A remote presentation-based user interface

[lgm@iexist.att.com]

The presentation-based user interface style directly supported by
Dynamic Windows and CLIM generally seems to assume that an object and
its presentation reside on the same processor, since the presentation
maintains a reference to the object to which it refers.  I need,
however, to provide a manipulable interface to *remote* objects (i.e.,
objects on other processors).  None of the user interface software can
run on the remote processor; so I cannot, for example, simply run an X
screen off that processor.

Let's say I represent each remote object by its name (of type SYMBOL).
Is it safe, for all DW/CLIM purposes, to directly present an object name
(a SYMBOL) with the presentation type of the remote object's class
(which is a CLOS user-defined class)?  Or must I define an entire shadow
hierarchy of "ambassador" presentation types (which eventually expand
into type SYMBOL), and present each object name with its corresponding
"ambassador" presentation type?  Anyone have a better idea?


	Lawrence G. Mayka
	AT&T Bell Laboratories
	lgm@iexist.att.com

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