Re: Xwindows GS?

[philip@labtam.oz.au (Philip Stephens)]

Sean McAfee writes:

>I'm just starting to get heavily involved with Xwindows.  Being the die-hard
>Apple II fan that I am, I can't help but wonder if a port of Xwindows to the
>GS is possible, if and when GS/TCP comes out.  (I would also guess that a
>Second Sight card and an accelerator would be a virtual necessity.)
>Does anyone have an opinion as to how practical this idea is?

  Well, now that we have GNO/ME and the Second Sight, it certainly is more
feasible than it's ever been.  However, there a couple of potential problems:

  1. The source for X11 is a monstrosity, as well as very large!  I don't
     know if it could ever be successfully ported to ORCA/C!  It would
     certainly be a big headache.

  2. Even with an accelerator, and a custom DDX, it would probably still be
     too slow.

  Personally, I think it would be a better bet for someone to write a GS
application that could understand the X protocol and which did it's best to
implement the protocol using whatever means was easiest (e.g. using the
toolbox).  It would still be a big task, but more likely to succeed in my
opinion.

=========== Philip Stephens, Systems Programmer, Labtam Australia ============
====== Owned by Motor (Mo for short), the power-purrer from Down Under =======
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