2) What is Motif and how does it relate to the X Toolkit and X

Window System?


[Last modified: Aug 97]

Answer:

Motif is a widely-accepted set of user interface guidelines developed by the
Open Software Foundation (OSF) around 1989 which specifies how an X Window
System application should "look and feel". Motif includes the Motif Toolkit
(also called "Xm" or the "Motif widgets"), which enforce a policy on top of
the X Toolkit Intrinsics ("Xt"). Xt is really a "mechanism not policy" layer,
and Xm provides the specific "look and feel". For example, Xt does not insist
that windows have titlebars or menus, but it provides hooks for developers of
specific toolkits (Motif, OpenLook, Athena widgets) to take advantage of. In
addition to widgets, Motif includes the Motif Style Guide document (as well as
several others listed in my FAQ) which details how a Motif user interface
should look and behave to be "Motif compliant".

The X Toolkit Intrinsics are built upon the lowest programming level API
called "Xlib" (X library). Both Xlib and Xt are specified by the X Consortium
(formerly called the MIT X Consortium), which you can reach at:
        http://www.x.org/ or:
        ftp to ftp.x.org

Xlib and Xt source code is free. Motif is not.

In early 1996, OSF merged with X/Open to form the Open Group.  At the
beginning of 1997, the X Consortium closed and transfered ownership of its
projects to the Open Group.  The Open Group continues development and support
on the X Window System, Motif, CDE, and other technologies.