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From: kit@EXPO.LCS.MIT.EDU (Chris D. Peterson)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Application Portability
Message-ID: <8906271638.AA08618@expo.lcs.mit.edu>
Date: 27 Jun 89 16:38:56 GMT
References: <803@metasoft.UUCP>
Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU
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> Can anyone with experience tell me what problems, if any, were encountered
> in porting X application software from one platform to another?

Our master sources currently build on many machines with very few #ifdefs, we
currently have machines in house from Apollo, AT&T, DEC, HP, IBM, Sony,
Sun, and Tek.  Most of the code that I have written requires #ifdefs
mostly because the
operating systems are a bit different on each machine.  Xlib, Xt and Xaw all
can use exactly the same sources.

If you are truely interested in maximum portability keep in mind that compiling
in filenames and fontnames will generally spell disaster on some system
out there.  Check out the documentation on the X Resource Manager.  It provides
one pretty good method of making these type of application resources user and
site manager specifiable.

> Also, are there any problems running X applications on one type of
> machine, with a server of another type? Again, I expect to hear
> everything works as advertised, but....

You should have no problems whatsoever, that is what Network Transparency is
for :-)  I have run application on my Tek box from all of the vendors machines
listed above.

						Chris D. Peterson     
						MIT X Consortium 

Net:	 kit@expo.lcs.mit.edu
Phone:   (617) 253 - 9608	
Address: MIT - Room NE43-213