Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!milano!cadillac!harp
From: harp@cadillac.CAD.MCC.COM (Christopher North-Keys)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: what's most important to you for R5?
Message-ID: <9529@cadillac.CAD.MCC.COM>
Date: 8 Jul 90 02:11:36 GMT
Reply-To: harp@MCC.COM (Christopher North-Keys)
Organization: Packaging/Interconnect, M.C.C.
Lines: 93

(Also forwarded to rws@EXPO.LCS.MIT.EDU (Bob Scheifler))

(I've been using X since release 10, as user, programmer, and sysadmin.)

--------------------"Need" list:

3d
    Currently, solid rendering has to be done almost entirely in the
client, although the graphic-support hardware exists on the server.  This
makes it nearly impossible to take advantage of a decent graphic
accelerator, and almost rules out the use of X in software involving
modeling, virtual reality, CAD, graphic simulation, etc., due to rendering
and animation speed constraints.  I have heard that work is underway on
this issue, and I hope that is correct.  So who wants to write the X11R5
flight simulator?

Text
    The current implementations of the various text-using X items have
evinced discrepancies in many areas including:
o   Fascist restrictions to ASCII, hardly a global standard.
o   Failure to use proportionality in fonts.
o   The *16 text routines should (somehow) be merged with the 8-bit routines.

PS
    Avoid forcing everyone to pay the performance penalty associated with
PostScript display support.  Although supporting fonts in the server seems
reasonable, I think support for full PostScript would be better relegated
to the mit/client or contrib/client level.  This issue was discussed well by
(der Mouse) <mouse@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu> article 20446 in comp.windows.x.

Xterm
    (I don't envy anyone working on this program;  it's scary in there.)
    Xterm currently utterly fails to support proportional fonts, and even
has difficultly with some of the fixed-width oblique fonts.  There is no
provision for colored-highlights, nor for color display in the Tektronics
mode.  This last, alone, is forcing several of my users to continue using
SunView instead of X.  Xterm should do bitwise tabbing in proportional mode
instead of spacewise, which breaks, etc.  Since Xterm *is* the primary
interface to Unix (or whatever) while within X, the investiture of some
addition cleanup/enhancement should be well-warranted, particular in
improving its common appeal.

Primitives
    Improved support for curve-display functions: removal of the orthagonal
restriction in the oval primitive, etc.

Validation
    A program to fully test an X server.


--------------------Wishes

SoftLock
    A generic "lock" paradigm to replace CapsLock.  This SoftLock key would
have the following functionality:
    Definition: shift-set = {shift,control,meta,alternate,super,hyper, ... }
1.  If a SoftLock<KeyPress> occurs while any member of the shift-set
    is depressed, then that member's next <KeyRelease> event is ignored.
    In the event several shift-set members are depressed, each of their
    respective next <KeyRelease> events will be ignored.
2.  If a SoftLock<KeyPress> occurs while no members of the shift-set are
    depressed, than <KeyRelease> events are generated for all members of
    the shift-set.

Selections
    Improved selection support, including bitmaps and so forth.  This issue
has already been discussed in comp.windows.x

Contrib
    The contrib directory should be better-verified against the core
release.  However, I agree with another poster in that it is *very* nice to
have the contrib disseminated at the same time as the core.  Any suggestions?

Defaults
    ~/.Xdefaults files are driving the common user crazy.  This, too, has
already been discussed.  *I* have the additional gripe, however, that a
nice functionality in X11R3 has apparently been lost.  In R3, one could
specify a set of defaults as an alteration of another set in a
semi-hierarchical fashion.  Something like:
...
    consoleXterm.baseResource:   Xterm
    consoleXterm*vt100.geometry: 80x4+0+0
    consoleXterm*scrollBar:      true
...
to specify the consoleXterm resources as a modification of the xterm
resources would be convenient.  In R3, I seem to remember the "name"
resource would allow this sort of thing.

-- 
______________________________________________________________________________
Christopher North-Keys                                  Assoc. Systems Analyst
Group Talisman                                                  Harp[@Mcc.Com]
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