Nebula/nebula.bin/Documents/FAQ/NeXT/FAQ.compatibility

Text File | 1993-01-27 | 10KB | 335 lines

NeXT-FAQ.compatibility: Questions about compatibility


*** Subject: C1. Where can I obtain a NeXT version of X-Windows?

There is a X11R3 version named XNeXT developed by MIT.
This version is available in binary only, works only on
monochrome machines and does  not work under Release 2.0
of the NeXT OS.  XNeXT is a 1-bit black and  white server.
XNeXT is available from most ftp sites that have  NeXT
software.


McGill University (der Mouse) has produced a beta
version of an X11R4 server named mouse-X available via
ftp from:

    132.206.1.1.

cd to X/XNeXT and fetch one of the files with names
beginning with "distribution".

This version only uses NeXTstep for keyboard and mouse
events.  This version will only work with monochrome NeXT
machines, it will not work with color products.  This
version  initially did not work under 2.0, however Howie
Kaye fixed it  to work again, diffs will be incorporated
soon on the McGill server sources.

In the meantime you can get binaries off of:

    cunixf.cc.columbia.edu

(11.5Mbytes) in the Xnext directory.

[Howie Kaye [e-mail]] adds:

---
We are planning on moving our public ftp tree, and it looks
like the XNeXT distribution here
(cunixf.cc.columbia.edu) is going to disappear.  Since
it's listed in the FAQ.compatibility file, I thought I'd
let you know.

Before we toss it, maybe one of the archive sights wants to
take over the distribution?
---


A color server is available from:

    [e-mail]

or

    [e-mail]

It should work on color NeXTstations.


Pencom Software of Austin, TX is distributing co-Xist,
an X11R4 color server that supports all hardware
platforms and runs under NeXTstep2.0 or higher.The
rootless version of co-Xist allows you to use not only
Motif but also NeXTstep as a window manager ie. X-windows
are opened on the WorkSpace screen and act completely
like NeXT windows. The Motif Window Manager,
development libraries and online Digital Librarian
documentation are availabe as options.  A demo is
available on sonata.cc.purdue.edu

For more information:

    Pencom Software
    email: [e-mail]
    Voice: 1-800-PENCOM4 or


Cub'X in Puteaux, France has a commercial X server.
Cub'X-Window's new version 3.01 is now available. Its
most important improvement resides in a new option
permitting to run X-Window inside NeXTstep.

For more information:

    Claire Normand
    Cub'x Systèmes
    Tour CBC, Cedex 71, 92043 Paris La Défense, France
    tel: [phone]
    Fax: [phone]
    [e-mail]


MIT maintains a ftp server for X distribution:

    export.lcs.mit.edu

It currently does not have any NeXT specific servers.  If
you compile software make sure the libraries are install
in the ld path, and that you use the X provided C
pre-processor.


There is another commercial X product called eXodus.

    White Pine Software
    603-866-9050.


*** Subject: C2. Can I run DOS software on the NeXT?

There is a product called Soft-PC available for the
NeXT, as well as other machines.

For more information:

    Insignia Solutions, Inc.
    Voice: 408-694-7600


NeXT machines equipped with 2.88 MB floppy drives are
able to read and write DOS diskettes (3-1/2" variety!) at
1.44MB or 720Kb in addition to having UNIX filesystems.
Consult the User Manual on initializing disk for DOS or
Unix applications.


*** Subject: C3. Can I run Macintosh Programs on my NeXT?

Abacus R&D, Inc. offers products called Executor
and HFS_XFer that allows some Mac functionality.

Executor allows you to run Microsoft Word versions 4 and
5, Excel, and other selected programs on your next.  Some
limitations include: no color, no sound, no system 7, no
appletalk, no desk accessories.

HFS_Xfer allows you to transfer files between HFS
(Hierarchical Filesystem) Macintosh disks and the NeXT
,where they're stored in Apple Double format.

The latest demo copy is available via anonymous ftp on
unmvax.cs.unm.edu in /pub/ardi/DEMO.

For more information:

    Abacus R&D, Inc.
    email: [e-mail]
    Voice:[phone]
    FAX: [phone]


Digital Instrumentation Technology vends software
called FloppyWorks which can read and write Macintosh
diskettes.

DIT also offers an external floppy drive called CubeFloppy
Plus that can format, read, and write 400 and 800 KB Mac
disks.

For more information:

    Digital Instrumentation Technology
    email: [e-mail]
    Voice: [phone]
    FAX: [phone]


Bill Roth has written a program called MacinDisk
ToshBrowser which read 1.4 Meg Mac disks.  A demo version
is available on sonata.cc.purdue.edu.

For more information:

    Impact Software
    email: [e-mail]
    voice: 1-800-822-3385.


