
Ellis Cohen, Open Software Foundation
OSF/Motif is a trademark of the Open Software Foundation
This tutorial describes the technical details of OSF/Motif, including the
Motif Toolkit (the widget set), UIL (the Motif User Interface Language),
mwm (the Motif Window Manager), and the Motif Style Guide.
The tutorial is primarily aimed at developers, users, and technical
managers who wish detailed information on the features and functionality
of Motif.
TUTORIAL #4: Using XView (TM) to produce OPEN LOOK (TM) applications
XView Engineering Team members, Sun Microsystems
XView is a trademark of Sun Microsystems
OPEN LOOK is a trademark of AT&T
The goal of this tutorial is to give programmers an overview of what the
XView toolkit is and give them enough information so that they'll be able
to write interesting programs very quickly. We will also cover the
mechanics of the XView classing model and writing XView extensions.
Additionally, we will discuss the tools that are available to quickly
prototype XView OPEN LOOK applications (ie. OpenWindows (TM) Develpers
GUIDE (TM), a Graphical User Interface Design Editor). Also, the tools to
convert existing SunView applications to XView such that they are portable
to all X servers.
We will also be discussing the OLGX (OPEN LOOK Graphics) library and how
it will be used to provide both 2D and 3D-look OPEN LOOK graphics for the
toolkit, window manager and other clients.
The tutorial is primarily aimed at developers and technical managers who
wish detailed information on the features and functionality of XView.
TUTORIAL #5: Writing Applications with the OPEN LOOK (TM) Xt Based
Programming Environment
Marcel Meth, AT&T Bell Laboratories
OPEN LOOK is a trademark of AT&T
The goal of this this tutorial is to illustrate the ease with which
programmers can adopt a graphical user interface for their applications.
The graphical programming environment used to exemplify concepts is the
AT&T Xt based based programming environment running on the X Window
System. The programming environment consists of the OPEN LOOK toolkit
together with three client processes. The toolkit is based on the MIT
intrinsics, runs in the X Window System environment, and provides the
basic building blocks that allow programmers to easily construct
applications that conform to the OPEN LOOK Graphical User Interface. The
tutorial is divided into four contiguous sections.
The first part provides a bird's eye view of User Interface Technology as
well as toolkit technology. The goal of the first section is twofold:
first, to clarify the distinction between User Interfaces and Toolkits,
and second, to provide a historical perspective.
The second section of the tutorial is devoted to illustrating the use of
the mainstream components of the OPEN LOOK Xt based programming
environment. These components include all the composite widgets, as well
as the the majority of the primitive widgets.
The next section covers the more intricate widgets as well as the
programmatic interfaces with the OPEN LOOK clients.
Finally, the last part of the tutorial will provide hints for programmers
as to how they may achieve optimal performance using Xt based toolkits.
TUTORIAL #6: Programming with InterViews
Paul Calder, Stanford University
InterViews is a true object-oriented toolkit for X that emphasizes
composition as a way of building user interfaces. The toolkit supports
composition of interactive objects (such as scroll bars and buttons), text
objects (such as words and whitespace), and graphics objects (such as
circles and polygons). InterViews is written in C++.
The tutorial will use an example-driven approach to introduce the basic
concepts of InterViews and demonstrate how actual applications are built.
During the course of the tutorial, a simple InterViews-based application
will be developed. A short videotape (10 minutes) will be shown to
demonstrate InterViews in action.
This tutorial will be an updated version of the one given at last year's X
Conference and at Xhibition this past June. Attendees should be familiar
with C, X, and basic object-oriented programming concepts. Familiarity
with C++ would be an advantage, but is not required.
TUTORIAL #7: The Serpent UIMS
Len Bass, Erik Hardy, Rick Kazman, Dan Klein
Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
The Serpent UIMS represents a new generation of User Interface Management
Systems that manage the total dynamic behavior of an interface and that
allow applications to remain uninvolved with the details of the user
interface.
Serpent is designed to manage relatively arbitrary toolkits. There is a
language that is used to describe the user interface and its dynamic
behavior and an editor that allows the interface to be built using
standard drawing facilities. The editor integrates the textual
specification of the user interface logic with the graphic specification
of the user interface appearance.
The tutorial will cover all aspects of the use of Serpent including: the
use of the editor, the Serpent language and the specification of dialogues
within Serpent.
