Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!emory!mephisto!gatech!kd4nc!n4hgf!jmd
From: jmd@n4hgf.uucp (John Dashner WA4CYB)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.xenix
Subject: Re: Open desktop
Keywords: ODT X11 Motif
Message-ID: <706@n4hgf.uucp>
Date: 29 May 90 04:39:28 GMT
References: <394080@neabbs.UUCP>
Reply-To: jmd@n4hgf.UUCP (John Dashner WA4CYB)
Organization: Amateur Radio Station N4HGF
Lines: 51

In article <394080@neabbs.UUCP> omeer@neabbs.UUCP (OSCAR VAN.DER.MEER) writes:
>I am suprised that there is no news about SCO's Open Desktop.
>Am I in the wrong area for message? If not could anybody who is using
>the product send me a short review of their experiences with the
>Open Desktop. 

Well, not really since there isn't one for it YET ;->

>  What I am particulary interested in is, how much effort it cost to
>write a decent Motif based program. And also what the performance is
>of the X-Windows/Motif combination, for instance compared to Microsoft
>Windows on the same machine.
>  [remainder of msg delete]

Oscar, I just spent a week this weekend installing and getting ODT up
on a 20 Mhz Premium 386 and after adding 4 MB of ram was able to see
ODT-View as the X11 part is called.  But first, let me make sure that
you and others understand that ODT by itself does not enable one to
develop X applications -- you need another package which I believe is
called Open Desktop Development Kit and be prepared to drop alot of
change when you buy it -  ~$3000US if memory serves me right.  I did
find some lib's that may have the basic Xtlib stuff in them but just
haven't had time to check this out.  Perhaps more on this later after
I get comfortable with it.

Another point is that this is "early release" code.  Read as BETA.

As for a report on ODT-View's performance, I would say that it very nearly
models Windows 2+ behavior and is of course familiar since Motif is roughly
based on Microsoft Windows (all the familiar quick-keys are the same for
instance).  The radio buttons are approximately the same as well.  The
most striking difference is the 3D effects that Motif implements.

Starting an Xterm gives you a much larger screen area to work with (if
applications know how to take advantage of it) and I would say that no
really noticiable performance hits were experienced.  With 9 megs of 
memory, I only saw swap in use when I had Merge86 DOS and several Xterms
running.  Think about that:  Multiple Xterms on Multiscreens.........

This has run on too long and I am only just beginning - One bug I think
I have uncovered is that every man page I read while in view wound up
copied to /tmp and as much as I was having to read, it could soon blow
the disk - don't know about that just yet....

All the best, John "Pappy" Dashner

 
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 John Dashner - WA4CYB  - {tdmfed,n4hgf,wa4cyb}!jmd - dashner_john@tandem.com
 ARRL/ARC/SEDXC      "...always being right is a pleasant burden to bear" -me
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