Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!olivea!uunet!stan!marvin!toml
From: toml@marvin.Solbourne.COM (Tom LaStrange)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: OPEN LOOK announced first (was: Re: Motif/Openlook, is there a trend?
Message-ID: <TOML.91Feb6090339@marvin.Solbourne.COM>
Date: 6 Feb 91 14:03:39 GMT
References: <TOML.91Feb4085753@marvin.Solbourne.COM>
	<9102052131.AA27315@zardoz.coral.com>
Sender: toml@Solbourne.COM (Tom LaStrange)
Organization: Solbourne Computer, Inc.
Lines: 47
In-Reply-To: don@zardoz.coral.COM's message of 5 Feb 91 21:31:57 GMT


   )    For the record, I'll state again that I think Sun's biggest mistake
   )    was in trying to release N toolkits on the unsuspecting world.  It's
   )    all very fine to say Open Look is toolkit independant - so's Motif, and
   )    there are at least four Motif-compliant (to one extent or another)
   )    toolkits in existance* - but OSF is only selling one, and there's only
   )    one which I have to worry about being supported when I move from
   )    platform to platform.  With Open Look I have no idea which the vendor
   )    will support.  Does _Sun_ even claim to support anything other than
   )    XView?  I doubt it.  Their version of libXt.a has pathnames that
   )    point at /usr/lib/X11, but the version of SunOS4.0 I've used doesn't
   )    even have that directory.  That doesn't look like support to me.
   ) 
   ) I love this statement.  The ONLY Motif-compliant toolkit is the one produced
   ) by OSF.  I don't want to speak for OSF and they can correct me if their
   ) policies have changed but OSF will not and has no plans to certify other
   ) toolkits as "Motif-compliant".
   ) 
   ) I asked an OSF person last October if they planned on certifying any other
   ) toolkits and the response was:
   ) 
   )    "Why would we want to do that?"
   ) 
   ) The only thing those of us struggling to provide a Motif-like toolkit can
   ) say is that you can write Motif compliant applications with the toolkit.
   ) That's it.
   ) 

   I agree with the former person's comment.  The fact that there are so
   few producers of Motif toolkits, makes Motif much easier figure out.
   There is not OpenMotif or MotifLook or MotifView or MotifWindows or
   Motif Intrisics Toolkit (MIT?) to try to keep straight.  All the
   various pieces that make up an OpenLook (or whatever ) are all part of
   a Motif.

I don't understand what you mean by this last comment.

   In addition, I feel more confident that the Motif sources I
   get will work and be as hardware independent as possible.

Some people will view a single toolkit as an advantage, others will think
that a choice of toolkits is the way to go.  You are obviously in the single
toolkit camp while I'm in the multiple toolkit camp.  At least our window
system allows us the choice.

--
Tom LaStrange        toml@Solbourne.COM