Brian writes:

> I'm rather new in the HP/UX environment, so forgive me if my
> terminology's a bit off, but can anyone out there please answer some
> questions for me, namely:
>
> 1. Will XWindows run on HP's UNIX?
> 2. Is there a better multi-file full screen editor out there for MPE
> systems than Qedit?
> 3. Is there a better debugger out there than XDB?  Something that
> _doesn't_ assume I'm working in COBOL?
> 4. Is there a way to work (edit, compile, etc) on an HP UNIX machine
> remotely from a terminal running Windows 95?

Well, first of all...*which* computer are you referring to?

The first question implies HP-UX, and the second MPE, the third
could be either, and the fourth HP-UX.  Still, here are answers for
all eight combinations:

Answers for HP-UX:

   1. Yes.

      Of course, if you have an 9000/8xx server without graphics
      hardware, you'll have to have an X terminal (or equivalent)
      as well.

      My 9000/K220 (aka 9000/859) with HP-UX 10.10 has X11R5.

   2. Depends on how you define better.  QEDIT is available from
      Robelle at:  http://www.robelle.com
      We have it on our 3000s, 9000s, and hope to have it soon on our PCs!

   3. Yes!

      Get HP-UX 10.20 (or later), and DDE version 4.0 (or later).
      (there are earlier versions of DDE, but 4.0 is a major change!)

      DDE is much more powerful than XDB, and has both a GUI interface and
      a line mode interface.  It supports "macros" (parameterized commands),
      and does a significantly better job of debugging optimized code than
      XDB.

   4. "Remotely" means?

      On my Win95 (and Win NT) machines, I use either telnet or X-Windows
      to access my HP-UX machines ... both work, but I find the X-Windows
      environment much more powerful (running CDE on a 9000, in this instance).

Answers for MPE/iX:

   1. Yes, sort of.  HP sells Motif/iX, but since the 3000 doesn't have graphic
      display hardware (a limitation shared with the 9000/8xx line now), you'll
      need an X terminal (or equivalent, like a Unix workstation with X-Windows).
      (Yes, an X terminal works, but there's no CDE/VUE session manager.)
      But, it's rare to find in the MPE customer environment.

   2. No.  There are some very good editors available, each with various
      features and quirks.  If you want an editor that is supported across a
      very wide range of platforms, look at SpeedEdit from Inclination Software.
      If you want a vi-like editor, how about "vi"?  (/bin/vi)
      If you want an MPE-only full screen editors, there are other choices, but
      I lack enough recent experience with any to name them or compare them.
      I'm a happy QEDIT user!

   3. Depends.

      (If you *did* want to debug COBOL, check TRAX from Corporate Computing
       Systems.)

      Otherwise, you're stuck with XDB until Mark Klein gets gdb going.

      Of course, I use Debug/iX, but that isn't a source level debugger.

   4. (is there a way to work on an MPE/iX machine...)
      Yes.

      I recommend either Reflection (for serial and/or network (NS/VT) connections
      or Reflection/X (if you have a 9000 you can use as an XDMCP server, and then
      use vt3k to connect to the 3000).

      If you have a variety of Unix environments available, including Linux, check
      out the freevt3k package at ftp://ftp.telamon.com/freevt3k/

--
Stan Sieler                                          [log in to unmask]
                                     http://www.allegro.com/sieler.html