Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!munnari.oz.au!goanna!pnm
From: pnm@goanna.oz.au (Paul Big-Ears Menon)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.smalltalk
Subject: ParcPlace's Native Windowing System??
Message-ID: <2859@goanna.oz.au>
Date: 13 Feb 90 03:26:44 GMT
References: <16117@well.sf.ca.us>
Distribution: comp
Organization: Comp Sci, RMIT, Melbourne, Australia
Lines: 17

frobozz@well.sf.ca.us (Jordan Bortz) writes:
>We will also be supporting ParcPlace's new Native Windowing System.

  What is this?  The latest ParcBench indicates the HP ST80 2.5 will run
over X.  Is ParcPlace's "Native Windowing System" a more flexibe graphics
layer?  If Smalltalk becomes more available on "X" platforms, I for one
can see the explosion in its use which could/should have happened a decade 
ago.  We have multiprocessor unix systems (and a proposed XTerminal lab) which
would be ideal Smalltalk engines.  It still is a luxury (here anyway) for
an undergraduate class of > 100 to develop on a per (unix) workstation basis.
Xterminals remove admin and significantly reduce resource costs.  If the
graphics<->client ends can be sufficiently decoupled to minimize traffic,
Smalltalk may experience a popular revival.  Once again, it depends on the
platforms.  Anyone heard of "Encore"?

Paul Menon
pnm@goanna.cs.rmit.OZ.AU