MGR on the 3b1
Pete Holsberg
pjh at mccc.UUCP
Mon Jan 30 03:14:00 AEST 1989
In article <1615 at umbc3.UMBC.EDU> alex at umbc3.umbc.edu.UMBC.EDU (Alex S. Crain) writes:
= The X server could be ported to the 3b1 pretty easily. the mfb code
=is straight forward, and with the lowlevel access available, it could even
=run fast. I expand:
=
[ stuff about x-specific coding ]
=
= So if its so easy, why arn't I coding away? well, there's a few issues
=here.
=
= -1) Do this and kiss off everything that uses the existing wmgr. I
=personally wouldn't miss it, but alot of people use that stuff (like the UA,
=texview, picture, 3b1tools, even the fancy font for nethack).
I'm not too worried about losing the UA stuff. I'd happily kiss-off all the
GSS-based graphics stuff to get a REAL windowing environment for this beast.
A point though - most of the UA routines are shell-script based, and could
probably be moved into an X-windows-based routine without too much hassle.
=
= -2) There is now way that this is not a huge project. the X11R3
=distribution and contrib files is right around 100 Mb of source. The X server
=is a 400Kb+ process that runs all the time. I have no idea how much of it
=could be stripped out or could stay swapped out, but its still alot of
=resources.
=
Well, you wanted to upgrade anyway, right? Most people doing serious
things with their 3b1's are STARTING at 1 meg, with plans to go higher
anyway (is anyone making a nice simple Mem card for this machine? I
DONT want to piggy back stuff)
= -3) X11 is slow on a VAX, it's got to be pretty slow on a 3b1.
=
We're used to it.
= -4) 740x320 is pretty small for a windowed environment.
Ever run Microsoft Windows in CGA mode? Frightening, but functional.
=
=On the plus side:
=
= 2) there's alot of stuff available for X, like Tex and troff
=previewers, drawing programs, icons, windows with adjustable borders,
=window managers, etc.
=
Bingo. There's a serious lack of GOOD software for this machine (polished,
I mean). With all the talk of 'x' floating around, we're goign to be up
to our eyeballs in X software, with no way to run it.
=
= I figure that stripped sources would run about 10-20 megabytes, so
=the multiple drive cards make this somewhat more attractive. Anybody care to
=comment on the idea?
I'm not an officianado of 3b1 programmers, I don't even profess to be a good
C programmer. BUT, an X windows handler for the 3b1 would make my year.
I'm always trying to talk myself into spending money on this machine, saying
its outdated and not keeping up. With an X windows driver, I could sleep
easier at night.
market, e-mail me and I'll see if I can squeeze it in.
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