klee@decwrl.dec.com (Ken Lee) (04/13/90)
This is the latest version of my bibliography of good X material. I've seen
alot of other stuff, especially in the trade magazines, but I don't think it
adds any technical information to the material here.
Many people have been asking questions about the bibliography. No, I'm too
lazy to distribute it in any other format. If your printer can't handle the
UNIX-style underlining, run it through the UNIX col filter or the equivalent
on your system. Yes, I do accept (and appreciate) review copies of
material. Yes, you may put this in your books, but please let me know and
include the contact info in the header. Updates of this bibliography are
posted here every 4 to 6 weeks.
Ken
================= cut here =================
X TECHNICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
please send updates to:
Ken Lee, DEC WSL, 181 Lytton Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301
Internet: klee@wsl.dec.com, UUCP: uunet!decwrl!klee
April 12, 1990
Asente, Paul, "Simplicity and Productivity," _U_N_I_X _R_e_v_i_e_w, vol. 6, no. 9,
pp. 57-63. A discussion on the classing mechanism in the X Toolkit.
ASP, Inc., _X _M_a_n_u_a_l _S_e_t (_3 _v_o_l_u_m_e_s), ASP, Inc., 1989. A copy of the MIT
X11R3 manual set. Volume 1 covers popular client programs. Volume 2
covers Xlib. Volume 3 covers Xt and the Athena widgets. An upcoming
Volume 4 covers Motif.
ASP, Inc., _X _R_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e _S_e_t (_3 _v_o_l_u_m_e_s), ASP, Inc., 1989. A 3 volume set of
quick reference guides covering Xlib, Xt, Athena widgets, and popular
clients.
Baldwin, Howard, "Why All The Shouting Over X Terminals?," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d, _N_e_t_-
_w_o_r_k_i_n_g _S_u_p_p_l_e_m_e_n_t, pp. 75-81, 1989. A broad look at X terminals,
with details on 6 vendor's products.
Bass, Len, Erik Hardy, Reed Little, and Robert Seacord, "Serpent Overview,"
CMU/SEI-89-UG-2, Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon
University, Pittsburgh, PA.. An overview and tutorial of the Serpent
User Interface Management System. Serpent is a UIMS implemented on
top of several X toolkits. This paper, as well as the Serpent source
code, are included in the MIT X11R4 distribution.
Borenstein, Nathaniel S., _M_u_l_t_i_m_e_d_i_a _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s _D_e_v_e_l_o_p_m_e_n_t _w_i_t_h _t_h_e _A_n_-
_d_r_e_w _T_o_o_l_k_i_t, Pentice Hall, 1990. ISBN 0-13-036633-1. A tutorial and
reference manual for the Andrew toolkit. Andrew is an applications
toolkit implemented on several window systems, including X. It is in-
cluded in the MIT X distribution.
Bourne, Philip E. and Lawrence S. Shapiro, "Developing with DECwindows,"
_D_E_C _P_r_o_f_e_s_s_i_o_n_a_l, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 36-44, February, 1990. A
description of DECwindows programming, focusing the User Interface
Langauge (UIL). UIL is used by both DECwindows and OSF/Motif.
Brunet, James, "Using PC's at X Servers," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d, _N_e_t_w_o_r_k_i_n_g _S_u_p_p_l_e_-
_m_e_n_t, pp. 83-85, 1989. An introduction to X server software for IBM
PC's.
Brunhoff, Todd, "Pleasing The Eye," _U_N_I_X _R_e_v_i_e_w, vol. 7, no. 10, pp. 64-72.
An introduction to VEX, a proposed video extensions to X.
Cashin, Jerry, "Many Struggle to Set Laws of Windows Game," _S_o_f_t_w_a_r_e _M_a_g_a_-
_z_i_n_e, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 74-79, February, 1989. A description of the
players in the window system standards war. Includes a photo of Bob
Scheifler.
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Champine, George, Bob Scheifler, Jim Gettys, Georges Grinstein, and Bertram
Herzog, "Panel discussion on the X Window System," in _S_I_G_G_R_A_P_H'_8_8
_P_a_n_e_l _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s, August, 1988. This is the transcript of an in-
teresting panel discussion on X. George Champine was moderator. Panel-
ists were Bob Scheifler, Jim Gettys, Georges Grinstein, and Bertram
Herzog. The panelists discussed the history of X and current work
at/on the X Consortium, PEX, and national and international standards
for X. This was followed by a lively question and answer session on
the present and future of X.
Farrow, Rik, "Before their time?," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d, pp. 75-81, July, 1989. This
article describes X terminals in general and compares two models. The
comparison is, unfortunately, not especially meaningful.
Gancarz, M., "UWM: A User Interface for X Windows," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e
_S_u_m_m_e_r, _1_9_8_6 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 429-440. Describes UWM, the first
good window manager for X.
Gettys, Jim, "Problems Implementing Window Systems in UNIX," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s
_o_f _t_h_e _W_i_n_t_e_r, _1_9_8_6 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 89-97. Describes some of
the early work on X, especially technical issues in implementing
server-based window systems on UNIX systems.
Gettys, Jim, "Network Windowing using the X Window System," _D_r. _D_o_b_b'_s
_J_o_u_r_n_a_l, March, 1989. A discussion on the importance of networking
for window systems.
Hancock, Bill, "DECwindows: X'ing With A Vengeance," _D_E_C _P_r_o_f_e_s_s_i_o_n_a_l,
vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 70-84, February, 1989. A description of DECwin-
dows, DEC's product version of X. It includes enhanced X libraries, a
tuned X server, a high-level user interface description language, and
several X applications.
Hopgood, F. R. A., _M_e_t_h_o_d_o_l_o_g_y _o_f _W_i_n_d_o_w _M_a_n_a_g_e_m_e_n_t, Springer-Verlag, New
York, 1986. ISBN 0-387-16116-3. The proceedings of the important
1985 Alvey Workshop on Window Management. Many of the big names ap-
parently were here. It includes interesting material on problems with
UNIX window systems and proposed solutions. It also includes
descriptions of early versions of current UNIX window systems, such as
X and Sun's NeWS.
Johnson, Eric and Kevin Reichard, _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g, MIS:
Press. ISBN 1-55828-016-2. Another tutorial on Xlib programming. This
book has lots and lots of examples, but coverage of complex subjects
is not as deep as Jones' book or as broad as the O'Reilly Xlib tutori-
al. Unfortunately, many of the example programs are not well behaved,
so be careful.
Jones, Oliver, _I_n_t_r_o_d_u_c_t_i_o_n _t_o _t_h_e _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m, Prentice-Hall, 1988.
ISBN 0-13-499997-5. An excellent introduction to programming with
Xlib. Written with the programmer in mind, this book includes many
practical tips that are not found anywhere else. This book is not as
broad as the O'Reilly Xlib tutorial and doesn't offer as many examples
as the Johnson & Reichard book, but Jones is probably the most experi-
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enced X programmer of this group and this shows in the quality and
depth of the material in the book. Originally written for X11R1, re-
cent printings have included corrections and additions. The sixth
printing may have X11R4 material.
