[Info-vax] VMS on remote desktops

[VAXman- at SendSpamHere.ORG]

In article <ian2st$876$1 at usenet01.boi.hp.com>, "FredK" <fred.nospam at dec.com> writes:
>
>There has been talk (here) about how VMS is used in the wild by the 
>"developer" and small user community that c.o.v. represents fairly well. 
>And how we don't listen.  I took it to heart.
>
>For years, as needed (and not often) - I run DECwindows applications to a PC 
>X11 emulator.  I telnet to VMS from my PC.  But for the most part - I still 
>use DECwindows with local graphics for VMS development - after all I am a 
>VMS engineer :-).
>
>PC emulators (or at least the one I use) seems to pretty much do what I want 
>when I need to.  But something that I don't do - and many of you do - is to 
>use other X11 clients - in particular Linux desktops (and others - OS/X, 
>UNIX...) to do your work on VMS.
>
>So, I have set myself a modest goal to look at providing a more seamless 
>integration of the remote desktop (Linux PC, thin client, etc) for the VMS 
>developer and user - with input from the community and without blindly 
>making my own assumptions about useage.  From a "cookbook" to changes to the 
>DECwindows code, setup, or documentation, or more.  We'll see where it goes.
>
>So.  If you have the desire, time and knowledge - on say what it took to 
>setup your Mac, or your Linux PC, or other X11 client.  The more detailed 
>the better.  Not just "I used xmodmap to hack the keycodes" - but the 
>specifics.  What fonts were missing?  Motif errors?  How did you end up 
>solving the problems?  What were the tradeoffs you had to live with?  What 
>would have helped?  What changes would help now and in the future?

I use mosy my Linux laptop and my Mac.  I've done plenty with 'xmodmap' for
the keycode hacks.  I've worked around most of the problems using the font
server.  I access the VMS system(s) with 'ssh -X' but I've also toyed with
using 'xnest'.

As for fonts, the double-high/double-wide terminal fonts always cause issue
within 'xterm'.  I export $CREATE/TERMINAL for doing debugging and, without
the font server, some of the line drawing stuff and, I believe, the reverse
video use in the character-cell debugger cause issue.   I don't really use
any of the other GUI toys that came with CDE.  A functional terminal is all
I ask for -- and which I have now with the font server.



>I have lots of information and ideas of my own...  but here's your chance. 
>All I do ask is that it doesn't become an excuse for bashing and long 
>standing rants.  Nor am I suggesting anything leading to some new focus on a 
>VMS desktop or graphics... Nor should it be taken the other way - every 
>system we ship today has integrated 2D graphics - which are not going away. 
>This is specific to integration with remote desktops.

I'd like to see 4D graphics! :)
-- 
VAXman- A Bored Certified VMS Kernel Mode Hacker    VAXman(at)TMESIS(dot)ORG

All your spirit rack abuses, come to haunt you back by day.
All your Byzantine excuses, given time, given you away.