Serpent is intended to be used either with an application in a production
environment or without an application in a prototyping environment. There
is an interface description language used both by the application to
describe its interface to Serpent and by the toolkits to describe their
interface to Serpent. Applications and toolkits written in either C or
Ada can be used with Serpent, although the interface description mechanism
is designed to be extensible to other languages.
We expect the following "Birds of a Feather" sessions to be held.
Monday
Motif
XView
InterViews
Lisp Toolkits
Performance Evaluation
Ada and X
Emacs and X
X and "Other" Languages (not C, C++, Lisp, or Ada)
Tuesday
R4 Xt Intrinsics
TAE Plus
Interactive Development Tools
C++ and X
Server Implementors Mini-Session
Testing and Validation Mini-Session
Internationalization
Colormaps, Colors, and Image Display and Manipulation
Wednesday
User Interface Management Systems
Avoiding Pitfalls in Writing Widgets
Server Implementors
Testing and Validation
VEX and Overlays
Computer Conferencing and X
Gwm
Session Managers
The following talks will be given during the main sessions on January 16-17.
The Changes Made to the Xt Intrinsics in Release 4
Ralph R. Swick
Digital Equipment Corporation/M.I.T. Project Athena
The main intent of this presentation is to show to the audience that
while many things have been added in many areas, binary compatibility
can be maintained for 98% of applications and widgets. I will present
some rationale for the more significant improvements and simply
enumerate the simpler and more easily understood improvements.
The Xt Intrinsics: Lessons for the Next Generation
Paul Asente
Digital Equipment Corporation Western Software Lab
The X Toolkit Intrinsics were designed under tight time constraints
simultaneously with software that uses them. As a result, some
decisions made early on in the design turned out to be the wrong ones,
but too much derived software existed to make radical changes. This
talk discusses some of the features of the toolkit that ended up being
over-complicated or hard to use, including how entries in translation
tables interact, some details of geometry management, and difficulties
in detecting programming errors.
TAE Plus: Transportable Applications Environment Plus
Marti Szczur
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
TAE Plus is a portable tool for designing, building and tailoring an
application's user interface (UI) and for controlling the designed UI
throughout the application's execution. The main component of TAE Plus
is a WYSIWYG user interface designer's "WorkBench" that allows an
application developer to interactively construct the look and feel of an
application screen by arranging and manipulating "interaction objects"
(e.g., radio buttons, menus, icons, stretchers, rotators, etc.).
Beyond the Interface: Rapid Interactive Development of MOTIF Applications
with a User Interface Manager for X
Frank Hall
Hewlett-Packard Company, Corvallis Information Systems
Hewlett-Packard and Visual Edge Software, Ltd., are creating a rapid
development tool which combines an interactive layout facility with a C
interpreter to address the whole task of creating any application based
on the OSF/Motif widget set. The resulting productivity gains have
exceeded two orders of magnitude in field use. This presentation
reviews the tool's functionality and its potential role in the
development cycle of X applications.
An Object-Oriented, Constraint-Based, User Interface Development Environment
for X in CommonLisp
Brad A. Myers
School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
The Garnet User Interface Development Environment contains a
comprehensive set of tools that make it significantly easier to design
and implement highly-interactive, graphical, direct manipulation user
interfaces. It is implemented in CommonLisp on top of the X/11 window
manager. The lower layers of Garnet provide an object-oriented,
constraint-based graphical system that allows properties of graphical
objects to be specified in a simple, declarative manner and then
maintained automatically by the system. The higher layers of Garnet
include an interface builder tool, called Lapidary, that allows the user
interface designer to draw pictures of @i(all) graphical aspects of the
user interface. Another high level tool is an automatic dialogue box
and menu editor, called Jade.
OI: A Model Extendable C++ Toolkit for X Windows
Gary Aitken
Solbourne Computer, Inc.
OI is a C++ based toolkit for writing clients intended to run using the
X Window System Version 11. Like other toolkits, the OI provides a
basic set of objects used in constructing an interface. Unlike other
toolkits, these objects are generic in nature. The particular
appearance and behavior of an object may be determined at execution time
-- the same executable image may run under two different interaction and
appearance models. The current library supports OpenLook and a partial
Motif implementation; a complete Motif implementation is expected by
spring 1990.