Lee, Ed, "Window of Opportunity," _U_N_I_X _R_e_v_i_e_w, vol. 6, no. 6, pp. 47-61.
This article proposes a user interface reference model and shows how X
attempts to meet it. In the process, it presents a good, broad over-
view of X, its advantages, and its shortcomings.
Leffler, Samuel J., "A Window On The Future?," _U_N_I_X _R_e_v_i_e_w, vol. 6, no. 6,
pp. 62-69. This article compares Sun's NeWS with other window sys-
tems, such as X, and concludes that, despite its problems, NeWS is the
window system of the future. See Robin Schaufler's paper for a more
technical comparison of the X and NeWS.
Lemke, David and David S. H. Rosenthal, "Visualizing X11 Clients," in
_P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _W_i_n_t_e_r, _1_9_8_9 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 125-138. A de-
tailed look at ``visuals'', the X abstraction of display hardware
capabilities. Proper use of visuals is necessary for an X client to
take advantage of the capabilities of a server's hardware. Included in
the MIT X distribution (X11R4/doc/tutorials/visuals).
Linton, Mark A., John M. Vlissides, and Paul R. Calder, "Composing User In-
terfaces with InterViews," _I_E_E_E _C_o_m_p_u_t_e_r, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 8-22,
February, 1989. Describes the InterViews user interface toolkit,
written in C++ and based on the X Window System. Even if you don't
plan to use InterViews as a toolkit, it provides a good C++ binding to
the X protocol.
Macklem, Rick, Jim Linders, and Hugh Smith, "G Shell Environment," in
_P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _S_u_m_m_e_r, _1_9_8_8 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 15-22.
Describes a rudimentary graphical UNIX shell written as a X client.
Mansfield, Niall, _T_h_e _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m: _A _U_s_e_r'_s _G_u_i_d_e, Addison-Wesley, Am-
sterdam, 1990. ISBN 0-201-51341-2. A tutorial on using X. I have not
yet seen this book and am not sure what it includes.
McCormack, Joel and Paul Asente, "Using the X Toolkit or How to Write a
Widget," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _S_u_m_m_e_r, _1_9_8_8 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 1-
13. An excellent tutorial on writing basic X Toolkit widgets. Poten-
tial widget writers (and maybe users, too) should probably start by
reading this paper. Unfortunately, it's based on X11R2, so some of it
is out of date.
McCormack, Joel and Paul Asente, "An Overview of the X Toolkit," in
_P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _A_C_M _S_I_G_G_R_A_P_H _S_y_m_p_o_s_i_u_m _o_n _U_s_e_r _I_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e _S_o_f_t_w_a_r_e,
pp. 46-55, October, 1988. An excelent architectural overview of the X
Toolkit, including its goals, how it accomplished them, and possible
future directions.
McCormack, Joel, "Smart Code, Stupid Memory: A Fast X Server for a Dumb
ColorFrame Buffer," DEC Western Research Laboratory Technical Note 9,
September, 1989. Describes the implementation of one of the best X
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servers currently available, that of the color DECstation 3100. Algo-
rithms as well as performance measurements are discussed. For informa-
tion on obtaining free copies of this report, send eletronic mail to
``wrl-techreports@decwrl.dec.com''. Your message should contain the
single word ``help''.
McCormack, Joel, Paul Asente, and Ralph Swick, _X _T_o_o_l_k_i_t _I_n_t_r_i_n_s_i_c_s - _C
_L_a_n_g_u_a_g_e _I_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e, DEC Press, 1990. Not yet published, but should be
a much improved version of the MIT X Toolkit intrinsics manual, by the
same authors.
McLoughlin, Lee, "A Simple Guide to Porting the X Window System," in
_P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _E_U_U_G _S_p_r_i_n_g _1_9_8_9, pp. 283-291, Brussels, April 3-7,
1989. A brief, but good, discussion of the interface between the X
server and the underlying operating system. EUUG is a conference
sponsored by the European Unix Users' Group.
Mehta, Sunil, "User Interfaces and the IEEE P1201 Committee," _U_N_I_X _R_e_v_i_e_w,
vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 14-20. A description of the activities of the IEEE
P1201 standards committee, by its chairman. P1201 is developing inter-
national standards for the the X Window System libraries (Xlib and
above) and user interface development tools based on X. Lower levels
of X (servers and protocol) are being standardized by ANSI Task Group
X3H3.6.
Mikes, Steven, _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m _T_e_c_h_n_i_c_a_l _R_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, Addison-Wesley, 1990.
ISBN 0-201-52370-1. A quick reference manual for X11R3, including
Xlib, Xt, fonts, bitmaps, keysyms, Motif, and OPEN LOOK.
MIPS Staff, "Graphical User Interfaces Now," _M_I_P_S _M_a_g_a_z_i_n_e, vol. 1, no. 11,
pp. 42-50, November, 1989. A comparison of popular user interfaces
including Microsoft Presentation Manager, NextStep, Macintosh, Motif,
and Open Look. Motif and Open Look are both available for the X Win-
dow System. The IXI X.desktop and Visix Looking Glass UNIX file
managers, both based on X, are also mentioned. See also the review by
Alan Southerton.
Myers, Brad A., "Window Interfaces: A Taxonomy of Window Manager User In-
terfaces," _I_E_E_E _C_o_m_p_u_t_e_r _G_r_a_p_h_i_c_s & _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s, vol. 8, no. 5, pp.
65-84, September, 1988. A taxonomy of current window system user in-
terfaces, including the UWM window manager for X. Discusses and com-
pares the features of each user interface. Contrast this with Rob
Pike's window system user interface guidelines. Myers is a well known
user interface researcher.
Nadeau, David R., "High-Performance 3-D Graphics In A Window Environment,"
_C_o_m_p_u_t_e_r _T_e_c_h_n_o_l_o_g_y _R_e_v_i_e_w, pp. 89-93, Fall, 1988. A discussion on
integrating Megatek's high-performance 3D graphics hardware/software
with X.
Nye, Adrian, "The X Window System Protocol," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d, vol. 6, no. 9, pp.
105-113, September, 1989. An introduction to the X protocol. This is
a short version of Nye's introduction to Volume 0 of O'Reilly's X
series.
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O'Reilly, Tim, "The Toolkits (and Politics) of X Windows," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d, vol.
6, no. 2, pp. 66-73, February, 1989. An introduction to some of the
popular widget sets available for the X Toolkit.
O'Reilly and Associates, _T_h_e _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m _S_e_r_i_e_s (_8 _v_o_l_u_m_e_s), O'Reilly
and Associates, 1988, 1989, 1990. ISBN 0-937175-40-4, 0-937175-26-9,
0-937175-27-7, 0-937175-38-2, 0-937175-33-1, 0-937175-34-X, 0-
937175-35-8, etc. This is a 7 (and growing) volume set of books.
