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From: rad@mbunix.mitre.org (Richard A. Dramstad)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: X windows for the IBM mainframe
Message-ID: <51389@linus.UUCP>
Date: 27 Apr 89 00:15:38 GMT
References: <8904242106.AA04703@hac2arpa.hac.com>
Sender: news@linus.UUCP
Reply-To: rad@mbunix.mitre.org (Dramstad)
Organization: The MITRE Corporation, Bedford, Mass.
Lines: 33

In article <8904242106.AA04703@hac2arpa.hac.com> balamut@HAC2ARPA.HAC.COM (Morris Balamut) writes:
>Hi,
>
>Is there a version of X windows that will run on an IBM
>mainframe (VM/CMS or MVS). If not currently, does anyone
>know if it is being worked on and by who.

	Surprise:  IBM.  There are actually product announcements for
the VM version of IBM's TCP/IP implementation that include X
support.  (NFS with RPC is an option for that product, by the way.)
The X support has raw Xlib only; no toolkits provided yet.  (OSF Motif
is an obvious candidate, which includes the DEC DECwindows ToolKit and
the HP/Microsoft PM user interface/look-and-feel.  IBM has to get
something useful out of OSF, right? :-)

	The MVS version of the IBM TCP/IP product (with X, NFS, RPC,
etc.) is due to become a product sometime around June.

	We're very interested in the possibility of melding modern
workstation-style user interfaces with the IBM commercial quality
databases/proprietary OS-based systems that we have such a heavy
investment in.  We're not unaware of some of the "fun" issues to be
resolved, however, like:  do you really want to do a Telnet3270
session to the IBM host just to kick off an X client application?
What are the alternatives?  I'd be interested in comparing notes if
you decide to pursue an effort along these lines.

>Morris Balamut
>Hughes Aircraft
>(213) 513-5829

Dick Dramstad
The MITRE Corp.