uejiowh@wscad4.crd.ge.COM (10/11/89)
Several weeks ago I posted a request for information. Many people requested
a summary and here it is on xpert preceded by my comments.
The following messages are the only
messages I received on the topic. I also made several contacts on my own.
1. It seems that the only full spreadsheets today will only run under
terminal emulation under X.
2. I have called Uniplex for information about their spreadsheet. Nothing yet.
3. I have tried out the Table function under Andrew and it is a minimal
spreadsheet without many capabilities.
4. I have heard of several universities that are in the middle of developing
a spreadsheet. Whether they will be put in the PD or in what stage they
are in, I have little knowledge.
5. I called the makers of 20/20 and SuperCalc. Both say they will have
something under X Window in the future. No release date was given.
6. Rumor has it that Lotus will have an X windows Based spreadsheet. I
have not talked to them and this is 4th hand.
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To: uejiowh@wscad4
Subject: Re: A Spreadsheet that runs under X Window System
In-Reply-To: Your message of Fri, 29 Sep 89 08:31:18 -0400.
<8909291231.AA06295@wscad4.crd.ge.com>
Date: Fri, 29 Sep 89 12:34:50 EDT
From: Bob Miner <bob@odi.com>
Sure. My former employer sells one which runs under X on most workstations
(e.g. DEC, Sun, etc.). The name of the company is Access Technology Inc.
and the product's name is 20/20. They've been in the business of selling
spreadsheet software for larger computers (minis & mainframes) for about 6
years now and I think, although I'm not sure, that they're the market leader
in spreadsheet sales for minicomputers (vs. personal computers).
Name, address and phone number:
Access Technology Inc.
2 Natick Executive Park
Natick, MA 01760
(508) 655-9191
20/20 also has some nice features for connecting with databases and
pulling in data from a database into the spreadsheet while running.
Besides running on workstations running X, it also runs on character
terminals on almost any larger computer you can think of (IBM, Wang,
HP, DEC, etc.).
Disclaimer: As I formerly worked for Access, I am biased.
Bob Miner
Object Design Inc.
Internet: bob@odi.com 1 New England Executive Park
Or: odi!bob@uunet.uu.net Burlington, MA 01803
Or: odi!bob@eddie.mit.edu (617) 270-9797
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Date: Sat, 30 Sep 89 01:32:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: Bill Cattey <wdc@athena.mit.edu>
To: uejiowh@wscad4
Subject: Re: A Spreadsheet that runs under X Window System
In-Reply-To: <8909291231.AA06295@wscad4.crd.ge.com>
References: <8909291231.AA06295@wscad4.crd.ge.com>
One spreadsheet that comes in the X tape is the Andrew 'table' program.
This may not be totally useful to you because it's based on the Andrew
toolkit which is a bit time and disk block intensive to compile. (Like
any full function toolkit.)
Although I have not made intensive use of table, what use I have made of
it has worked. Table also has the advantage that it plugs into the
Andrew multi-media editor and messaging system so that you can include
spreadsheets in documents and electronic mail.
For more information about the Andrew toolkit and its applications,
consult contrib/toolkits/andrew on your X tape, and send e-mail to
info-andrew-request@andrew.cmu.edu. NOTE! In the months that have
passed since the X11R3 tape, much improvement in the toolkit has
happened, and the version that will be on the X11R4 tape wil be much
better, and somewhat easier to compile.
- -wdc
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To: uejiowh@wscad4
In-Reply-To: uejiowh@wscad4.crd.ge.COM's message of 29 Sep 89 12:31:18 GMT
Subject: A Spreadsheet that runs under X Window System
Try "vc". You can get it from uunet.uu.net.
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Date: Sat, 30 Sep 89 13:05:21 PDT
From: guy@auspex.com (Guy Harris)
Message-Id: <8909302005.AA08505@auspex.com>
To: uejiowh@wscad4
Subject: Re: A Spreadsheet that runs under X Window System
>Does anyone know of a Spreadsheet that runs under X Window System?
>It can be commercial or Public Domain and what machines do they run on?
Well, it depends on how fancy a spreadsheet you want and how much it
should care about X. There's a publicly-available spreadsheet "sc", but
I think it's character-terminal-based, so it runs under X only to the
extent that it runs inside a terminal emulator under X, like "xterm".
There's also a spreadsheet object in the Andrew toolkit, which runs
under X; it's not a super-powerful one, I don't think, and it does
require that you bring up the Andrew toolkit, and since you have to
bring up its dynamic linking mechanism to do so, it's a bit of work to
do so on machines to which it's not already been ported.
I remember hearing once that Informix's Wingz spreadsheet was going to
be ported to UNIX under X; I don't know if that's happened yet.
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To: uejiowh@wscad4
Cc: bob@odi.com
Subject: Re: Spreadsheet under X
In-Reply-To: Your message of Mon, 02 Oct 89 07:12:30 -0400.
<8910021112.AA01658@wscad4.crd.ge.com>
Date: Mon, 02 Oct 89 10:36:25 EDT
From: Bob Miner <bob@odi.com>
Bob,
Thanks for your reply but I do not think you have the picture. 20/20 and
all other spreadsheets work under xterm conditions. They do not create
their own windows. i.e. table with charts in separate windows; change one
the other changes.
wayne
I was mistaken, sort of. There's a version of 20/20 which runs under Sun
Windows which supports mouse selection, has buttons, resizable windows, etc.
As porting a Sun Windows application to XView is normally a quick process,
I wonder if they've ported to XView. I haven't kept in touch, so I don't know.
You're correct that, at least as of a few months ago, 20/20 could run only
within an xterm under X. However, you might call Access up and ask if they
now have a version which really runs under X, not just in an xterm. I don't
know, but it would make sense that they'd be working on one.
Bob Miner
Object Design Inc.
Internet: bob@odi.com 1 New England Executive Park
Or: odi!bob@uunet.uu.net Burlington, MA 01803
Or: odi!bob@eddie.mit.edu (617) 270-9797
------- End of Forwarded Messagedjw@ibmpcug.co.uk (Dj Walker-Morgan) (10/13/89)
Someone mentioned Wingz on X? Well, I caught a sight of that on a Sun stand at /unix/usr show in the UK and it looked pretty, but better ask the makers how far they are with ACTUALLY realeasing it.... DJ "I've seen the Future, I Can't Afford it" -ABC -- Automatic Disclaimer: The views expressed above are those of the author alone and may not represent the views of the IBM PC User Group.