Volumes 0, 2, 3, and 5 are lightly edited versions of the MIT manuals
(protocol manual, Xlib manual pages, popular client manual pages, and
X Toolkit), although Volume 0 does include a new tutorial introduction
by Adrian Nye. Volume 1 (by Adrian Nye) is a tutorial on Xlib. It's
broader than the others (Jones, Johnson & Reichard), but offers fewer
examples or practical tips. Volume 4 (by Adrian Nye and Tim O'Reilly)
is a new tutorial on the X Toolkit intrinsics (Xt). Volume 6 (not yet
available) will cover various widget sets, including OSF/Motif, AT&T
Open Look, Athena, etc.). Volume 7 (by Dan Heller) is a tutorial on
XView, a toolkit similar to, but not compatible with, the X Toolkit.
Written/edited by technical writers, these are probably the most pro-
fessional looking of the X books. These books are updated regularly.
The second editions of Volumes 1 and 2 cover X11R4.
Open Software Foundation, _O_S_F/_M_o_t_i_f _S_e_r_i_e_s (_5 _v_o_l_u_m_e_s), Prentice Hall,
1990. ISBN 0-13-640491-X, 0-13-640525-8, 0-13-640517-7, 0-13-640509-
6, 0-13-640483-9. The volumes include Motif _S_t_y_l_e _G_u_i_d_e, _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_e_r'_s
_G_u_i_d_e, _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_e_r'_s _R_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, _U_s_e_r'_s _G_u_i_d_e, and _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n _E_n_v_i_r_o_n_-
_m_e_n_t _S_p_e_c_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n (_A_E_S) _U_s_e_r _E_n_v_i_r_o_n_m_e_n_t _V_o_l_u_m_e. Motif is a user in-
terface programming environment for X. It was designed and developed
by members of the Open Software Foundation, including DEC, HP, IBM,
and Microsoft. These companies have committed to using Motif as their
standard user interface in the near future.
Pike, Rob, "Window Systems Should Be Transparent," _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_m_p_u_t_i_n_g _S_y_s_-
_t_e_m_s, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 279-296, Summer, 1988. Some window system
user interface guidelines, based on MUX window system for the BLIT
terminal, with some comparisons to X. Contrast this to Myers' paper.
Pike is the developer of the BLIT.
Pike, Rob, "A Concurrent Window System," _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_m_p_u_t_i_n_g _S_y_s_t_e_m_s, vol. 2,
no. 2, pp. 133-153, Spring, 1989. A description of a multi-threaded
window system written using a concurrent programming language. The
design is shown to be simpler than the single threaded design of X.
Probst, Richard, "OPEN LOOK Toolkits," _S_u_n_T_e_c_h_n_o_l_o_g_y, vol. 1, no. 4, pp.
76-86, Autumn, 1988. OPEN LOOK is a user interface specification
designed by AT&T and Sun. This paper discusses OPEN LOOK programming
toolkits, including two for the X Window System.
Rao, R. and S. Wallace, "The X Toolkit," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _S_u_m_m_e_r, _1_9_8_7
_U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e. Describes an early version of the X Toolkit.
Rochkind, Marc J., "XVT: A Virtual Toolkit for Portability Between Window
Systems," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _W_i_n_t_e_r, _1_9_8_9 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp.
151-163. Describes the Extensible Virtual Toolkit (XVT), a user in-
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terface toolkit that provides a uniform application programming inter-
face to several different window systems, while providing the ``look
and feel'' appropriate for the window system. Supported window sys-
tems include X11, Microsoft Windows, OS/2 Presentation Manager, and
the Macintosh.
Rosenthal, David S. H., "Window Exchange," _U_N_I_X _R_e_v_i_e_w, vol. 7, no. 12, pp.
58-64. An excelent review of X client interoperability, by the author
of the X11R4 Inter-Client Communication Conventions Manual (IC3M). It
discusses some common programming errors in this area and how proper
programming and attention to the IC3M will make your programs more
robust.
Rosenthal, David S. H., "A Simple X11 Client Program," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f
_t_h_e _W_i_n_t_e_r, _1_9_8_8 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 229-235. A version of the
``hello, world'' paper, presenting and comparing the basics of the X
library and the X Toolkit. All potential X programmers (Xlib or X
toolkit) should understand everything in this paper before they at-
tempt to write any X programs. Included in the MIT X distribution
(X11R4/doc/tutorials/HelloWorld) and reprinted as ``Going for
Baroque'' in the June or July, 1988 (vol. 6, no. 6) issue of _U_N_I_X _R_e_-
_v_i_e_w magazine.
Rost, Randi, Jeffrey Friedberg, and Peter Nishimoto, "PEX: A Network-
Transparent 3D Graphics System," _I_E_E_E _C_o_m_p_u_t_e_r _G_r_a_p_h_i_c_s & _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_-
_t_i_o_n_s, pp. 14-26, July, 1989. A good overview of PEX, the
PHIGS/PHIGS+ 3D extension to X. A complete PEX is currently being
developed by Sun under contract to the MIT X Consortium and is
scheduled to be publically available in 1990. See also the Thomas &
Friedmann paper on PEX.
Schaufler, Robin, "X11/NeWS Design Overview," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _S_u_m_m_e_r,
_1_9_8_8 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 23-35. Discusses Sun's X/NeWS window sys-
tem. Compares the functionality of X and NeWS and describes a server
that merges the two.
Scheifler, Robert and Jim Gettys, "The X Window System," _A_C_M _T_r_a_n_s_a_c_t_i_o_n_s
_o_n _G_r_a_p_h_i_c_s, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 79-109, April, 1986. The first pub-
lished description of X. Although it discusses X10, it is still one
of the most comprehensive overviews of X. An updated X11 version is
reportedly being written by Jim Gettys.
Scheifler, Robert, James Gettys, and Ron Newman, _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m: _C _L_i_-
_b_r_a_r_y _a_n_d _P_r_o_t_o_c_o_l _R_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, DEC Press, 1988. ISBN 1-55558-012-2.
The X bible by the authors of X11. It is shipped with the X11R3 tapes.
Includes detailed descriptions of the X protocol and all Xlib func-
tions and data structures. Required for all serious Xlib programmers,
but may be rough going for those with little experience in interactive
computer graphics. An X11R4 version of this book is in preparation.
Shein, Barry, "Primal Screens," _S_u_n _E_x_p_e_r_t, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 56-69, Janu-
ary, 1990. An interesting, though somewhat religious, comparison of X
and Sun's NeWS window system. It concludes, "even Scott McNealy has
spoken of NeWS as a failure as a standard, although he hastens to add
- 7 -
that it was a technological success."
Southerton, Alan, "Friendly Desktops," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d, vol. 6, no. 11, pp. 68-
73, November, 1989. Another comparison of X-based UNIX file managers,
including Non Standard Logic InDepth, IXI X.Desktop, Visix Looking
Glass, AT&T Open Look, Torch Technologies Y-OpenTop, and Softscience
Convenience Plus. See also the review by MIPS.
