Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!mcvax!ukc!eagle!icdoc!qmc-cs!liam
From: liam@cs.qmc.ac.uk (William Roberts)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.news
Subject: Re: anyone out there?
Message-ID: <302@sequent.cs.qmc.ac.uk>
Date: Fri, 2-Oct-87 13:48:29 EDT
Article-I.D.: sequent.302
Posted: Fri Oct  2 13:48:29 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 7-Oct-87 06:21:06 EDT
References: <8709151716.AA11134@sungod.steinmetz>
Reply-To: liam@cs.qmc.ac.uk (William Roberts)
Organization: CS Dept, Queen Mary College, University of London, UK.
Lines: 37
Keywords: NeWS, X, First Impressions paper
Summary: NeWS is much more than X - think bigger

Followup-To:

Distribution:


In article <8709151716.AA11134@sungod.steinmetz> aronson%sungod.tcpip@GE-CRD.ARPA writes:

>Our latest thrust has been to create a C-level interface around NeWS
>that can be easily re-written in X, so that we can use either window system.
>I'm wondering if SUN is really going to follow through on NeWS, or simply
>jump on the X band-wagon.

You are wasting most of the potential of NeWS if you reduce to
the level of X . Sun are going to 'jump on the X band-wagon' by
fitting an "X backdoor" in the NeWS server, so that X people
can run their pixel-based stuff and happily co-exist with NeWS.

If you wanted to make it possible to retrofit to X someday,
then write your C routines at a high-level, say

        "interactively select a node in the Make dependency graph",

and implement the routine in PostScript for NeWS. To convert
down to X, just write C routines to call the X primitives in
the right order etc etc.


PS.  Thanks to everyone who has asked for our paper
     "First Impressions of NeWS", which I advertised on this
newsgroup: we have had over 200 requests and our office
staff are trying hard to keep up. We are sending paper copies
by airmail which is cheaper than sending PostScript across the
Atlantic by E-mail, so we do need a FULL POSTAL address.  If
you asked for a copy and don't receive it by next week, you can
try mailing us again (with a postal address please), but say
that you have ALREADY ASKED for a copy so we don't get
confused.
-- 

William Roberts         ARPA: liam@cs.qmc.ac.uk  (gw: cs.ucl.edu)
Queen Mary College      UUCP: liam@qmc-cs.UUCP
LONDON, UK              Tel:  01-980 4811 ext 3900