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From: eric@aquarius.sfu.ca (Eric Kolotyluk)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.news
Subject: Re: NeWS "open" / "standard"?
Message-ID: <1991Jun21.165649@aquarius.sfu.ca>
Date: 21 Jun 91 23:56:49 GMT
Sender: news@newsserver.sfu.ca (News System Owner)
Reply-To: eric@aquarius.sfu.ca (Eric Kolotyluk)
Organization: Simon Fraser University
Lines: 76

I'm glad to see there's still some life in the X vs NeWS discussion,
so here's my two bits worth:

I've written code for X, NeWS, and Display PostScript (NeXTstep).
I still find NeWS to be the most effective coding environment for
a number of reasons.

1) The PostScript model is far "better" than X.  For example, if I
   want my X application to display grey scale on a monochrome
   display I have to encode all the dither maps and then manage
   all the stipple switching myself.  In PostScript I just set the
   grey level and draw.

2) Unlike an X window server, a PostScript window server is
   dynamically extensible.  I can taylor the look and feel where
   it's most important, on screen rather than across the network.
   Unlike Display PostScript, NeWS does primary event handling in
   the server.  This can dramatically reduce the number of events
   that have to be transfered across the networks.  In general,
   modern computer netorks work best with large quantities of data
   (tranmitted less frequently) rather than zillions of tiny event
   packets.  And over dial-up slip connections, X is barely usable
   whereas NeWS applications can perform remarkably well.

3) The architecure of X is very primative from a systems aspect.
   It's crazy the amount of low level issues you have to worry
   about writing X applications (like if you don't handle your
   events fast enough you make the server very upset).

4) The NeWS OOPS extenstions to PostScript offer a lot of potential.
   I really wish Adobe ahd consider such extensions in Display
   PostScript.  OOPS also greatly simplifies PostScript programming.

5) If I were paying people to write code I would rather they not
   have to learn an manage too many differnt graphics systems.  With
   X you have to learn X for screen work and somthing else (probably
   PostScript) for printer work.  Using PostScript on screen and on
   printer reduces the load on the programmers.

If X is so great, why is there now a Display Postscript extension?
Unfortunately there isn't a NeWS extension to X.

While there are many rumors and ideas why X is doing so much better
than NeWS, here's a few more for the pot:

- No company will ever admit they didn't want Sun to add another
  de facto industry standard to their resume (an so endorsed an
  inferior technology like X). Everyone knows companies don't really
  do things like that.  More likely, DEC and IBM invested a lot
  in Project Athena, so they (and others) simply marketed X more
  agressively than Sun (who had less invested in NeWS).

- NeWS was never as accessible as X (and still isn't).  First you
  had to pay for it, which meant securing funding, typing purchase
  requisitions, waiting and waiting for the courier...  X was
  easily available via ftp.

- Sun must have done something to alienate Adobe, why else would
  Adobe work so closely with NeXT to develop Display Postscript.

- While SGI initially embraced NeWS, and even had a better
  implementation than Sun, SGI seem to be abandoning NeWS.
  Rumor has it that Sun was not very cooperative with SGI,
  wouldn't even accept bug fixes from SGI.  SGI spent a lot
  of time and money working on NeWS, but didn't receive
  adequate support from Sun.

While NeWS is probably the "best" windowing system today, Sun's
poor handling of the early marking and vendor/customer relations
has much to do with the success of X.

If Sun are still serious about NeWS (it still isn't clear that
they are), they should do a better job of marketing it, and an
even better job of playing nicely with other vendors in order
to promote greater industry support for NeWS.  They might start
by making peace with Adobe (and apologising to SGI).