Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!amdcad!ames!mailrus!bbn!spdcc!bloom-beacon!SUN.COM!dshr
From: dshr@SUN.COM (David Rosenthal)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: O'Reilly & Inter-Client Communication Conventions Manual
Message-ID: <8810270352.AA01579@devnull.sun.com>
Date: 27 Oct 88 01:31:11 GMT
Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 25

Volume 1 of the O'Reilly books contains a re-formatted version of
the draft Inter-Client Communications Conventions Manual distributed
with R2.  A footnote says something like

	"The conventions are being revised by the X Consortium.  They
	promise that programs written to these [the R2] conventions
	will be compatible."

O'Reilly failed to heed my warning against publishing the R2 draft 
conventions prematurely in this way.  There is no such promise of
compatibility,  and they were informed of this before publication.

In fact,  although every effort is being made to avoid incompatibilities,
I can say categorically that programs written to the R2 draft conventions
will NOT be entirely compatible with the final conventions.  It would be
futile to insist on compatibility - in the process of reviewing a number
of cases have been discovered in which the R2 draft conventions do not work.

I would respectfully request O'Reilly to include an errata slip
correcting their spurious claim on behalf of the X Consortium.
I would also suggest that,  despite the copyright notices,  it is
a matter of common courtesy when re-publishing  material in this
way to consult the author beforehand.

	David.