XOOT -- The C++ X Object-Oriented Toolkit for the rest of us
George W. Sherouse
Radiation Oncology, Univerity of North Carolina
XOOT is an X Object-Oriented Toolkit intended to simplify and structure
the design and implementation of X applications. In addition, it is
intended to address some issues which arise in development of complex
X-based applications, such as image display and graphics software. XOOT
is specifically designed for use in applications which are
resource-intensive. The "standard" toolkits with which we are familiar
make several resource-related assumptions which are not appropriate for
applications like our image-based medical CAD work.
The Answer Garden
Mark Ackerman, Thomas W. Malone
Center for Coordination Science, MIT
Two of the considerable problems in using X are finding a starting point
when learning X initially and understanding the site dependencies in
using X. NetNews has a early continuous flow of similar, naive
questions. Users, even in research and development laboratories, have
difficulty in distinguishing MIT releases from vendor releases, locating
source materials at their site, knowing about bug fixes, and finding the
proper people to ask. The objective of this project is to design and
develop an information tool that will alleviate these problems.
Internationalization in the X Window System
Sivan Mahadevan
AT&T Bell Laboratories
There is significant interest today in defining standards to ensure
internationalization support in X. Such standardization in X is
necessary to permit application writers to develop truely
"internationalized" applications, or applications that require no source
code modifications for correct operation in any national language or
geographic location. In this talk, I will discuss the requirements of
internationalization in X and our experience in providing
internationalization support in AT&T's Intrinsics-based OPEN LOOK(tm) X
Toolkit.
Unidraw: A Framework for Building Domain-Specific Graphical Editors
John Vlissides
Stanford University
Unidraw is a framework for creating object-oriented graphical editors.
The framework defines four basic abstractions: components encapsulate
the appearance and behavior of objects, tools support direct
manipulation of components, commands define operations on components,
and external representations define the mapping between components and a
file or database. Unidraw also supports multiple views, graphical
connectivity, and dataflow between components. This talk presents
Unidraw and three prototype domain-specific editors we have developed
with it: a drawing editor, a schematic capture system, and a user
interface builder. Unidraw is implemented in C++ on top of InterViews
and X.
XDMCP -- A First Step in Making it Easier to Get Started in X
Dave Mackie, Ed Basart
Network Computing Devices
This talk will cover XDMCP, the R4 usefulness of XDM and the technical
trail that took us from the problems with R3 XDM, the addition of
security, and the remaining problems that R4 XDM does not solve.
VEX: features and current state
Todd Brunhoff
Visual Systems Lab, Tektronix, Inc.
Current design details of the VEX extension will be presented, including
descriptions of how the protocol expresses video input, logically how it
is displayed, and how various existing hardware is expected to fit into
this paradigm; video output, the logic of capturing graphics, along with
current hardware; and device control, why it is in X as opposed to out
of X, and what the functionality is expected to accomplish.
X server optimization and hardware issues
Keith Packard
MIT X Consortium
The MIT Sample server for Release 4 represents a dramatic departure from
previous releases. Instead of providing a proof-of-concept for the
server side of the X protocol, this release focuses on a wide range of
performance issues. Besides recognising performance problems in the
hardware independent code, we were able to isolate and catagorize
problems which confront the X server implementor on a wide range of
hardware systems. An overview of the design of the R4 server will be
presented, along with a candid discussion of tradeoffs which are
inherent in both server implementation and hardware design as it affects
the core X server.
A Multithreaded Server for X and PEX
Ian Elliott, John Brezak, Nathan Meyers
Hewlett-Packard Company
The basics of multithreaded programming, various issues, alternative
solutions, and a recommended direction will be discussed. Among the
issues discussed will be: partitioning core X and extension code into
multiple threads; isolating the server implementation from the threading
package; ensuring correct execution with preemptive thread scheduling;
performance impacts of multithreading.
Opportunities with Lightweight Processes
Christian P. Jacobi
Xerox PARC
There are many reasons to use multiprogramming. It might be a way to
deal with multiprocessors, it might be fun, or, sometimes it even helps
engineering your software right. Multiprogramming is an integrated
feature of our Cedar programming language. Since I have written an
"XLib" and a "Toolkit" for Cedar I have learned some lessons about
multiprogramming with X-Windows.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Window Sharing in X
John F. Patterson
Bellcore
The talk describes a window sharing system that I have designed and
implemented based on the X Window System and identifies features of X
that are either good, bad, or unpleasant when implementing a window
sharing system. The talk consists of four major parts. A background
part discusses both window sharing in general and my implementation in
particular. Then the next three parts present the three lists of X
characteristics: good, bad, and ugly.