*** Subject: C4. Can I run tcsh or bash on my NeXT?

If you are simply looking for emacs-like command editing
you can do this with the csh distributed by NeXT by
typing:

    set editmode=emacs
or
    set editmode=vi

Note that file completion will conflict with vi's use of
esc to leave insert mode, so you may want to map file
completion to tab by adding the following to your
~/.bindings:

    bind-to-key FilenameExpansion "\^I"

In addition it is possible to bind control keys to
commands with a .bindings file.  Users should seek the
csh(1) man page for more information.

People have ported tcsh and bash to the NeXT.  bash is
available from prep.ai.mit.edu, the current version
1.21.1 makes correctly on the NeXT.tcsh binaries for all
kinds of machines are  available on
tesla.ee.cornell.edu , possibly including binaries for NeXT.

In addition zsh is also available. Zsh has interactive
features very similar to but more extensive than those of
tcsh. In addition zsh is based on sh/ksh, not on csh -
something which very many even casual shell programmers
will consider a great asset. A complete pre-compiled zsh
package including documentation is available from the
purdue archives.

If you install your own shell on a NeXT, you need to add it to
the file /etc/shells so that FTP will work.


*** Subject: C5. Can sound files be used on the Suns and NeXT interchangeably?

Sun OS 4.0.3 stored only raw mulaw files without any
extensions.  This format is obsolete; however to convert
it to a NeXT snd format you can:

    sndconvert -o nextified.snd -f 1 -s 8012.8210513 -c 1 -r sun-sound

Starting with Sun OS release 4.1 they adopted a file
format like NeXT's: A comparison of
<multimedia/audio_filehdr.h> on the Sun and
<sound/soundstruct.h> on the NeXT shows the formats to
be compatible-- just rename *.au to *.snd for the NeXT.

Sun only implements a subset of NeXT's sound file
formats.   Currently these seven are interchangeable:

    SND_FORMAT_MULAW_8
    SND_FORMAT_LINEAR_8
    SND_FORMAT_LINEAR_16
    SND_FORMAT_LINEAR_24
    SND_FORMAT_LINEAR_32
    SND_FORMAT_FLOAT
    SND_FORMAT_DOUBLE

While they are all _meaningful_ to the Sun, the standard
SPARCstation hardware only directly supports 8-bit
mu-Law at the CODEC sampling rate.

If you have raw soundfiles (e.g. from SunOS 4.0.3
systems, or converted from the Macintosh), you can use
raw2audio on the Sun or sndconvert -r on the NeXT to add a
sound header.


*** Subject: C6. Why does talk not work between NeXTs and SUNs?

Sun is running an archaic version of talk, install a new
version.


*** Subject: C7. How do I get the arrow keys to work in csh?

[This is for people who use a terminal app that does vt100
keyboard emulation - pasc]

First, add these lines to your ".cshrc" (preferably
between the if and endif):

    set editmode = emacs
    set macrofiles = .macros

Then create a file called ".bindings" and put in it:

    bind-to-key ExecuteNamedMacro '\e['

And, next, you need to make a file called ".macros"
however, this one you need to enter some control
characters into, because the csh STILL cannot write a
macro file (And I'm using 2.1).  Into this file put:

    A^@^@^@^A^P
    B^@^@^@^A^N
    C^@^@^@^A^F
    D^@^@^@^A^B

where ^@ means Control-@ and ^A means Control-A, etc.
Also, don't put in the leading spaces.   This will set up the
left and right arrows to move back and forth on the line,
and the up and down arrows will cycle through your
history.


*** Subject: C8. How do I view/convert GIF/TIF/jpeg images?

There exists a NextStep based application called
ImageViewer by Lennart Lovstrand at Xerox EuroPARC.  It
can convert between many different image formats.  It is
available on the archive servers.   There is pbmplus tools
[oops don't remember where right now -pasc] which does
most conversions through filters.  Another package to
look into is The Image Conversion Tools from sdsc.edu in
sdscpub.dir/next.dir/graphics.dir.JPEG software
en/decoder has been uploaded to the prudueNeXT archives
in pub/next/2.0-release/source/jpeg.tar.Z.

A commercial application,PixelMagician, is available
from Bachus Inc.

For more information:

    2210 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 330
    Santa Monica, CA 90403
    Tel:[phone]
    Fax:[phone]
    E-mail: [e-mail] or
    bacchus![e-mail]

Jef Poskanzers portable bitmap tools are also available
pre-compiled from the purdue archives.

In addition there is ViewGif2 (also available from the
purdue archives) which is about 40% faster and less
memory-hungry than ImageViewer but only displays gifs.

There is also GraphicsWorkshop (also from purdue) which
is a front end to a  set of graphic converter objects that
allow you to load, save, and view  images in gif, jpg, tiff,
pbm, pgm, ppm, and xbm formats. It will also  allow you to do
some basic image conversions like color to black and
white  or color to one bit.


--
Editor:
Nathan Janette [e-mail]