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From: jim@ci-dandelion.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: X on MS-DOS?
Message-ID: <821@ci-dandelion.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 30-Mar-87 10:06:07 EST
Article-I.D.: ci-dande.821
Posted: Mon Mar 30 10:06:07 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 31-Mar-87 07:02:49 EST
References: <17364@ti-csl.CSNET> <387@bacchus.MIT.EDU>
Organization: Cognition, Inc., Billerica, Ma.
Lines: 43
Keywords: MS-DOS PC-DOS X
Xref: utgpu comp.windows.x:398 comp.sys.ibm.pc:2628
Summary: X sure DOES run on MS-DOS

Peter Osgood (speter@athena.mit.edu) writes:
> X does not work on MS-DOS.

Oh really?

This message is being written from an xterm that I popped onto one of the
PC/AT's sitting in my office.  Cognition has had X running on MS-DOS for 
over a year.


> As of yet, we, MIT, to the best of my knowledge see no way of putting
> X on a PC of any type, save the RT when it is in Unix mode.

You might want to review the XPERT archives for the various discussions of
low end X implementations.  In January I posted a technical summary of 
Cognition's PC/X shortly after the X Conference (at which Locus described
their 386 version of X).  Also, I've spoken to several people back at Athena
about PC/X.

Although I agree that having X run so that local applications can talk to the
window system is a hard problem on a 286 (or worse) class machine, a server is
fairly straightforward to implement. 

Admittedly we have had to put a little extra hardware in the AT to make it
perform well (moderately smart high-res graphics board and Expanded Memory),
but it really isn't fair to say that X doesn't run on MS-DOS (Locus's runs
on the plain 386 hardware).

For the record, PC/X is NOT an available product.  We sell it only as part of
our integrated Mechanical Computer Aided Engineering product line.  However,
I'm quite willing to send out copies of the technical description mentioned
above.  If you would like one just send me email (please include the return
address in your message).

People who are interested in writing MS-DOS X applications or being able
to run an MS-DOS application in an X window should contact Locus Computing
about their Merge 386 product.

							Jim Fulton
							Cognition Inc.
                                                        900 Tech Park Drive
uucp:  ...!{mit-eddie,talcott}!ci-dandelion!jim         Billerica, MA
arpa:  jim@athena.mit.edu, fulton@eddie.mit.edu         (617) 667-4800