Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!ucsd!ucbvax!decwrl!crltrx!zorch.crl.dec.com!jg
From: jg@zorch.crl.dec.com (Jim Gettys)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: DECWindows and Sample Server Compatability
Keywords: DECWindows Compatability Sample_Server Bugs
Message-ID: <5409@crltrx.crl.dec.com>
Date: 29 May 90 15:08:40 GMT
References: <1050@ncrorl.Orlando.NCR.COM>
Sender: news@crltrx.crl.dec.com
Reply-To: jg@zorch.crl.dec.com (Jim Gettys)
Distribution: usa
Organization: DEC Cambridge Research Lab
Lines: 24

MIT X11R4 does more complete protocol checking than previous releases.
There is a "bug compatibility" extension which helps with older clients
that may have bugs in them (for example, an R3 xterm acutally needs
this!); unfortunately, there are a few such checks which the bug
compatibility does not catch.  As a result, some older clients (not just
Digital software) may not run correctly against an R4 server, even with
bug compatibility enabled.  An example of this is dxcalendar,  which
uses an illegal event mask in SendEvent. (fixed in next release; and
unfortunately, dxcalendar is the nicest of our "out of the box"
applications, in my opinion...  so people notice... Sigh...).

Beyond that, you may have font trouble; some fonts we use are licensed
and cannot be given away.  We posted an alias file several months ago so
you don't have to figure out suitable font aliases on your own. 

Beyond these nits, things should just work (and at the moment, I am
running an R4 server on my multi-screen DS5000, so I speak from first
hand knowledge). I happily run DECwrite on my R4 server (I'm working on
finishing a draft of the mythical X11 paper right now...), for example. 
If things don't work, its a bug, and should be reported.
			- Jim Gettys
			Digital Equipment Corporation
			Cambridge Research Laboratory
			Cambridge, Massachusetts.