Stroyan, Michael, "Three-Dimensional Graphics Using the X Window System,"
_D_r. _D_o_b_b'_s _J_o_u_r_n_a_l, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 28-36, February, 1990. A high
level description of various approaches to developing 3D graphics
tools for X, including those of the PHIGS Extension to X (PEX) and
HP's Starbase-on-X11 (sox11).
Sun Microsystems, _O_P_E_N _L_O_O_K _G_r_a_p_h_i_c_a_l _U_s_e_r _I_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e _S_e_r_i_e_s, Addison-
Wesley, 1990. ISBN 0-201-52365-5, ISBN 0-201-42364-7. This series in-
cludes _F_u_n_c_t_i_o_n_a_l _S_p_e_c_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s and _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n _S_t_y_l_e _G_u_i_d_e. OPEN
LOOK was designed by AT&T and Sun and implementations are available
from both. AT&T's implementation uses the X Toolkit. Sun's implementa-
tion uses XView, a similar, but not compatible, toolkit.
Swick, Ralph R. and Mark S. Ackerman, "The X Toolkit: More Bricks for
Building User Interfaces," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _W_i_n_t_e_r, _1_9_8_8 _U_S_E_N_I_X
_C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 221-233. An introduction to the X Toolkit. Describes
the toolkit architecture and the basic Athena widgets.
Thomas, Spencer W. and Martin Friedmann, "PEX - A 3-D Extension to X Win-
dows," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _W_i_n_t_e_r, _1_9_8_9 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 139-
149. Describes the demonstration implementation of PEX, the
PHIGS/PHIGS+ 3D extension to X. A complete PEX is currently being
developed by Sun under contract to the MIT X Consortium and is
scheduled to be publically available in 1990. See also the Rost, _e_t
_a_l, paper on PEX.
Wood, Patrick, "Introduction to Xlib Programming (2 parts)," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d,
vol. 6, October-November, 1989. This is a two part tutorial article
on Xlib programming. Not as good as Rosenthal's ``hello, world'' arti-
cle.
X/Open Company, Ltd., _X/_O_p_e_n _P_o_r_t_a_b_i_l_i_t_y _G_u_i_d_e: _W_i_n_d_o_w _M_a_n_a_g_e_m_e_n_t,
Prentice-Hall, 1988. X/Open is an international user group of UNIX
hardware and software developers. It publishes portability guidelines
with the goal that developers that follow these guidelines will be
portable across other hardware and software supporting the guidelines.
The X/Open window management guidelines are based on the X11R3 specif-
ications.
Young, Douglas A., _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m_s _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _a_n_d _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s _W_i_t_h _X_t,
Prentice-Hall, 1989. ISBN 0-13-972167-3. The first, and still one of
the best, tutorial on programming with the X Toolkit intrinsics. Both
using existing widgets and writing your own widgets are covered. Exam-
ples in this book use the HP widget set, available in the contrib sec-
tion of the X distribution. A Motif version of this book is also
available.
- 8 -
Young, Douglas A., _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m: _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _a_n_d _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s _W_i_t_h _X_t,
_O_S_F/_M_o_t_i_f _E_d_i_t_i_o_n, Prentice-Hall, 1990. ISBN 0-13-497074-8. This is
the Motif version of the above. The Motif examples only cover the C
programming interface, not the UIL interface.
Young, Douglas A., "Programming with the X Toolkit (3 parts)," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d,
vol. 7, no. 1-3, January-March, 1990. This three part tutorial arti-
cle is based on Young's books on the X Toolkit.
--
Ken Lee
DEC Western Software Laboratory, Palo Alto, Calif.
Internet: klee@wsl.dec.com
uucp: uunet!decwrl!kleeklee@decwrl.dec.com (Ken Lee) (10/02/90)
>from: klee@wsl.dec.com (Ken Lee)
This is the latest version of my bibliography of good X Window System material.
There's alot of other stuff out there, but I think these are the best technical
references. If you know of any other good ones, please let me know.
Many people have been asking questions about the bibliography. No, I'm not
distributing it in any other format. If your printer can't handle the UNIX-
style underlining, run it through the UNIX col filter or the equivalent on your
system. Yes, I do accept (and appreciate) review copies of material. Yes, you
may put copies of this in your books, but please let me know and include the
date and contact info from the header.
Sorry, I am not able to distribute copies of the papers mentioned here. Your
librarian or bookstore should be able to help you.
Updates of this bibliography will be posted every month or so.
Ken
================================ cut here ================================
X TECHNICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
please send updates to:
Ken Lee, DEC WSL, 181 Lytton Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94301
Internet: klee@wsl.dec.com, UUCP: uunet!decwrl!klee
October 1, 1990
Angebranndt, Susan, Raymond Drewry, Philip Karlton, Todd Newman, Bob
Scheifler, and Keith Packard, _D_e_f_i_n_i_t_i_o_n _o_f _t_h_e _P_o_r_t_i_n_g _L_a_y_e_r _f_o_r _t_h_e
_X _v_1_1 _S_a_m_p_l_e _S_e_r_v_e_r, 1988-1990. A detailed reference to the modules
of the sample server. This is a companion to "Strategies for Porting
the X v11 Sample Server" by the same authors. Both are included in the
MIT X11R4 distribution.
Angebranndt, Susan, Raymond Drewry, Philip Karlton, Todd Newman, Bob
Scheifler, and Keith Packard, _S_t_r_a_t_e_g_i_e_s _f_o_r _P_o_r_t_i_n_g _t_h_e _X _v_1_1 _S_a_m_p_l_e
_S_e_r_v_e_r, 1988-1990. A guide to strategies for porting the sample
server. This is a companion to "Definition of the Porting Layer for
the X v11 Sample Server" by the same authors. Both are included in
the MIT X11R4 distribution.
Angebranndt, Susan and Todd Newman, "The Sample X11 Server Architecture,"
_D_i_g_i_t_a_l _T_e_c_h_n_i_c_a_l _J_o_u_r_n_a_l, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 16-23, Summer, 1990. An
overview of the sample server, including goals, problem areas,
modules, and porting guidelines.
Asente, Paul, "Simplicity and Productivity," _U_N_I_X _R_e_v_i_e_w, vol. 6, no. 9,
pp. 57-63. A discussion on the classing mechanism in the X Toolkit.
Asente, Paul J. and Ralph R. Swick, _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m _T_o_o_l_k_i_t, DEC Press,
1990. ISBN 1-55558-051-3. The X Toolkit bible, a companion to
Sheifler & Gettys book on Xlib and the X protocol. It includes both a
tutorial on programming with the X Toolkit and a formal specification
of the toolkit. The tutorial, which covers both using and writing
widgets, is comprehensive and excelent. The specification is an
enhancement of the MIT Xt intrinsics manual, by the same authors.
