Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!necntc!dandelion!ulowell!apollo!speyer
From: speyer@apollo.uucp (Bruce Speyer)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apollo
Subject: re: SR10 and me
Message-ID: <3a2ec9fb.52c6@apollo.uucp>
Date: 9 Feb 88 16:43:00 GMT
Organization: Apollo Computer, Chelmsford, Mass.
Lines: 70

<From: ferguson@BKNLVMS.BITNET (ferguson @ The Internet)
<
<My Apollo installation has gotten pretty handy with good ole
<Aegis over the years, and I'm getting a bit nervous about
<SR10. I didn't get a seat on the non-disclosure sessions in
<San Fran, so I only heard a little bit from some pals.
<
<Also, the Dialog sessions scared me.

I thought you might be refering to the presentation I gave at ADUS.  I didn't
want to present the usual marketing hype so I instead talked about how to use
Dialogue intelligently.  Some of management were a little worried about this
topic because it is much safer to say given window system XYZ your user
environment problems are solved.  Its not that simple whether XYZ is dialogue
or open / dialogue, SUNView, MAC windows, etc.

The neat thing about these systems is that they take the object-oriented
approach to windowing and therefore are incrementally buildable.  If you get it
wrong the first time you don't have to throw it out and start over, change a
template (inheritance) rearrange some windows, reduce or increase the number of
techniques, etc.  As you improve your system you will gain experience.  All the
talk tried to do was to pass on some experience that I have with Dialogue.

Software systems are scary when just looking at them as a whole, but approached
in an incremental and structured fashion there is no reason to fear especially
in this case.

<Is Apollo going to go all out Unix and X windows? Are they
<going to do this before GMR3D is completely re-implemented
<with X server calls?

Yes and yes, already fully support and distribute X/V11.  I'm a CAD application
engineer and do not know the answer to your GMR3D question.  The DM and AEGIS
will still be supported and available.  Its your choice which version of UNIX or
AEGIS you wish to run or any combination along with your choice for native
window manager.

<GMR 3D is absolutely fabulous, and I thank the graphics group
<for the good work. I'd really like to keep using GMR3D, even
<if it's on an X window background.
<
<But from what I heard at the conference, it seems like the graphics
<group is just jamming on making what works better, and the
<operating system and user interface people are taking away what works
<and replacing it with what looks like a Sun workstation.

There is a strong committment behind PHIGS and PHIGS-II.  I've been using SR10
and do find that I need a low-level awareness of UNIX even from the AEGIS
environment.  Need to have some idea what /etc and /usr is now, backslash must
be replaced by /.., need an understanding of UNIX protection, etc.  I'm not the
appropriate person to go into details on SR10 changes.

All and all I believe these changes are good because these days you can't avoid
using UNIX on Apollos even if you prefer AEGIS due to third party software and
the need to work in an hetergenous computer environment which interacts with
components such as UNIX, TCP/IP, NFS, etc.  I'm bouncing around all the time
between BSD, SYS5, and AEGIS.  At SR10 the AEGIS environment is better unified.

<Are we allowed to openly discuss this yet? I want to be ready when
<my socks are knocked off.
<
<Scott Ferguson
<ferguson@bknlvms.bitnet
<Bucknell University CAED Center

I believe the SR10 project, including its NCS underpinnings, was announced at
UNIFORUM this week so there should be aplenty coming over the net soon!  Select
beta-sites are not too far off either.

Bruce Speyer - speyer@apollo.UUCP