MMA for OS/2: Survey
- To: Mathmatica Mailing List <mathgroup at yoda.physics.unc.edu>
- Subject: MMA for OS/2: Survey
- From: Markus Ruppel <m.ruppel at imperial.ac.uk>
- Date: Fri, 12 Nov 93 16:07:01 GMT
*** If you don't use OS/2 2.X, please ignore this mail *** On the recent Mathematica Day here in London I've talked to Stephen Wolfram and WRI's Director of Engineering, Rory Murtagh, about the version of MMA for OS/2. I was informed that they currently plan to port *only* the MMA kernel and not the GUI front-end to OS/2. They imagine to use the Windows front-end under WinOS2 and connect to the ported MMA kernel (native OS/2, 32-bit mode) via MathLink. But they are open to suggestions on why a native PM front end would be important/useful/etc. I did forget to ask at that point about a cmd-line front-end for the OS/2 version. The main reason I was given is that a GUI front-end is relatively costly (as compared to the kernel port) and they try to avoid it now because they are not sure on the future of OS/2. The kernel port is being worked on, but there are still a few bugs to be sorted out before it goes into beta. We agreed that I will put together a prioritized list on why they should have a native front end for PM. Therefore I would like to collect opinions on the net to include all possible advantages one has from using a native PM/WPS-aware front end vs. a Windows front-end. So please make up your prioritized list on why you want a native PM-front replies I receive and forward the summary to WRI. Thanks, Markus Ruppel P.S.: I was told that their decision to port to OS/2 was mainly based on the requests they received via mail and e-mail. So it *does* make a difference if you raise your voice !!!