Portability and the Ivory Tower (was Re: Book on Microsoft C)

[JJS]

In article Peter da Silva writes:
>In article Edward J Driscoll writes:
>> Your point is certainly worth taking into consideration.  My
>> reply question would be:  Are you willing to stick with
>> teletype compatibility forever?
>
>Machine independent code does not imply teletype compatibility. There have
>been a range of machine-independent screen- and graphic- oriented
>environments (in order of increasing sophistication):
>
>	Termcap.
>	Curses.
>	X-Windows.
>	NeWS.

Absolutely, especially X-Windows.  X-windows servers run on the local
machine, taking advantage of the machine's hardware.  This way, the application
never needs to worry about hardware-dependent features, and can be COMPLETELY
portable.  Each X-Windows server, however, must be written to take advantage
of EVERY special feature of the hardware.

It does seem, however, that such systems almost always result in a speed
sacrifice, however slight.

	-- JJS