The Unix Porting Project’s efforts to bring X Windows software to RISC OS continues, as the team gradually implements more and more of the X11 specification to enable open source applications, found on Unix, to be enjoyed by RISC OS users. While the ChoX11 library isn’t complete yet, applications are starting to take shape, such as the GTK-based web browser Dillo.
RISC OS Gets X11 Application Help
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Eugenia Loli
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forgive me for my ignorance, but, will this benefit many users?
RISC OS does not seem to have many users, and the number that will use GTK applications on this OS is probably even smaller.
I just wonder if it isn’t a waste of time…
The Unix Porting Project being an effort by RISC OS developpers to port UNIX apps to their platform of choice, I really don’t see how it could be a waste of time. How can porting apps to your chosen OS be a waste of time?
And even if RISC OS doesn’t have many users, it’s still a damn good OS.
For real. RiscOS has more users than you might think.
As soon as they are done with this project I hope to hell that they come up with an X server that runs on the Windows CE and Windows Mobile devices. There are so many people working on projects that won’t ever be a benefit to anyone, but if some of these people would like to make a difference, how about a free software X server for all those Windows devices?
Many OSes, including windows, have an X Server and can even run X11 apps rootless. Windows, QNX and Mac OS X are three examples I can think of off the top of my head.
Gene: You comment makes just about no sense at all, and seems a little selfish
“These people” – mostly myself and one other currently have no interest in programming for CE devices, nor any real experience in doing so.
“These people”, will “make a difference” by doing what’s useful for them, and some others. Moreover, the technical details in doing what you suggest are really quite different to this project.
Finally, if I wanted to run an X server on a portable device, I would run Linux on it. Oddly enough, that’s what my CE-targetted sub-notebook does.
Richard S – if only one person uses an application does that make it a waste of time? In any case, the number of X based applications (hardly limited to GTK) is very large – there is lots of potential for stuff to be ported.