rws@EXPO.LCS.MIT.EDU (Bob Scheifler) (12/12/88)
For Immediate Release December 12, 1988 MIT X Consortium Launches Effort to Bring 3D Graphics Functionality to the X Window System The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and 13 leading computer companies today announced that they have launched an implementation effort to extend the X Window System to generate efficient high-quality three-dimensional (3D) graphics across a network. For the first time, users of the X Window System will be able to run 3D software applications on mainframes, supercomputers, and other remote machines, while displaying and interactively manipulating the resulting 3D graphics on their local workstations. This form of distributed computing in an environment of heterogeneous computers from multiple manufacturers can significantly increase productivity by better utilizing resources available in the network. The functionality being added to the X Window System is a network protocol known as PEX, or PHIGS/PHIGS+ Extension to X. PHIGS, the Programmers Hierarchical Interactive Graphics System, is an international standard for 3D graphics. PHIGS+ is an extension to PHIGS being proposed in the international community to support additional features for lighting, shading, depth cueing, and advanced curve and surface primitives. The PEX effort marks a major milestone in marrying important industry standards, making it possible to use standard programming interfaces to transmit 3D graphics efficiently across a network to an X Window System display. The companies sponsoring the effort are Apollo Computer Inc., Ardent Computer, Data General Corp., Digital Equipment Corp., Evans and Sutherland, Fujitsu Limited, Hewlett-Packard Company, Open Software Foundation, Solbourne Computer Inc., Stellar Computer Inc., Sun Microsystems Inc., Tektronix Inc., and UNICAD Inc. In addition to funding the effort, these sponsors will also provide representatives to review and revise the design of the implementation. The contract for the implementation has been awarded to Sun Microsystems Inc. The implementation team will work in concert with the sponsors and with MIT to ensure a timely and portable implementation. Sun will produce a public implementation of the PHIGS/PHIGS+ application programming interface for the X environment, along with the full network and graphics code necessary to generate 3D graphics on an X display. The effort is being coordinated and controlled by the MIT X Consortium, under the direction of MIT's Robert W. Scheifler. A preliminary release to the sponsors is scheduled for the Summer of 1989, and the first public release of the software and documentation is scheduled for the late Fall of 1990. The implementation will become part of the MIT X Consortium software release, and will be available at distribution cost with no licensing restrictions. PEX originated with a proposal by Digital Equipment Corporation and Sun Microsystems Inc. to an X3D interest group meeting sponsored by MIT in June 1987. The proposal was revised and finalized in an intensive design process by an architecture team made up of representatives from Apollo Computer Inc., Digital Equipment Corp., Hewlett-Packard Company, and Sun Microsystems Inc. Three public reviews were held, and the completed specification was released in December 1987. X Window System is a trademark of MIT. For further information, contact: Robert Scheifler MIT X Consortium (617) 253-0628 Jim Barbagallo Apollo Computer Inc. (508) 256-6600 Mark Patrick Ardent Computer (408) 732-0400 Sanford Friedman Data General Corp. (508) 870-6764 Robert Price Digital Equipment Corp. (508) 493-4297 Gene McDaniel Evans and Sutherland (415) 969-9300 Charles Brauer Fujitsu America, Inc. (408) 432-1300 Kathy Dow Hewlett-Packard Company (303) 229-2370 Ted Wilson Open Software Foundation (617) 621-8700 Brian Doyle Solbourne Computer Inc. (303) 772-3400 Patricia LaVigne Stellar Computer Inc. (617) 964-1000 John Loiacono Sun Microsystems Inc. (415) 336-6424 Donna Loveland Tektronix Inc. (503) 685-2838 Ken Garnett UNICAD Inc. (303) 443-6961
sorensen@hstbme.mit.edu (Gregory Sorensen) (12/14/88)
In article <8812121316.AA03593@EXPO.LCS.MIT.EDU> rws@EXPO.LCS.MIT.EDU (Bob Scheifler) writes: > MIT X Consortium Launches Effort to Bring 3D Graphics > Functionality to the X Window System > >The functionality being added to the X Window System is a network protocol >known as PEX, or PHIGS/PHIGS+ Extension to X. PHIGS, the Programmers >Hierarchical Interactive Graphics System, is an international standard for 3D >graphics. PHIGS+ is an extension to PHIGS being proposed in the international >community to support additional features for lighting, shading, depth cueing, >and advanced curve and surface primitives. Question: I have heard rumors that PHIGS+ has an image specification. Is this so? If so, how will this image spec compare with the proposal which DEC and others have made for an X image standard specification? What's the likelihood of them merging? Thanks, Greg Sorensen sorensen@hstbme.mit.edu