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From: ralphw@IUS3.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU (Ralph Hyre)
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Subject: Standard Interfaces [was Re: Apple Lawsuit (was BOYCOTT APPLE, etc.)]
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Date: 18 Apr 88 11:46:50 GMT
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From: ralphw@IUS3.IUS.CS.CMU.EDU (Ralph Hyre)
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Subject: Standard Interfaces [was Re: Apple Lawsuit (was BOYCOTT APPLE, etc.)]
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Date: 18 Apr 88 11:46:50 GMT
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>In article <1779@uoregon.UUCP> jqj@drizzle.UUCP (JQ Johnson) writes:
>>Personally, I would prefer to see a standardized user interface (i.e.
>>with the SAME "look and feel") available for all the machines my
>>users are likely to touch.
>
>
>There already is one.  It's called X-Windows.
...
Well, this isn't exactly true. The X Window System defines a standard 
communications protocol which allows low-level communcations between the
following entities:
- window system clients (applications that use the X Window System for I/O)
- servers (which manage the display and input devices, typically a keyboard
           and pointing device such as a mouse).  

It expliciticly does NOT define a standard user interface.  That is left up
to the application developer.  There are groups working on 'toolkits' which
support consistent user-interface building across a range of applications.
It's a lot to expect that these will be portable between all Unix systems,
much less microcomputers running even more stripped-down operating systems.

In the microcomputer arena, 'uw' (Unix Windows) seems to have some potential
although I don't think an IBM PC implementation exists.  If there were a
graphics interface suitable for the slow-speed links that exist in this
environment, then it would be more suitable as a general-purpose 
'window system'
-- 
					- Ralph W. Hyre, Jr.

Internet: ralphw@ius2.cs.cmu.edu    Phone:(412)268-{2847,3275} CMU-{BUGS,DARK}
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