Bass, Len, Erik Hardy, Reed Little, and Robert Seacord, "Serpent Overview,"
CMU/SEI-89-UG-2, Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon
University, Pittsburgh, PA.. An overview and tutorial of the Serpent
User Interface Management System. Serpent is a UIMS implemented on
top of several X toolkits. This paper, as well as the Serpent source
code, is included in the MIT X11R4 distribution.
Borenstein, Nathaniel S., _M_u_l_t_i_m_e_d_i_a _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s _D_e_v_e_l_o_p_m_e_n_t _w_i_t_h _t_h_e _A_n_-
_d_r_e_w _T_o_o_l_k_i_t, Prentice Hall, 1990. ISBN 0-13-036633-1. A tutorial and
reference manual for the Andrew toolkit. Andrew is an applications
toolkit implemented on several window systems, including X. It is in-
cluded in the MIT X distribution.
Bourne, Philip E. and Lawrence S. Shapiro, "Developing with DECwindows,"
_D_E_C _P_r_o_f_e_s_s_i_o_n_a_l, vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 36-44, February, 1990. A
description of DECwindows programming, focusing the User Interface
- 2 -
Language (UIL). UIL is used by both DECwindows and OSF/Motif.
Brunet, James, "Using PC's at X Servers," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d, _N_e_t_w_o_r_k_i_n_g _S_u_p_p_l_e_-
_m_e_n_t, pp. 83-85, 1989. An introduction to X server software for IBM
PC's.
Brunhoff, Todd, "Pleasing The Eye," _U_N_I_X _R_e_v_i_e_w, vol. 7, no. 10, pp. 64-72.
An introduction to VEX, a proposed video extensions to X.
Champine, George, Bob Scheifler, Jim Gettys, Georges Grinstein, and Bertram
Herzog, "Panel discussion on the X Window System," in _S_I_G_G_R_A_P_H'_8_8
_P_a_n_e_l _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s, August, 1988. This is the transcript of an in-
teresting panel discussion on X. George Champine was moderator. Panel-
ists were Bob Scheifler, Jim Gettys, Georges Grinstein, and Bertram
Herzog. The panelists discussed the history of X and current work
at/on the X Consortium, PEX, and national and international standards
for X. This was followed by a lively question and answer session on
the present and future of X.
Clifford, William, John McConnell, and Jeffrey Friedberg, "The Development
of PEX, A Three-dimensional Graphics Extension to X11," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s
_o_f _E_u_r_o_g_r_a_p_h_i_c_s'_8_8, September, 1988. An overview PEX, an extension to
the X protocol to support PHIGS+.
Dolan, Michael A. and Larry Hare, "X Window System Servers in Embedded Sys-
tems," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _C_O_M_P_C_O_N _S_p_r_i_n_g _1_9_9_0, pp. 314-319, February,
1990. A discussion of X server architectures for embedded systems,
such as accelerator boards and standalone terminals.
Gettys, Jim, "Problems Implementing Window Systems in UNIX," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s
_o_f _t_h_e _W_i_n_t_e_r, _1_9_8_6 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 89-97. Describes some of
the early work on X, especially technical issues in implementing
server-based window systems on UNIX systems.
Gettys, Jim, "Network Windowing using the X Window System," _D_r. _D_o_b_b'_s
_J_o_u_r_n_a_l, pp. 42-53, March, 1989. A discussion on the importance of
networking for window systems.
Good, Michael, "User Interface Consistency in the DECwindows Program," in
_P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _H_u_m_a_n _F_a_c_t_o_r_s _S_o_c_i_e_t_y, _V_o_l. _1, 1988. A discussion
of user interface design techniques used in developing the DECwindows
toolkit.
Greenwood, Stephen, "The DECwindows User Interface Language," _D_i_g_i_t_a_l
_T_e_c_h_n_i_c_a_l _J_o_u_r_n_a_l, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 34-43, Summer, 1990. An over-
view of the DECwindows user interface language (UIL). UIL allows pro-
grammers to specify and configure n X Toolkit widget hierarchy at
run-time. This is very useful for rapid prototyping and international-
ization. UIL is used by both DECwindows and Motif.
Hayes, Frank, "X Terminals vs. Diskless Workstations," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d, vol. 7,
no. 10, pp. 83-86, October, 1990. A look at some of the tradeoffs
between using X terminals and diskless workstations.
- 3 -
Heller, Dan, "The XView Toolkit (2 parts)," _U_N_I_X _R_e_v_i_e_w, vol. 7, no. 6-7,
June-July, 1990. A two part tutorial on XView, presumably based on
Volume 7 of the O'Reilly series. XView is a user interface toolkit for
X. It is similar to, but not currently compatible with, MIT's X Toolk-
it.
Hopgood, F. R. A., _M_e_t_h_o_d_o_l_o_g_y _o_f _W_i_n_d_o_w _M_a_n_a_g_e_m_e_n_t, Springer-Verlag, New
York, 1986. ISBN 0-387-16116-3. The proceedings of the important
1985 Alvey Workshop on Window Management. It includes interesting ma-
terial on problems with UNIX window systems and proposed solutions. It
also includes descriptions of early versions of current UNIX window
systems, such as X and Sun's NeWS.
Johnson, Eric and Kevin Reichard, _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g, MIS:
Press. ISBN 1-55828-016-2. Another tutorial on Xlib programming. This
book has lots and lots of examples, but coverage of complex subjects
is not as deep as Jones' book or as broad as the O'Reilly Xlib tutori-
al. Unfortunately, many of the example programs are not well behaved,
so be careful.
Jones, Oliver, _I_n_t_r_o_d_u_c_t_i_o_n _t_o _t_h_e _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m, Prentice-Hall, 1988,
1989. ISBN 0-13-499997-5. An excellent introduction to programming
with Xlib. Written with the programmer in mind, this book includes
many practical tips that are not found anywhere else. This book is not
as broad as the O'Reilly Xlib tutorial and doesn't offer as many exam-
ples as the Johnson & Reichard book, but Jones is probably the most
experienced X programmer of this group and this shows in the quality
and depth of the material in the book. Originally written for X11R1,
recent printings have included corrections and additions. The sixth
printing should have X11R4 material.
Kent, Christopher, "XDPS: A Display PostSCript System Extension for
DECwindows," _D_i_g_i_t_a_l _T_e_c_h_n_i_c_a_l _J_o_u_r_n_a_l, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 64-73, Sum-
mer, 1990. An overview of Display PostScript, an extension to the X
protocol allowing PostScript graphics in X windows.
Leffler, Samuel J., "A Window On The Future?," _U_N_I_X _R_e_v_i_e_w, vol. 6, no. 6,
pp. 62-69. This article compares Sun's NeWS with other window sys-
tems, such as X, and concludes that, despite its problems, NeWS is the
window system of the future. See Robin Schaufler's paper for a more
technical comparison of the X and NeWS.
Lemke, David and David S. H. Rosenthal, "Visualizing X11 Clients," in
_P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _W_i_n_t_e_r, _1_9_8_9 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 125-138. A tu-
torial on ``visuals'', the X abstraction of display hardware capabili-
ties. Proper use of visuals is necessary for an X client to take ad-
vantage of the capabilities of a server's hardware. Included in the
MIT X distribution (X11R4/doc/tutorials/visuals).