Using speech recognition to augment window manager functions
Chris Schmandt
MIT Media Lab
This talk will describe Xspeak, a speech recognition interface for
navigation under X windows. It will discuss: window manager operations
amenable to speech input; Xspeak implementation and operation;
interactions and problems with window managers; results of evaluation
among a small community of users.
Gwm, the emacs-like window manager
Colas Nahaboo
BULL Research FRANCE
I will present Gwm, the emacs-like window manager, show what experience
has been gained since its general release on expo in July 89, and how I
plan to enhance it in the future.
xRooms: A Multiple Virtual Workspace Interface for the X Window System
Bill Janssen
Xerox Corporation
This talk describes the implementation of Xerox's "Rooms" as a
co-process of an X Window System window manager. Rooms is a workspace
manager that supports grouping of related activities into `tasks', rapid
switching between tasks, an overview of current tasks, and
suspension/resumption of tasks. Issues of X Window System session
management and client/window-manager cooperation are addressed. A new
strategy for non-iconification, based on the Rooms overview system, is
discussed.
Rooms, External Window Management, and the ICCCM
Hania Gajewska
Olivetti Research California
Mark S. Manasse
Systems Research Center, DEC
Rooms management is an aspect of window management that can be separated
from the more conventional role of a window manager -- that of providing
a user interface for window positioning and sizing. In this talk, we
consider the problems of implementing an external rooms manager, that
is, one which is a separate program from the window manager. We further
consider the problems arising in the construction of a
window-manager-independent external rooms manager, that is, one which
provides rooms management functionality with any ICCCM-compliant window
manager. We exhibit some of the restrictions this imposes on the style
of rooms management, and some of the problems with the current ICCCM
that makes this harder than it might be.
The following three talks will be given during a Server Implementor's
mini-session, held concurrently with BOFs:
RealTimeX: Can it "Real"ly Work?
Sam Black
Concurrent Computer Corporation
The characteristics and behaviour of the X Window System is sufficient
for most graphics applications. Real-time applications, however,
require special func-tions to attain real-time response. Many people
feel that high performance is sufficient to claim that a system is
real-time. This is not the case. In order to attain real-time response
and the feel of a real-time system, significant modifications need to
be made to the X server, and an extension to the X protocol is required.
Technology Directions in Hardware Assisted X
Dick Verburg, John Cook
IBM
X server graphics management
Hardware Exploitation
Division of labor--server, client, kernel
Adapter Requirements
Graphics client requirements
Performance comparisons (high level)
Proposed architecture
Porting the X-11 Server to Non-Memory Mapped Graphics Cards
With Graphics Accelerators
Erich Rickheit, Dave Pelland, Rich Miner
Center for Porductivity Enhancement, University of Lowell
Numerous contemporary graphics and windowing peripherals are being
developed with custom or over the counter graphics processors. In many
instances these graphics systems do not allow a host CPU to access the
graphics fame buffer directly. In these systems there is often a
command level interface which is used to communicate between the host
and graphics processor. This presentation will focus on the design of
an X11 server for such environments. The presentation will provide a
general overview of the issues involved in such a port, using examples
from a server implementation developed for the TIGA software interface
for a Texas Instruments TMS34010 based graphics card.
The following three talks will be given during a Testing and Validation
mini-session, held concurrently with BOFs:
Enhancing the Input Synthesis Extension with Xtrap
Alan Jamison
Digital Equipment Corp.
This talk will present experiences within Digital in going beyond the
functionality available in the current version of the Input Synthesis
Extension. It will reflect actual work which has taken place to date and
recount various lessons learned during the process. It will also
describe how this work is being used at Digital for performing testing
of the DECwindows product which is based on X. Alternative methods of
input synthesis and output detection based on non-screen compare methods
will be discussed as well as how they apply to solving problems in the
windows testing space.
Automating X Window System testing by User Synthesis
Dan Coutu
Digital Equipment Corp.
