Re: Question about X-terminals running Oracle Applications

   Windows 3.1 and X Windows are very different Windowing Systems. So Windows 3.1 apps will not run on X Terms. Likewise Motif apps cannot run on Windows. As for performance issues, let me explain the concept of X.

      An X client application makes X Windows API calls to an X library like XLib. The XLib then translates these calls and sends them to an X Server typically across a transport like TCP/IP. If u remember one sets env variable DISPLAY to an IP ADDRESS:DISPLAY? The X Server that is managing the display/term is responsible for handling the GUI functionality, handling mouse clicks and so on ... In effect an X application is a client-server app in itself.

      Compare this to a native Windows3.1, Windows95, or Windows NT GUI. Here, the Windows API calls are directly handled by the OS in question. This of course will be faster. While a mouseclick in these environments is routed by the OS to the application without a network in the middle, with X apps, the XDM (Display Manager) has to packetize this as a message and send it to the client.

      So, there is an overhead with X, but I think the location-transparency provided by X overrides this performance hit. Consider this scenario where your DISPLAY MANAGER is running on server X, your X client runs on server Y, while your display is some TERM Z. Since, you would be having X Terms with local DISPLAY MANAGERS things should be pretty fast - your X Client on server X talks to the XDM on TERM Z which is also the display.

      Oracle provides both Windows 3.x and Motif versions of its CDE tools. Received on Fri Dec 29 1995 - 00:00:00 CET