Lemon, Bob, "X Terminals Put to the Test," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d, vol. 7, no. 10, pp.
106-114, October, 1990. A survey of the current X terminal market.
Linton, Mark A., John M. Vlissides, and Paul R. Calder, "Composing User In-
terfaces with InterViews," _I_E_E_E _C_o_m_p_u_t_e_r, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 8-22,
- 4 -
February, 1989. Describes the InterViews user interface toolkit,
written in C++ and based on the X Window System. Even if you don't
plan to use InterViews as a toolkit, it provides a good C++ binding to
the X protocol.
Macklem, Rick, Jim Linders, and Hugh Smith, "G Shell Environment," in
_P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _S_u_m_m_e_r, _1_9_8_8 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 15-22.
Describes a rudimentary graphical UNIX shell written as a X client.
Mansfield, Niall, _T_h_e _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m: _A _U_s_e_r'_s _G_u_i_d_e, Addison-Wesley, Am-
sterdam, 1990. ISBN 0-201-51341-2. A tutorial on X for end-users, not
programmers. The first edition of this book, based on X11R3, is
available only in Europe. The second edition, based on X11R4, should
be available in both Europe and the U.S. in the Spring of 1991.
McCormack, Joel and Paul Asente, "Using the X Toolkit or How to Write a
Widget," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _S_u_m_m_e_r, _1_9_8_8 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 1-
13. An excellent tutorial on writing basic X Toolkit widgets. Poten-
tial widget writers (and maybe users, too) should probably start by
reading this paper. Unfortunately, it's based on X11R2, so some of it
is out of date.
McCormack, Joel and Paul Asente, "An Overview of the X Toolkit," in
_P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _A_C_M _S_I_G_G_R_A_P_H _S_y_m_p_o_s_i_u_m _o_n _U_s_e_r _I_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e _S_o_f_t_w_a_r_e,
pp. 46-55, October, 1988. An excellent architectural overview of the
X Toolkit, including its goals, how it accomplished them, and possible
future directions.
McCormack, Joel, "Smart Code, Stupid Memory: A Fast X Server for a Dumb
Color Frame Buffer," DEC Western Research Laboratory Technical Note 9,
September, 1989. Describes the implementation of one of the best X
servers currently available, that of the color DECstation 3100. Algo-
rithms as well as performance measurements are discussed. For informa-
tion on obtaining free copies of this report, send electronic mail to
``wrl-techreports@decwrl.dec.com''. Your message should contain the
single word ``help''.
McGregor, Scott, "An Overview of the DECwindows Architecture," _D_i_g_i_t_a_l
_T_e_c_h_n_i_c_a_l _J_o_u_r_n_a_l, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 9-15, Summer, 1990. An overview
of DECwindows, a superset of X for DEC workstations.
McLoughlin, Lee, "A Simple Guide to Porting the X Window System," in
_P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _E_U_U_G _S_p_r_i_n_g _1_9_8_9, pp. 283-291, Brussels, April 3-7,
1989. A brief, but good, discussion of the interface between the X
server and the underlying operating system. The EUUG conference is
sponsored by the European Unix Users' Group.
Mehta, Sunil, "User Interfaces and the IEEE P1201 Committee," _U_N_I_X _R_e_v_i_e_w,
vol. 8, no. 1, pp. 14-20. A review of the activities of the IEEE
P1201 standards committee, by its chairman. P1201 is developing inter-
national standards for the the X Window System libraries (Xlib and
above) and for user interface development tools based on X. Lower lev-
els of X (servers and protocol) are being standardized by ANSI Task
Group X3H3.6.
- 5 -
Mikes, Steven, _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m _T_e_c_h_n_i_c_a_l _R_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, Addison-Wesley, 1990.
ISBN 0-201-52370-1. A quick reference manual for X11R3, including
Xlib, Xt, fonts, bitmaps, keysyms, Motif, and OPEN LOOK.
Miller, John David, _A_n _O_P_E_N _L_O_O_K _a_t _U_N_I_X: _A _D_e_v_e_l_o_p_e_r'_s _G_u_i_d_e _t_o _X, M&T
Books, 1990. ISBN 1-55-851057-5 A tutorial on the Open Look widget
set from AT&T. Contact M&T Books at 1-800-533-4372.
MIPS Staff, "Graphical User Interfaces Now," _M_I_P_S _M_a_g_a_z_i_n_e, vol. 1, no. 11,
pp. 42-50, November, 1989. A comparison of popular user interfaces
including Microsoft Presentation Manager, NextStep, Macintosh, Motif,
and Open Look. Motif and Open Look are both available for the X Win-
dow System. The IXI X.desktop and Visix Looking Glass UNIX file
managers, both based on X, are also mentioned.
Mirchandani, Dinesh and Prabuddha Biswas, "Ethernet Performance of Remote
DECwindows Applications," _D_i_g_i_t_a_l _T_e_c_h_n_i_c_a_l _J_o_u_r_n_a_l, vol. 2, no. 3,
pp. 84-94, Summer, 1990. Describes a methodology for analyzing the
performance of networked X applications.
Myers, Brad A., "Window Interfaces: A Taxonomy of Window Manager User In-
terfaces," _I_E_E_E _C_o_m_p_u_t_e_r _G_r_a_p_h_i_c_s & _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s, vol. 8, no. 5, pp.
65-84, September, 1988. A taxonomy of current window system user in-
terfaces, including the UWM window manager for X. Discusses and com-
pares the features of each user interface. Contrast this with Rob
Pike's window system user interface guidelines. Myers is a well known
user interface researcher.
Nadeau, David R., "High-Performance 3-D Graphics In A Window Environment,"
_C_o_m_p_u_t_e_r _T_e_c_h_n_o_l_o_g_y _R_e_v_i_e_w, pp. 89-93, Fall, 1988. A discussion on
integrating Megatek's high-performance 3D graphics hardware/software
with X.
Nye, Adrian, "The X Window System Protocol," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d, vol. 6, no. 9, pp.
105-113, September, 1989. An introduction to the X protocol. This is
a short version of Nye's introduction to Volume 0 of O'Reilly's X
series.
O'Reilly, Tim, "The Toolkits (and Politics) of X Windows," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d, vol.
6, no. 2, pp. 66-73, February, 1989. An introduction to some of the
popular widget sets available for the X Toolkit.
O'Reilly and Associates, _T_h_e _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m _i_n _a _N_u_t_s_h_e_l_l, O'Reilly and
Associates, 1990. ISBN 0-937175-24-2. A quick reference guide to Xlib
and Xt and some associated configuration files. Nice format.
