Path: utzoo!utgpu!utstat!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!tank!shamash!com50!pai!erc
From: erc@pai.UUCP (Eric Johnson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: X11R3 on Mac?
Summary: Works under A/UX, announced under Mac OS
Message-ID: <405@pai.UUCP>
Date: 21 Feb 89 14:35:54 GMT
References: <3600038@iuvax>
Organization: Prime Automation, Inc., Burnsville, MN
Lines: 67

In article <3600038@iuvax>, gannon@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu writes:
> 
> Has anybody seen any of the X11 servers that have been
> rumored to have been ported to the Mac?  Do they work
> with multiple monitors?  Do they run under Multifinder?
> under AUX?  Are they really available or is it all
> "real soon now".

A/UX (at least what I am using) runs an X11 R2 server (only in monochrome).
The generic (MIT X Consortium) release of X11 R3 contains the server
customizations necessary for (others exist but don't come with the generic
release):
     * Sun
     * Apollo
     * DEC
     * HP
     * IBM (RT)
     * Macintosh (MacII, under A/UX)
       [This seems to imply a heavy Apple commitment to the X Window System]

I have seen X running on a Cray supercomputer (displaying its output on
an Apollo and a DEC) -- which highlights one of the great strengths of
X: network transparency.


According to the docs, X11 R3 will run in color on the Mac II.  Unfortunately,
I don't have enough disk space on the Mac II to compile the generic R3,
so I don't know if this works in color or not. Speaking generically, X11
should work with multiple monitors (called screens in X parlance).  X11,
being network-transparent, also works over multiple workstation servers
(called displays in X11).

White Pines (and another company I forgot) have announced X servers
to run under MacOS. 

Two big problems for running X under MacOS will be
1) X11 eats RAM big time. (The X11 R3 notes said 4 MB were the absolute
minimum under A/UX.)
2) X11 is designed under the assumption that hundreds (or thousands) of
windows may be open on one screen at a time.


I must say that running X11 under A/UX is great fun, even with a 13"
monitor (color monitor running X in monochrome).  It is very fast and
has a snappy feel -- much better than the Suns in house (although most of
the Suns are running with 8-bit color). 

For more information on X, see comp.windows.x (and comp.sources.x).
 

> 
> Thanks for any info.

Hope this helps.

> Dennis Gannon
> Dept. of CS
> Indiana University


-Eric

-- 
Eric F. Johnson          | Phone +1 612-894-0313             | Are we
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