Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!usc!jarthur!sif.claremont.edu!greg
From: greg@sif.claremont.edu (Tigger)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: co-Xist (or other X) experiences wanted
Message-ID: <1991Jun26.190933.1@sif.claremont.edu>
Date: 27 Jun 91 02:09:33 GMT
Sender: news@jarthur.Claremont.EDU
Organization: Pomona College
Lines: 32

We are currently looking at workstation options for a new professor in
our math department.  Most of his classes will be running on a Sun, with
some work also probably being done on our VAX/VMS system.  One of the
requirements for his workstation, therefore, is that it run X.  In
addition to a couple of more traditional workstations (DEC, Sun), we are
considering getting him a NeXT, probably a NeXTstation Color.  What we're
looking for at this point is comments from anyone who has experience
running X clients from remote machines using co-Xist (or any of the other
NeXT X-Windows software, for that matter).  We're primarily talking about
OpenLook apps from a Sun and DECwindows apps from a VMS machine.

Given the nature of X, these clients should theoretically run on the NeXT
regardless of which window manager is being used, but since when did
something work the way it was supposed to?  I also understand that the
window manager can run on a remote machine, with co-Xist supplying *just*
the bare X server.  So we could run the OpenLook or DECwindows window
manager on the host machine, avoiding any incompatibilities with whatever
window manager would normally run on the NeXT, right?

If that works, can multiple window managers running on multiple remote
hosts share the same local X server?  Could we have an OpenLook window
manager running on our Sun and a DECwindows window manager running on the
VAX simultaneously share the co-Xist window on the NeXT?  Or would that
create problems with the two window managers not knowing about the other
and what it was doing?

Any comments at all will be greatly appreciated.

Greg Orman                                   greg@pomona.claremont.edu
Systems Manager                              greg@pomona.bitnet
Seaver Academic Computing Services
Pomona College                               Standard disclaimer-type stuff