phils@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (02/25/89)
We at the Computer Resource Lab. are looking to write an Application
Manager called Xapp (see below). It seems like the "xscope" program is
a good reference for starting on such a task. Has anyone managed to
get xscope running on a Vax? It runs on RTs and Suns without any problem.
If anyone would like to share some experiences in either extentions to xscope
or application management please contact us. This is similar to the
ConMan work done at Silicon Graphics except that we want to control i/o
to standard applications that don't have additional communications
ports. Anyway, a brief introduction is included below for those interested.
Sincerly,
Philip Thompson (phils@athena.mit.edu)
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MANAGING APPLICATIONS USING X AND UNIX
Philip R. Thompson
Prof. Joseph Ferreira
Computer Resource Laboratory
Dept. of Architecture and Planning
M.I.T., Rm. 9-514
Cambridge, MA 02139
We would like a simple switchable means of
transferring information among processes running in
separate windows where these processes can be
off-the-shelf applications that expect terminal based
interaction (eg. vt100 emulation). Within the X and
Unix environment it is common to initiate several
interactive processes that are related to one task.
Although xterm provides a convenient means of bringing
existing applications into an X environment, xterm does
not provide unix-type support for pipes and redirected
i/o. Hence, applications using standard i/o and running
in separate xterms are more isolated than we would like.
We would like such programs to be able to communicate
with each other while maintaining some interactive
capabilities. The application manager, then, will
provide for (and extend) the control of what that
program assumes is standard input and output; by
switching from user input to other sources and by
preserving a much more interactive and uncluttered style
on the part of the user. This will reduce the use of
intermediate or temporary files and the need to
explicitly move, copy and transfer them among machines.
Suppose, for example, we have a database manager
and a mapping package that we can run interactively in
an xterm. We might want to connect the two on occasion
so that the output of one temporarily serves as input to
the other. For example in the course of analyzing and
mapping information about land ownership and use, one
window may provide the interaction to a database
manager, another window may translate the database's
output and a third window may control a mapping program
for graphically viewing this information. Coordinating
the links and data exchange among these programs
can certainly be a less than transparent task, espe-
cially when using remote processes and windows.
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