Bibb is a Sun systems administrator, and Wake is a systems engineer. They apparently decided that there should be another XView book. This book should be “filled with tips and tricks,…have practical examples,” and be easy to comprehend.

The result of that decision is directed at X Windows systems programmers, C programmers, and UNIX systems administrators; the “practical examples” occupy about half of the book. It has four parts: “Concepts,” “Hints and Tips,” “Related Packages,” and “Sample Programs.”

Those readers who usually type with two fingers will be overjoyed to discover that the book’s example programs are available to anyone with Internet access, and also on diskette by mail. The source code for XView and its associated Open Look Window Manager can also be found on the Internet; both of these are usually delivered with Sun machines, but are not always installed.

Chapter 1 introduces the object-oriented interface used in XView for graphical user interface (GUI) development. The functions used for object manipulation (creation, destruction, attribute-setting, and so on) are described in chapter 2, and some template packages for subclass creation are covered in chapter 3. The examples in chapter 3 defeated my SunOS 4.1.3 C compiler; a brief inquiry to the authors resulted in immediate confirmation that I would need an ANSI-compliant compiler, such as gcc, for those examples.

Part 1 ends with chapter 4, which provides a step-by-step illustration of the process used in creating a simple program. The example is a simple terminal subwindow with three panel buttons. I was able to understand, compile, and execute the program without difficulty.

Part 2 begins with a note that its chapters (5 through 20) have been arranged in alphabetical order to facilitate subsequent reference, but should initially be read in an entirely different order. I had some difficulty coming to terms with starting at chapter 13 (general features), then proceeding to chapter 18 (miscellaneous), and so on. The sample programs in the chapters to be read first cover topics like buttons, menus, and gauges, and are both concise and easily understood.

One of the “read-later” chapters discusses the Open Windows Developer’s Guide (Devguide). Devguide is a graphical code generator that produces XView code for C or C++ compilers; unfortunately, it has to be paid for. Other chapters to be read later are devoted to topics like frames, panels, and keyboard accelerators.

I am happy to report that my standard SunOS 4.1.3 compiler was able to handle all the programs in Part 2 except those in the chapter on Devguide; a minor adjustment to the ANSI syntax of a “main” statement was required in one instance. Each program in Part 2 is accompanied by a comprehensive narrative with annotated diagrams; this should assist readers in programming by example.

Part 3 has only three short chapters, covering the cc compiler, the dbx debugger, and the gcc compiler. The general-purpose XView compilation script that appears in the first of these chapters is identical to, but differently named from, one that appears earlier in the book.

Part 4 commences with a chapter of instructions for obtaining (by email) the SlingShot package of XView extensions, which facilitates drawing rectangular objects for use in spreadsheets and other applications. The next chapter consists entirely of file listings for an “Add User” program, with a note that “readers who are not using Devguide won’t be able to compile these files.”

The last chapter contains more than 100 pages of listings for a “Message Board” suite, which can maintain current records of employees who are out, transmit pager messages to these employees, and so on. It includes remote procedure call (RPC) client and server programs. Compiling this suite appears to require some Devguide libraries.

Little narrative accompanies the “Add User” and “Message Board” listings. Since the source code for these is included in the xvprac package of example programs, the book could have been made lighter by replacing these listings with narrative material.

The book ends with an appendix on using the archie facility and another showing listings of some icon data used in one of the example programs. No bibliography is provided; I would have liked to find out where I could read more about the raison d’etre, development history, and applications of XView.

I am unaware of any other books that would satisfy the immediate needs of a C programmer asked to start writing Open Look GUI-compliant programs the next day. If such a fate is likely to befall you, buy this work now.