Xl1200 as x server

[felix@Warbucks.AI.SRI.COM (Felix Ingrand)]

Bruce R. Miller writes:
>    Date: Thu, 2 Aug 90 10:06 EDT
>    From: SWM@SAPSUCKER.SCRC.Symbolics.COM (Scott McKay)
>
>	Date: Mon, 30 Jul 90 12:20:37 EDT
>	From: bart@nynexst.com (Bart Burns)
>
>	We are interested in running Genera applications via x windows on
>	hostile platforms, using xl1200s as "Genera servers" .  Anybody out
>	ther doing this?
>
>    We were showing exactly this capability at AAAI, in the form of a
>    SPARCstation 1 networked to a MacIvory using X.  It was surprisingly
>    usable, much better than I would have thought.  When we connected to
>    the XL1200, it was about as good as a local console (except for the
>    Sun keyboard, of course :-).
>
>Just how does  this work  (for the  X naive)?   

You just make a:
xhost +name-of-your-lispm
and a:
rsh name-of-your-lispm start X screen name-of-the-X-server
et voila, you have a Lisp machine console on your X server.

>Can you  run pretty much
>anything on the  lispm?

I have been able to run everything except Zmail. (but keep in mind that only
one user is login at the same time on the X client (or Genera server))

> Or  does it  have to  be rewritten  for X  (like
>applications running  on  hostile  platforms)? 

Everything "cleanly" written works without any problem. If you use
dw:define-program-framework, your stuff will probably work right away. 

>And, since you only mentioned Ivories; How does it do with a lowly 3640?

I have run the Genera X client on 3600, Ivory 1, and I must say that I am
impressed. On all these machines, the X client is fairly fast. I do not have
any hard numbers, but my feeling is that it is 10-20% slower than the console.

To take full advantage of the X server, make sure that it has direct access to
the Genera fonts.

>Finally, rumor had it that in previous incarnations the X client (or was it
>the server?) was fairly buggy.  Is the 8.0 version better?

The X server on Genera is really slow... but as I said earlier, the X client is
really nice. I have been using it for a while now, and really like it.

Felix