This talk will describe an X application (Xigor) which helps to automate
testing of X via a record/playback mechanism. Xigor uses Input Synthesis
concepts as well as X request detection, time delays, etc. to control
the recording and replay of an interactive user session. The recording
can then be converted into a C script for detailed customization and
editing. After this script editing process your test program is now
capable of acting as a synthesized user instead of just a sequential
playback utility. Error detection and correction can be a part of your
script. The talk will address functionality and portability of the tool
as well as future directions.
1000 Unemployed Monkeys
Len Wyatt, Liz Heller
Sequent Computer Systems, Inc.
At Sequent, graphical applications are being made based upon the X
Window System and the X-Pression User Interface Management System
(UIMS). The UIMS allows applications to construct objects (menus,
scrollbars) and processes I/O for the objects (locates a mouse click
within a menu title, for example, and pulls the menu down). The test
tools use the intrinsic knowledge that the UIMS has of the location and
state of all the objects it manages. Requests have been added to the
UIMS to allow a testing agent to access this information.
The following talk will be given at the start of a BOF:
Pitfalls in Widget Writing and In Using Widgets to Write Applications
Miles O'Neal
Sales Technologies Inc.
Susan Liebeskind
Georgia Tech Research Institute
Making Things Happen
Resources
Timing Issues
Widget Partitioning
Object-Orientedness Issues
Breaking The Rules
Nested Event Loops
Toolkit or not Toolkit
Debugging in Xland
ON-SITE REGISTRATION
(space available basis)
Registration for the Conference will also take place at the Boston Marriott
Copley Place during the following times:
Monday, January 15, 1990 10:00am-5:00pm
Tuesday, January 16 7:45am-5:00pm
Wednesday, January 17 7:45am-12:00noon
SESSIONS
All sessions of the conference will be held at the Boston Marriott
Copley Place. There will be no vendor exhibits.
Monday, January 15
TUTORIALS 1:00pm to 6:00pm
BOFS 6:20pm to 8:00pm
Tuesday, January 16
TALKS 9:00am to 5:00pm
BOFS 5:20pm to 7:00pm
FORUM 8:30pm to 10:30pm (Q&A with the X Consortium)
Wednesday, January 17
TALKS 8:30am to 4:00pm
BOFS 4:15pm to 5:45pm
PAYMENT
The registration fee of $50 includes admission to assigned Tutorial
Sessions and all Talk & Discussion Sessions. Payment must be included
with advance registration. Advance registration forms will not be
processed without full payment.
REFUNDS
All refund requests must be made in writing to the MIT Conference Services
Office and postmarked by 15 December 1989. The registration will be refunded
less a $10 processing fee. No refunds will be granted after that date,
however substitutions will be accepted until Friday, 12 January 1990.
CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS & TUTORIAL NOTES
Tutorial Session registration entitles you to one copy of the notes for
that course. Conference registration entitles you to one copy of the
conference proceedings. Advance Registrants must pick up their conference
credentials and materials at the Conference Registration Desk. Individual
Tutorial Notes and Conference Proceedings cannot be ordered in advance,
nor can they be obtained after the conference.
HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS
The Boston Marriott Copley Place has reserved a block of rooms for conference
participants from Sunday, 14 January through Wednesday, 17 January. The
Marriott is located in one of Boston's newest retail developments within
walking distance of many of the City's attractions. The Hotel features
several restaurants, health club facilities, an indoor swimming pool and
conference-related services.
Conference rate: $99/night for a single, twin, or double, exclusive of a
9.7% tax/night. This rate is guaranteed until 22 December 1989. Parking is
available for an additional fee.
HOTEL RESERVATIONS
To make hotel reservations, complete and return the Hotel Reservation Form
to the following address:
Boston Marriott Copley Place
110 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02116
ATTENTION: Reservations Dept.
Questions regarding hotel accommodations should be directed to the
Boston Marriott Copley Place at the above address or Tel: 1-800-228-9290.
