Is POSIX degenerating into OSI?

[Mark H. Colburn]

From: mark at jhereg.Minnetech.MN.ORG (Mark H. Colburn)

In article <458 at longway.TIC.COM> srg at quick.COM (Spencer Garrett) writes:
>From: srg at quick.COM (Spencer Garrett)
>
>I agree with rich 100%.  I figure that when the standards committees
>start meeting it's time to start looking for the next generation gizmo.

It's not exactly that.  As far as windowing standard go, there is
definitely the desire to have a common graphical interface so that both
users and application developers have a common ground to stand on.  However,
it is not this desire which is being met by 1201.

The users would like a common user interface (UI) so that they don't have 
to relearn the look and feel aspects for each and every application that 
comes out.  The developers want a common application programming interface 
(API) so that they don't have to go through all the work to port their code 
to umpteen windowing systems on umpteen machines in order to make a 
successful product.

There is always the problem of attempting to do too much too early and 
stnadardization in this area may fall prey to this common problem.

The development of graphical user interfaces (GUIs) is relatively new and 
there are a lot of different ones out there: NeWs, X, Motif, NewWave, 
NextStep, SunView, Macintosh, Presentation Manager, Windows, etc.  The 
fact that there are so many shows that there is still some shakeout going 
on in the industry.  Lawsuits like Apple's shows how ferocious the 
competition in this area can be.

I would agree that there are some problems with the charter for 1201,
however, there are problems with not taking steps to standardize GUIs 
as well: increased development time for new applications (also read 
increased expense) and longer learning time for users on new 
applications.

My personal feeling is that 1201 should work on an application level
interface so that portable applications can be built that would provide a
standardized "look and feel" to the user.  Obviously, there is a
significant amount of work that still needs to be done in this area, but
there are some relatively safe things they can say about things like
desktops, windows, menus, etc.  Many of the afore mentioned windowing 
system's user interfaces are quite similar when you take away things like 
whether they shade their overlapping windows, or whether they have round 
or square "radio buttons".  They generally provide some form of desktop, 
windows, menues, scroll bars, etc.

Most of these ideas originated at Xerox in the 1960's and 1970's making
these elements of windowing systems at least as old as Unix.

Instead of focusing on either the user interface or the API, 1201 is 
standardizing the toolkit, which I feel is too low a layer to be working 
on now, primarily because it does not really address the needs of the two 
sides that "need" the standard the most: the users and the developers.  
The toolkit standardization helps the vendors because they can claim 
conformance to a standard and then layer the toolkit between their own 
proprietary user interface and API, baffling users and developers alike.  
It also walks the fine line of "implementation details" that standard 
bodies usually try so hard to avoid.

There are those that would say that a windowing standard will stifle their
creativity to develop their own windowing system.  However, this can be
countered with the argument that instead of directing their creativity to
something which has been done a thousand times already (such as windowing
systems), they can channel their creativity into something new and truly
innovative.

I don't neccessarily think that it is too early to start working on a
standard.  Remember that it takes a long time for a standard to come into
being.  By merely starting work on a standard it helps to shakeout the
industry to find out what is "good" and what is not.  There are definitly
enough systems to look at out there.  I am not sure that X is the best
choice, but it is a widely accepted base: the basis for any standard.

I would like to see more emphasis placed on both the UI and API aspects of
the standard however, so that the standard can help more than the vendors.

-- 
Mark H. Colburn                       mark at Minnetech.MN.ORG
Open Systems Architects, Inc.

Volume-Number: Volume 17, Number 89