Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!samsung!think!snorkelwacker!bloom-beacon!CS.UMD.EDU!don
From: don@CS.UMD.EDU (Don Hopkins)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: extension philosophy [was Re: audio servers]
Message-ID: <9003202318.AA11323@brillig.UMD.EDU>
Date: 20 Mar 90 23:18:56 GMT
References: <1990Mar18.191329.10787@alphalpha.com>
Sender: daemon@athena.mit.edu (Mr Background)
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 41


   Date: 18 Mar 90 19:13:29 GMT
   From: snorkelwacker!spdcc!tauxersvilli!alphalpha!nazgul@bloom-beacon.mit.edu  (Kee Hinckley)

   In article <780@auto-trol.UUCP> marbru@auto-trol.COM (Martin Brunecky) writes:
   >	O.K. The problem I see is that all those really usefull
   >	extensions will make the server HUGE. Example is the XNeWs
   ...
   >	Another problem is extension loading/adding to the server.
   >	Most users will depend on vendor provided servers, with very
   >	little or no way to bind-in additional extensions, even though
   >	such extensions could be provided by the third party.
   ...

   Aren't all of these problems solved by simply having a server that
   dynamically loads in extensions when they are requested?

							   -kee

Date: Thu, 4 Jan 90 14:35:13 -0500
To: NeWS-makers@brillig.umd.edu
Subject: Re: bogus arguments, whether pro or con
From: rws@expo.lcs.mit.edu (Bob Scheifler)

    Do I understand that NCR has a meta-extension for loading
    and unloading server extensions dynamically?

It has a mechanism, yes.  I don't know the implementation details.

    Is it in the form of a
    standard X extension that I could link into, say, an X11/NeWS server?

There is no notion of a "standard X extension", in terms of implementation
binaries or standardized internal interfaces, at least not right now.

    Or does it require server modification, and/or operating system
    support?

I would say most interesting X extensions (3D, video, overlays,
double-buffering, nonrectangular windows, input devices, shared memory) have
required some amount of server modification and/or hardware/OS support.