Subject: NeWS up and running on Amiga

From: [email-masked] (Root)
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 87 02:10:37 EDT

Date: 16 Jul 87 14:54:02 GMT
From: [email-masked]  (Root)
Subject: NeWS up and running on Amiga
To: [email-masked]

The following was posted to comp.sys.amiga - if you read both groups,
apologies that you've seen this article twice..

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I have a port of Suns NeWS window system up and running on the Amiga.  For
now, all that is running solidly is the server (and one or two of their
utilities).  The code has been integrated with Ameristar network stuff, and
one can run demos, etc off the Sun and watch the stuff go on the Amiga
screen.

Much to Suns credit (thanks guys!), the port was fairly easy to do as most
of the OS specific code was isolated in ~3 files.  The version I have
working uses the Sun supplied Pixrect drivers - I'm working on a native
version which uses the Amiga graphics library + blitter.  The toughest part
of the port was isolating all the implicit violations of the stdio library
that were made throughout the NeWS code - close second was finding a "feature"
that they implemented in an attempt to save a few kBytes of core (went like
this: if(namep < &edata) then {name is in the data segment, don't
bother to allocate memory for buffer} - of course the Amiga has no notion
of Unix like heap memory allocation, so their assumption failed).  To date,
I've worked almost a week on the port.

I'm not really interested in debating the religious issues of X -vs- NeWS
(as I use both window systems frequently), but I will say that NeWS' ability
to be programmed in PostScript (and from shell scripts, no less!) opens up some
fascinating possibilities for rapidly prototyping applications without
having to resort to C, Pascal, etc.  I also find their termcap programmable
terminal emulator (psterm) quite novel in that to emulate almost any character
terminal, all one has to do is write an /etc/termcap entry.  Neat idea.

The only downside to NeWS that I've found so far is that the server is
quite HUGE (~270K text + 50K data/bss) - so if you haven't purchased
extra memory yet, you're dead.

As for distributing AmigaNeWS, I've been told by Sun that I cannot distribute
it under any circumstances - before you go bashing them, though, remember
that they've had quite a few folks working for YEARS on NeWS, and believe it
or not, they would like to recoup their investment.  Can't say I blame them.
Anyways, I hope to get them a copy of the reference port of NeWS so at the
very least they can distribute it to other source licensees.

						Rick Spanbauer
						SUNY/Stony Brook

PS. NeWS is probably a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.

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From: [email-masked] (Mike Farren)
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 87 02:11:39 EDT

Date: Sat, 18 Jul 87 01:38:42 PDT
From: [email-masked] (Mike Farren)
Subject: Re: NeWS up and running on Amiga
To: [email-masked]

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Root) writes:
[re. an Amiga port of NeWS]
>very least they can distribute it to other source licensees.

How about allowing distribution of the binary only at the same cost ($100)
as their own NeWS binaries, said money to be payable to Sun?  Seems to me
that would give Sun income, and allow a nifty new product to be out in the
real world, expanding NeWS's utility and exposure.  Not allowing distribution
of any NeWS ports is certainly gonna restrict NeWS's use -- not all of us
have Suns on our desks, after all.

--
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                 "... if the church put in half the time on covetousness
Mike Farren      that it does on lust, this would be a better world ..."
hoptoad!farren       Garrison Keillor, "Lake Wobegon Days"