lispm window system(s)

[barmar@Think.COM (Barry Margolin)]

    Date: Wed, 25 Apr 90 16:13:33 -0400
    From: fwhite@BBN.COM (Fredric M White)

     Here's a long standing question:

     Will we ever see a new window system for lisp machines, where,
    for example, partially exposed windows are fully functional and 
    may even be partially off the main screen?

It seems unlikely to me that they'd completely redesign the window
system.  The features you mention, though, are feasible with the current
window system.  I don't think there's an inherent reason why the
selected window has to be the topmost window, it's just a policy that
the Genera window manager implements.  Having windows partially
offscreen would require a small amount of work, since the clipping
routines probably assume they can just clip to the window boundaries,
without taking into account the screen boundaries.

                                                barmar