XINTERFACE: A DYNAMICALLY CONFIGURABLE PROCESS LEVEL INTERFACE TO X

Date
1990-09-01
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Abstract
This paper describes XINTERFACE, a process level interface to the X window system. It allows programmers with a minimum knowledge of X to create an interface for new or existing applications, as well as allowing more freedom in choosing a language in which to implement the functional portion of the application. XINTERFACE is a skeleton client that is invoked interactively by a user or by an application, to form a shell process dedicated to maintaining the interface. The initial appearance and behaviour of the interface are specified by a compiled User Interface Language (UIL) file, augmented by command line arguments and default resource files. A separate process is responsible for implementing the functionality of the application. Inter-process communication allows the interface to communicate user interactions and the functional process to reconfigure the interface as needed. This approach extends the advantages of UIL as well as exploiting the superior language support for process communications, over direct window system interaction.
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Computer Science
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