O'Reilly and Associates, _T_h_e _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m _S_e_r_i_e_s (_8 _v_o_l_u_m_e_s), O'Reilly
and Associates, 1988, 1989, 1990. ISBN 0-937175-50-1, 0-937175-26-9,
0-937175-27-7, 0-93715-14-5, 0-937175-38-2, 0-937175-33-1, 0-937175-
56-0, 0-937175-57-9, etc. This is a 7 (and growing) volume set of
books. Volumes 0, 2, 3, and 5 are lightly edited versions of the MIT
manuals (protocol manual, Xlib manual pages, popular client manual
pages, and X Toolkit); some include additional tutorial or introducto-
ry chapters. Volume 1 (by Adrian Nye) is a tutorial on Xlib. It's
- 6 -
broader than the Oliver Jones book, but doesn't cover the difficult
real world subjects as well. Volume 4 (by Adrian Nye and Tim O'Reilly)
is a new tutorial on the X Toolkit intrinsics (Xt). Volume 6 (not yet
available) will cover various widget sets, including OSF/Motif, AT&T
Open Look, MIT Athena, etc.). Volume 7 (by Dan Heller) is a tutorial
on XView, a toolkit similar to, but not compatible with, the X Toolk-
it. These books are often not as deep as some of the others, but, un-
like some of the others, they try to cover all of the functionality.
Mostly written/edited by technical writers rather than engineers, they
are probably the most professional looking of the X books. They books
are updated regularly, with the most recent versions of some of them
updated to X11R4.
Open Software Foundation, _O_S_F/_M_o_t_i_f _S_e_r_i_e_s (_5 _v_o_l_u_m_e_s), Prentice Hall,
1990. ISBN 0-13-640491-X, 0-13-640525-8, 0-13-640517-7, 0-13-640509-
6, 0-13-640483-9. The volumes include Motif _S_t_y_l_e _G_u_i_d_e, _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_e_r'_s
_G_u_i_d_e, _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_e_r'_s _R_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, _U_s_e_r'_s _G_u_i_d_e, and _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n _E_n_v_i_r_o_n_-
_m_e_n_t _S_p_e_c_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n (_A_E_S) _U_s_e_r _E_n_v_i_r_o_n_m_e_n_t _V_o_l_u_m_e. Motif is a user in-
terface programming environment for X. It was designed and developed
by members of the Open Software Foundation, including DEC, HP, and
IBM. These companies have committed to using Motif as their standard
user interface.
Pike, Rob, "Window Systems Should Be Transparent," _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_m_p_u_t_i_n_g _S_y_s_-
_t_e_m_s, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 279-296, Summer, 1988. Some window system
user interface guidelines, based on MUX window system for the BLIT
terminal, with some comparisons to X. Contrast this to Myers' paper.
Pike is the developer of the BLIT.
Pike, Rob, "A Concurrent Window System," _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_m_p_u_t_i_n_g _S_y_s_t_e_m_s, vol. 2,
no. 2, pp. 133-153, Spring, 1989. A description of a multi-threaded
window system written using a concurrent programming language. The
design is shown to be simpler than the single threaded design of X.
Probst, Richard, "OPEN LOOK Toolkits," _S_u_n_T_e_c_h_n_o_l_o_g_y, vol. 1, no. 4, pp.
76-86, Autumn, 1988. OPEN LOOK is a user interface specification
designed by AT&T and Sun. This paper discusses OPEN LOOK programming
toolkits, including two for the X Window System.
Rao, R. and S. Wallace, "The X Toolkit," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _S_u_m_m_e_r, _1_9_8_7
_U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e. Describes an early version of the X Toolkit.
Rochkind, Marc J., "XVT: A Virtual Toolkit for Portability Between Window
Systems," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _W_i_n_t_e_r, _1_9_8_9 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp.
151-163. Describes the Extensible Virtual Toolkit (XVT), a user in-
terface toolkit that provides a uniform application programming inter-
face to several different window systems, while providing the ``look
and feel'' appropriate for the window system. Supported window sys-
tems include X11, Microsoft Windows, OS/2 Presentation Manager, and
the Macintosh.
Rosenthal, David S. H., "Window Exchange," _U_N_I_X _R_e_v_i_e_w, vol. 7, no. 12, pp.
58-64. An excellent review of X client interoperability, by the au-
thor of the X11R4 Inter-Client Communication Conventions Manual
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(IC3M). It discusses some common programming errors in this area and
how proper programming and attention to the IC3M will make your pro-
grams more robust.
Rosenthal, David S. H., "A Simple X11 Client Program," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f
_t_h_e _W_i_n_t_e_r, _1_9_8_8 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 229-235. A version of the
``hello, world'' paper, presenting and comparing the basics of the X
library and the X Toolkit. All potential X programmers (Xlib or X
toolkit) should understand everything in this paper before they at-
tempt to write any X programs. Included in the MIT X distribution
(X11R4/doc/tutorials/HelloWorld) and reprinted as ``Going for
Baroque'' in the June or July, 1988 (vol. 6, no. 6) issue of _U_N_I_X _R_e_-
_v_i_e_w magazine.
Rosenthal, David S. H. and Adam R. de Boor, _G_o_d_z_i_l_l_a'_s _G_u_i_d_e _t_o _P_o_r_t_i_n_g _t_h_e
_X _V_1_1 _S_a_m_p_l_e _S_e_r_v_e_r, 1988. A hackers guide to quick-and-dirty porting
of the sample server to memory-mapped monochrome and color frame
buffers. This document is included in the MIT X11R4 distribution.
Rost, Randi, Jeffrey Friedberg, and Peter Nishimoto, "PEX: A Network-
Transparent 3D Graphics System," _I_E_E_E _C_o_m_p_u_t_e_r _G_r_a_p_h_i_c_s & _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_-
_t_i_o_n_s, pp. 14-26, July, 1989. A good overview of PEX, the
PHIGS/PHIGS+ 3D extension to X. A complete PEX is currently being
developed by Sun under contract to the MIT X Consortium and is
scheduled to be publically available in 1990. See also the Thomas &
Friedmann paper on PEX.
Rost, Randi J., _X _a_n_d _M_o_t_i_f _Q_u_i_c_k _R_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e _G_u_i_d_e, DEC Press, 1990. ISBN
1-55558-052-1. A quick reference guide to Xlib, the X Toolkit, and
Motif.
Ryan, Michael and James VanGilder, "The Development of DECwindows VMS
Mail," _D_i_g_i_t_a_l _T_e_c_h_n_i_c_a_l _J_o_u_r_n_a_l, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 74-83, Summer,
1990. Describes the engineering and development of a moderate sized X
application.
Schaufler, Robin, "X11/NeWS Design Overview," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _S_u_m_m_e_r,
_1_9_8_8 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 23-35. Discusses Sun's X/NeWS window sys-
tem. Compares the functionality of X and NeWS and describes a server
that merges the two.
Scheifler, Robert and Jim Gettys, "The X Window System," _A_C_M _T_r_a_n_s_a_c_t_i_o_n_s
_o_n _G_r_a_p_h_i_c_s, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 79-109, April, 1986. The first pub-
lished description of X. Although it discusses X10, it is still one
of the most comprehensive overviews of X. This paper is being updated
to X11 by Jim Gettys, Phil Karlton, and Scott McGregor.
