the PM layer could be completely replaced

In fact, you wouldn't want to build a WPS port on a port of PM, IMO. PM has a lot of problems - e.g. if it dies or gets corrupted, it can't be restarted (a reboot is required); and it uses different coordinates from the Win GDI so porting between them is more difficult than it should be (I don't know what X uses).

Any new WPS port shouldn't be built on top of PM, IMO, whether one wants to use X or not. Few OS/2 apps would ever get moved over, so backward compatibility isn't a concern.

The biggest problem is the object model - somebody has to take the [link|http://www-3.ibm.com/software/ad/som/som30readme.html|SOM3] AIX tools and port them to Linux and then implement the [link|http://www.markcrocker.com/rexxtipsntricks/rxtt28.2.0299.html|WPS Class Heirarchy] and then do the work to implement the WPS (or something very similar).

There's already X tools for OS/2, but they have limitations. There is [link|http://ais.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86os2.html|XFree86 (v3.3.6) for OS/2] courtesy of Holger Veit [link|http://www.os2ezine.com/v1n6/xfree.html|(interview)]. It's a full port of XFree86, but only runs full-screen. Holger had to do a lot of hacking to get it working on OS/2. There's the [link|http://everblue.netlabs.org/|Everblue] project at Netlabs.org which is an attempt to bring local X apps to the OS/2 desktop. These efforts could (potentially) be of use in going the other way. There are commercial tools to put X (even remote apps) on the OS/2 desktop as well (I think one comes with eCS).

Maybe some of the existing Linux toolkits could be used to implement the WPS on Linux with little work. But since IBM's SOM3 has been out since 1996, it seems that there's something that's preventing someone from jumping in and doing the port. I don't know enough about the nitty-gritty programming issues to say with authority what those issues are.

You'd make lots (a few thousand anyway!) of current and former OS/2 users happy if you could port the WPS to Linux. Care to give it a go? ;-)

Cheers,
Scott.

Post #66,924 by deSitter 12/5/02 1:46:12 PM Reply	the PM layer could be completely replaced ..by an X interface - in fact the best way would be to add an X extension called WPS! -drl
Post #66,925 by altmann 12/5/02 2:43:00 PM Reply	OINE ...or do a PM layer over Xlib like Wine does for the Windows API. And the API wouldn't be a moving target. -- Chris Altmann
Post #67,004 by deSitter 12/5/02 9:28:04 PM Reply	Re: OINE Hardcore :) - but that would just be OS/2 as is, not reborn - PM has fonts issues. You would want to take advantage of X modules, esp. render and 3D. IOW it's the function and not the representation, so use a better representation. -drl
Post #66,964 by Another Scott 12/5/02 4:55:53 PM Reply	PM's not the problem. At least not the biggest problem. In fact, you wouldn't want to build a WPS port on a port of PM, IMO. PM has a lot of problems - e.g. if it dies or gets corrupted, it can't be restarted (a reboot is required); and it uses different coordinates from the Win GDI so porting between them is more difficult than it should be (I don't know what X uses). Any new WPS port shouldn't be built on top of PM, IMO, whether one wants to use X or not. Few OS/2 apps would ever get moved over, so backward compatibility isn't a concern. The biggest problem is the object model - somebody has to take the [link\|http://www-3.ibm.com/software/ad/som/som30readme.html\|SOM3] AIX tools and port them to Linux and then implement the [link\|http://www.markcrocker.com/rexxtipsntricks/rxtt28.2.0299.html\|WPS Class Heirarchy] and then do the work to implement the WPS (or something very similar). There's already X tools for OS/2, but they have limitations. There is [link\|http://ais.gmd.de/~veit/os2/xf86os2.html\|XFree86 (v3.3.6) for OS/2] courtesy of Holger Veit [link\|http://www.os2ezine.com/v1n6/xfree.html\|(interview)]. It's a full port of XFree86, but only runs full-screen. Holger had to do a lot of hacking to get it working on OS/2. There's the [link\|http://everblue.netlabs.org/\|Everblue] project at Netlabs.org which is an attempt to bring local X apps to the OS/2 desktop. These efforts could (potentially) be of use in going the other way. There are commercial tools to put X (even remote apps) on the OS/2 desktop as well (I think one comes with eCS). Maybe some of the existing Linux toolkits could be used to implement the WPS on Linux with little work. But since IBM's SOM3 has been out since 1996, it seems that there's something that's preventing someone from jumping in and doing the port. I don't know enough about the nitty-gritty programming issues to say with authority what those issues are. You'd make lots (a few thousand anyway!) of current and former OS/2 users happy if you could port the WPS to Linux. Care to give it a go? ;-) Cheers, Scott.

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