Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ulowell!apollo!oj
From: oj@apollo.COM (Ellis Oliver Jones)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apollo
Subject: Re: Many X-Window Questions
Message-ID: <42cf8363.d5b2@apollo.COM>
Date: 23 Apr 89 21:09:00 GMT
References: <8904221754.AA00121@lnic1.hprc.uh.edu>
Reply-To: oj@apollo.COM (Ollie Jones)
Organization: Apollo Computer, Chelmsford, MA
Lines: 77

In article <8904221754.AA00121@lnic1.hprc.uh.edu> wescott@LNIC1.HPRC.UH.EDU (Andrew M. Wescott) writes:

>I had heard rumors that Apollo was
>bringing out a supported X product for Open Dialogue.  Is this
>true?  Should I wait for it?

Yes, it's true.  There's a released version for sr9.7.
Domain/X will be bundled in SR10.2 (midsummer I believe).

If you don't want to wait that long you can obtain the
"borrow-mode" stuff by ordering a set of tapes from the MIT
X consortium, or from ADUS.  However, you'll probably need
a couple of weeks of hacking to get the unsupported stuff 
up and running.  Others in this newsgroup may have other
opinions about this ...  :-)

>We also have a DN 10000 running SR 10.0.p and BSD 4.3.  When will
>Open Dialogue and a supported X be available for the 10k ?

Again, at sr10.2, which is coming midsummer.

>In the meantime, is there a non-supported X available?
There may be a borrow-mode X available for the DN10k soon;
with any luck we'll get to it after sr10.1.p freezes (tomorrow?).

>Also, we
>will be installing the 40 plane VS upgrade within a couple of
>months...is anyone porting X to this configuration? 

Yep.  X will work on all DN10Ks at SR10.2.  However, it will
run in single-buffered pseudocolor mode, which means X is suitable
primarily for user-interface, or DN3500-compatible, applications.  
If you wish to use double-buffering or true color, GMR3d or GPR
are your best bets.

>Is is smarter to run a local graphics
>code synchronously with the simulation on the 10000 with NCS
>(i.e. like the ncs_mandelbrot demo) or should we use an X-Window?  .

Well, either approach works.  If your code is written for
GMR3d, run a local graphics program synchronously;  it'll be a year
or so before PEX (PHIGS Extensions to X) are ready to go.
If your code is written for GPR/GSR, you have a choice;  either run it
locally or port it to X.  It should be a simple matter of compilation to
get the X client code (Xlib, etc) to run on the DN10000.  You will need
X server code on your DN3500s.

Porting to X can be laborious.  Various trade shows have X
tutorials.  There are also a couple of consulting companies 
that help with this task.

>Is X color?
Yes.

>When will X be 3d ?
In a year or so, via PEX; see above.

>I seem to remember a run-time Domain Dialogue interface for the
>RT, but that doesn't mean I can extrapolate so much.

Something to keep straight:  X uses a client-server model, in which
your application is considered a client, and the server is a program
(usually, but not necessarily,  provided by your vendor)
which draws on the screen.  Open Dialogue is a bunch of software
you use on the CLIENT side of your operation to help implement
applications.  Open Dialogue speaks X, and can use any X server to
draw things.  This X server can run on your DN3500, your DN10000, your
PC, or whatever.  The client and the server can be on the same node
(e.g. both on a DN3500).  Alternatively the client can be on a 
big computer (DN10000, Connection Machine, you name it) and the
server can be on a DN3500 or a PC.

Most fast PC X implementations are server-only ... they make the
PC into an X "terminal," but you still need a host to run applications.

Hope these answers help. 
/Ollie Jones (speaking for myself, not necessarily for Apollo Computer, Inc.)