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From: johnr@praxis.co.uk (John Richards)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.misc,comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Window Toolkits and Systems for a bunch of systems.
Keywords: Window Toolkits, Window Systems, Portability
Message-ID: <2679@newton.praxis.co.uk>
Date: 25 Jul 88 09:01:09 GMT
References: <732@muddcs.Claremont.EDU>
Sender: news@praxis.co.uk
Reply-To: johnr@praxis.co.uk (John Richards)
Organization: Praxis Systems plc, Bath, UK
Lines: 37

In article <732@muddcs.Claremont.EDU> lam@muddcs.Claremont.EDU (Grace Lam) writes:
>
>I am developing an interactive graphics program for viewing the structure
>of software etc...  The problem I face is porting around many hardware
>platforms (ie. VAX-VMS, VAX-Unix, Sun, Apollo) and among multiple operating
>and window systems (X, NEWS, Sun Windows, HP and others).  The graphics will
>be fairly normal stuff: zooming, panning, mutiple windows. 
>

We are using ICpak-201 from Stepstone for exactly the same porting
problem as you describe.  ICpak-201 is written in Objective-C and will
work with a number of window management systems because it has a layer
(called 'Earthbase') which sits between it and the window system.

We are actually using ICpak-201 to build a user interface on Suns which
will be ported to Apollos, but it also has some graphics functions
(pretty basic stuff - it's not GKS or PHIGS - you will have to write
your own transformation functions) and we will be using it for graphics
applications later.  We looked at user interface toolkits at the end of
last year and decided that Apollo's Open Dialog wasn't ready yet and
the X Toolkit was too low-level and very buggy (though I believe it is
much better now).  We worried a bit at first about using Objective-C
but have grown to like it.

Currently, Earthbases exist for X10, SunView, Apollo DM and they say
that X11 is in preparation.  Once you have bought the software, you
get all future Earthbases for nothing - in the worst case you could
always knock one up yourself.

Give Stepstone a ring on 203 426 1875.

---
John Richards                                Tel:   +44 225 444700
Praxis Systems plc                           Telex: 445848 PRAXIS G
20 Manvers Street, Bath, BA1 1PX, U.K.       Fax:   +44 225 65205
mcvax!ukc!praxis!johnr                       johnr%praxis.uucp@ukc.ac.uk
                                      John Richards