🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <711052846.0.p00073@mail.psi.net>
	"Shien Chi" <p00073@mail.psi.net> writes:
>I would like to know if anyone might know of an immediate mode PEX library
>that exists in the contrib or other sections of X sites?

There are several flavors of immediate-mode style interfaces available
to PEX today.  The first to be publically available was written by Jan
"Yon" Hardenbergh, now at Oki, while he was at Stardent.  This
interface is called "PEXIM" for PEX Immediate Mode.  It is used in
conjunction with the PHIGS API provided in the PEX-SI.  It allows a
renderer to be associated with a window instead of a workstation.  A
"begin rendering" call is issued to the renderer and then normal PHIGS
API routines for generating primitives are called.  Normally the
primitives would generate a "store elements" request which would store
the primitives into a structure store (assuming server-side structure
store for the moment).  Instead, after the "begin rendering" request,
the primitives are sent directly to the renderer to be rendered.  The
rendering is guaranteed to be complete after the "end rendering"
request is processed.

>I read in Tom 
>Gaskin's book that such a library exist but I don't know under what name.

I could only find a single entry in the index under "immediate mode"
referring me to page 3.  On that page is a generic reference to
immediate-mode interfaces; however, he may mention PEXlib, PEXIM, or
PEXtk in other portions of the book.

PEXtk is an immediate-mode flavor interface contibuted by SHOgraphics.
It should be available in the contrib portion of export's FTP area.
(Note that PEXtk is not to be confused with the PHIGS workstation
widget plus Xt-style resource converters that I wrote in a package
called PEXt.)

[Regarding PEXlib's available on export]
>There is one by Sony and another for DEC.  Are these extensions to the
>X11R5 library or are they actually included as part of Release 5?

No, and no.  The Sony and DEC PEXlibs are implementations of a library
interface to the wire protocol.  Both of these implementations were
examined in the definition of the consortium standard-to-be PEXlib.
They are not extensions of the R5 API.

>I have R5 and a PHIGS
>library but I haven't explored it yet.  Also do I need one of these libraries
>to use the immediate mode stuff (if they exist)??

Only if you use PEXIM; the other immediate-mode flavor interfaces generate
the protocol independent of the existing PHIGS API provided in the SI.
However, the documentation in Tom Gaskin's book plus a few more PEXIM
man pages would get you bootstrapped into an immediate-mode
programming environment faster than the others.  I believe the other
interfaces provide documentation of some form, but none as yet have as
thoroughly reviewed set of documentation as does the PHIGS/PEXIM
interface.

O'Reilly will be publishing a book about the PEXlib interface; they
were giving out sample chapters at SIGGRAPH in Chicago.

						-- Rich
-- 
	Repeal the personal income tax; vote Libertarian in 1992.
Disclaimer: I speak for myself, except as noted; Copyright 1992 Rich Thomson
UUCP: ...!uunet!dsd.es.com!rthomson			Rich Thomson
Internet: rthomson@dsd.es.com	IRC: _Rich_		PEXt Programmer