Your reservation will be confirmed upon receipt. (Hotel Reservation Forms
can be obtained from the M.I.T. Conference Services Office)
sponsored by the MIT X Consortium
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION FORM
4th ANNUAL X TECHNICAL CONFERENCE
Boston Marriott Copley Place
15-17 January 1990
PLEASE PRINT
NAME:____________________________________________________________
(first) (last)
COMPANY/INSTITUTION:_____________________________________________
ADDRESS:_________________________________________________________
CITY:_________________STATE/COUNTRY:_______________ZIP:__________
ELECTRONIC MAIL ADDRESS:_________________________________________
TELEPHONE:_________________________________
TUTORIAL SELECTION: Number: ______ or check here if None: ______
Title: _________________________________________________________
ALTERNATE TUTORIAL: Number: ______ or check here if None: ______
Title: _________________________________________________________
Registration received after 6 January cannot be processed in time for the
conference. If you mail a registration that is received after 6 January,
it will be returned to you and you will need to register on-site. Your
registration will be confirmed upon receipt of payment and this completed
form. If you have not indicated a tutorial selection, information on the
Tutorial Sessions will be sent with your confirmation of registration. You
must reply with your selection of tutorials by 6 January.
Refund requests must be made in writing and postmarked by 15 December 1989.
The registration fee will be refunded less a $10 processing fee.
The registration fee is $50 per person. Registration will not be processed
without full payment. The following forms of payment are acceptable:
__Check or money order enclosed made payable to M.I.T.
__Mastercard __Visa
____________________________________ ________________________________
Card Number Expiration Date
____________________________________________________________
Cardholder's Signature required for credit card transactions
____________________________________________________________
PRINT CARDHOLDER'S NAME
Return this form and payment by 6 January to the following address:
M.I.T. Conference Services Office
Room 7-111, 77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
Telephone: 617/253-1703 Telefax: 617/258-8762 Telex: 92-1473
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
HOTEL RESERVATION FORM
BOSTON MARRIOTT COPLEY PLACE
4th Annual X Technical Conference
15-17 January 1990
Please include first night's deposit with reservation to guarantee your
arrangements. A check or money order made payable to the Boston Marriott
Copley Place Hotel or one of the credit cards listed below is an acceptable
form of payment. If the reservation is not honored on the day of arrival
or is not cancelled before 6:00 pm on that day, you will be billed for one
night and the reservation will be cancelled. The Hotel's direct telephone
number is 617/236-5800.
The room rate of $99/night for Single or Double (2ppl/1bed) or Twin
(2ppl/2beds) will be honored until December 22, 1989. (rates also
applicable for Sunday, January 14) Guest rooms will be available after
4:00 pm; check-out time is Noon. All rooms are subject to 9.7% tax
(subject to change).
PLEASE PRINT
NAME:______________________________________________________________
(first) (last)
COMPANY/INSTITUTION:_______________________________________________
ADDRESS:___________________________________________________________
CITY:________________STATE/COUNTRY:__________________ZIP:__________
TELEPHONE: Room Type*:
*(single, double, or twin)
Please supply names of additional persons to occupy room.
Name of occupant Arrival date/time Departure date
_____________________________ _____________________ __________________
_____________________________ _____________________ __________________
An additional charge will be made if a room is shared by a third adult.
___ Please send me a confirmation of my room reservation.
__Check or money order enclosed payable to Boston Marriott Copley Place Hotel.
__American Express __Mastercard __Visa
____________________________________ ________________________________
Card Number Expiration Date
____________________________________________________________
Cardholder's Signature required for credit card transactions
____________________________________________________________
PRINT CARDHOLDER'S NAME
Hotel reservations and Conference registration are being handled at
two separate locations, remember to mail this form to the following
address to avoid considerable delays:
Return to: Boston Marriott Copley Place
110 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02116
ATTENTION: Reservations Departmentrws@expo.lcs.mit.EDU (Bob Scheifler) (01/05/91)
Today is the last day for pre-registration for the X Conference. But don't despair, there is still plenty of room in the various tutorials and in the main talk sessions, so you can always register on site. If you come into Boston on Sunday, please try to pick up your registration materials at the Registration Desk between 3pm and 8pm. This will help avoid a big crunch on Monday morning. If you take the subway (T) to the hotel, here's a tip (for west coasters :-) to minimize your exposure to Boston's fine weather. From the airport, take the free (blue and white) shuttle bus to the Airport subway stop, pay 75 cents and take the Blue Line inbound to State Street, switch to the Orange Line and take it to Back Bay/South End. Keep walking along the station platform past the stairs that lead up to the street exit, and you'll find an underpass that leads directly into the Copley Place mall.