From: mukerjee@sereno.Eng.Sun.COM (Jim Mukerjee)
Newsgroups: fj.mail-lists.x-window
Subject: SunSoft Windows Toolkits Positioning
Date: 18 Nov 92 21:51:37 GMT
Distribution: fj
Organization: Sun Microsystems Inc., Mountain View, CA

Date: 10 Nov 1992 22:51:05 GMT
Message-Id: <lg0f6pINNsak@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>
Newsgroups: comp.windows.open-look,comp.windows.x,alt.toolkits.xview



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           SUNSOFT WINDOWS TOOLKITS POSITIONING
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There has been significant network traffic lately speculating on
the current positioning and future support of SunSoft Windows
Toolkits, specifically related to XView and OLIT. As with most
rumors, much of the network traffic relating to XView has been
in error. The brief statement below should put to rest the gossip,
innuendo and inaccurate conclusions, and allow developers to
get back to real work.

WINDOWS TOOLKITS POSITIONING
----------------------------
OLIT is being offered by SunSoft as the recommended procedural toolkit for
the X-community. The principal engineering effort for technical
enhancements and new features is on OLIT. It is NOT the intention
to have customers migrate their current XView applications to OLIT.
We strongly encourage developers to use OLIT for any NEW
applications that are being developed to take advantage of many new
features and functionalities, and maintain compliance with the rapidly
evolving STANDARDS for GUI development.

XView is alive and well! Certain technical enhancements, detailed
below, and sustaining engineering effort will continue, for the
foreseeable future.  Software developers will be able to continue to
develop, compile and run XView applications on the Solaris 2.x platform
into the foreseeable future. The principal caveat is that only limited
new functionalities and additional features will appear in XView after
Solaris 2.2. Software developers will still be able to continue
application development and distribution of XView-based applications
even after this transpires. However, to make effective use of many
technical enhancements, developers are strongly encouraged to use OLIT
for new applications development.

FUTURE SUPPORT AND PLANS FOR XVIEW
----------------------------------
These concerns are best summarized by briefly answering the 
following frequently asked questions about XView.

Q1. Is XView still supported by SunSoft?
A1. Yes, SunSoft supports XView and will continue sustaining
    engineering effort for the foreseeable future.

Q2. Will there be more releases of XView?
A2. Yes, there will be new releases of XView in the future with limited
    new functionality.

Q3. I've heard that XView may no longer be shipped after this year.
    Is this true?
A3. No this is NOT true!  XView will continue to be a standard part of
    future Solaris operating system releases.

Q4. When will XView be EOLed?
A4. There are no EOL plans for XView, nor are we considering it
    in the foreseeable future.

Q5. Will XView source continue to be publicly available?
A5. Yes, XView source will continue to be available on the MIT tape
    and other public ftp sites.

Q6. Will there be any new features added to XView?
A6. Yes, some new features will be added to XView.  Features that are
    currently under development are:
       Fully integrated File Chooser object
       Keyboard Accelerators for menus
       Full Asian & European languages support

Q7. Should I rewrite my application in OLIT?
A7. No, we are not recommending rewriting existing XView applications in
    OLIT.  However, we are strongly recommending using OLIT for developing
    NEW applications.  Also, we strongly recommend use of OpenWindows
    Developer's Guide for any GUI development.  Doing so allows quick
    development and in addition enables smooth migration between OPEN LOOK
    toolkits should one choose to migrate to OLIT in order to take advantage
    of future enhancements.

Q8. Is there a significant engineering effort behind XView?
A8. A significant corps of SunSoft engineers are working in the XView
    group to make the product stable. This includes sustaining
    engineering, fixing bugs, addressing performance issues and
    compliance with other standardization activities.

Q9. What is Sun's current feeling about OPEN LOOK?
A9. SunSoft and it's parent company SMI continue to stand firmly behind
    OPEN LOOK and is committed to it's success.

I sincerely hope this Windows Toolkits positioning statement
and the role XView will play in future will reassure developers that 
SunSoft is aware of the needs in the marketplace and will continue
to strive in offering innovative technologies in a systematic manner.

Sincerely,
Jim Mukerjee
Windows Toolkits Product Manager
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