Scheifler, Robert and James Gettys, _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m, _S_e_c_o_n_d _E_d_i_t_i_o_n, DEC
Press, 1990. ISBN 1-55558-050-5. The Xlib and X protocol bible by the
authors of X11. The second edition is a superset of the MIT documenta-
tion on X11R4 Xlib, X protocol, XLFD, and ICCCM. This is THE specifi-
cation of the core of X and is required for all serious X programmers,
though it may be rough going for those with little experience in in-
teractive computer graphics. See also Asente & Swick's companion book
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on the X Toolkit.
Schmandt, Chris, Mark Ackerman, and Debby Hindus, "Augmenting a Window Sys-
tem with Speech Input," _I_E_E_E _C_o_m_p_u_t_e_r, vol. 23, no. 8, pp. 50-56, Au-
gust, 1990. Describes Xspeak, an experimental speech recognition
client that allows voice access to X windows.
Shein, Barry, "What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks?," _S_u_n _E_x_p_e_r_t, vol.
1, no. 6, pp. 44-51, April, 1990. A review of OpenWindows, Sun's pro-
duct version of X.
Shein, Barry, "Primal Screens," _S_u_n _E_x_p_e_r_t, vol. 1, no. 3, pp. 56-69, Janu-
ary, 1990. An interesting, though somewhat religious, comparison of X
and Sun's NeWS window system. It concludes, "even Scott McNealy has
spoken of NeWS as a failure as a standard, although he hastens to add
that it was a technological success."
Southerton, Alan, "Friendly Desktops," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d, vol. 6, no. 11, pp. 68-
73, November, 1989. Another comparison of X-based UNIX file managers,
including Non Standard Logic InDepth, IXI X.Desktop, Visix Looking
Glass, AT&T Open Look, Torch Technologies Y-OpenTop, and SoftScience
Convenience Plus.
Southerton, Alan, "Many Paths To X Window Programming," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d, vol. 7,
no. 5, pp. 66-73, May, 1990. A survey of user interface development
tools for X. It's somewhat superficial, but mentions most of the popu-
lar tools.
Spine, Thomas and Jacob VanNoy, "The Evolution of the X User Interface
Style," _D_i_g_i_t_a_l _T_e_c_h_n_i_c_a_l _J_o_u_r_n_a_l, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 44-51, Summer,
1990. Describes the design and evolution of the DECwindows look and
feel for the X Window System.
Stroyan, Michael, "Three-Dimensional Graphics Using the X Window System,"
_D_r. _D_o_b_b'_s _J_o_u_r_n_a_l, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 28-36, February, 1990. A high
level description of various approaches to developing 3D graphics
tools for X, including those of the PHIGS Extension to X (PEX) and
HP's Starbase-on-X11 (sox11).
Sun Microsystems, _O_P_E_N _L_O_O_K _G_r_a_p_h_i_c_a_l _U_s_e_r _I_n_t_e_r_f_a_c_e _S_e_r_i_e_s, Addison-
Wesley, 1990. ISBN 0-201-52365-5, ISBN 0-201-42364-7. This series in-
cludes _F_u_n_c_t_i_o_n_a_l _S_p_e_c_i_f_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s and _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n _S_t_y_l_e _G_u_i_d_e. OPEN
LOOK was designed by AT&T and Sun and implementations are available
from both. AT&T's implementation uses the X Toolkit. Sun's implementa-
tion uses XView, a similar, but not compatible, toolkit.
Swick, Ralph R. and Mark S. Ackerman, "The X Toolkit: More Bricks for
Building User Interfaces," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _W_i_n_t_e_r, _1_9_8_8 _U_S_E_N_I_X
_C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 221-233. An introduction to the X Toolkit. Describes
the toolkit architecture and the basic Athena widgets.
Thomas, Spencer W. and Martin Friedmann, "PEX - A 3-D Extension to X Win-
dows," in _P_r_o_c_e_e_d_i_n_g_s _o_f _t_h_e _W_i_n_t_e_r, _1_9_8_9 _U_S_E_N_I_X _C_o_n_f_e_r_e_n_c_e, pp. 139-
149. Describes the demonstration implementation of PEX, the
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PHIGS/PHIGS+ 3D extension to X. A complete PEX is currently being
developed by Sun under contract to the MIT X Consortium and is
scheduled to be publically available in 1990. See also the Rost, _e_t
_a_l, paper on PEX.
Treggiari, Leo and Michael Collins, "Development of the XUI Toolkit," _D_i_g_i_-
_t_a_l _T_e_c_h_n_i_c_a_l _J_o_u_r_n_a_l, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 24-33, Summer, 1990. An
overview of the XUI widget set. The Motif widget set uses the same
application programming interface.
Wood, Patrick, "Introduction to Xlib Programming (2 parts)," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d,
vol. 6, October-November, 1989. This is a two part tutorial article
on Xlib programming. Not as good as Rosenthal's ``hello, world'' arti-
cle.
X/Open Company, Ltd., _X/_O_p_e_n _P_o_r_t_a_b_i_l_i_t_y _G_u_i_d_e: _W_i_n_d_o_w _M_a_n_a_g_e_m_e_n_t,
Prentice-Hall, 1988. X/Open is an international user group of UNIX
hardware and software developers. It publishes portability guidelines
with the goal that developers that follow these guidelines will be
portable across other hardware and software supporting the guidelines.
The X/Open window management guidelines are based on the X11R3 specif-
ications.
Young, Douglas A., _X _W_i_n_d_o_w _S_y_s_t_e_m: _P_r_o_g_r_a_m_m_i_n_g _a_n_d _A_p_p_l_i_c_a_t_i_o_n_s _W_i_t_h _X_t,
_O_S_F/_M_o_t_i_f _E_d_i_t_i_o_n, Prentice-Hall, 1990. ISBN 0-13-497074-8. A good
tutorial on writing programs using the X Toolkit. Examples use the
Motif widget set and are available in electronic form. Only the C in-
terface to Motif is covered. The UIL interface to Motif is not covered
at all. The sections on subclassing widgets are a little weak, see the
Asente & Swick book for better coverage there.
Young, Douglas A., _O_S_F/_M_o_t_i_f _R_e_f_e_r_e_n_c_e _M_a_n_u_a_l, Prentice-Hall, 1990. ISBN
0-13-642786-3. A reference manual for the most popular C languague
Motif and Xt functions. The UIL interface to Motif is not covered at
all.
Young, Douglas A., "Programming with the X Toolkit (3 parts)," _U_N_I_X _W_o_r_l_d,
vol. 7, no. 1-3, January-March, 1990. This three part tutorial arti-
cle is based on Young's books on the X Toolkit.
Ken Lee
DEC Western Software Laboratory, Palo Alto, Calif.
Internet: klee@wsl.dec.com
uucp: uunet!decwrl!klee