Chapter 11: Migrating the User Interface

Introduction

This chapter describes how to migrate from a UNIX-based user interface to a Windows user interface. Because the overwhelming majority of UNIX graphical interfaces are built on X Windows and Motif, this chapter focuses on porting code from X Windows to the Microsoft Windows operating system. It describes:

• The architectural and visual differences between the two environments.

• The programming principles used by X Windows and Microsoft Windows.

• How to migrate each type of graphical construct from one environment to the other.

This chapter also includes short sections on migrating from other UNIX user interface types, including text-based and OpenGL-based interfaces. It concludes with examples of how user interface code can be migrated in User Interface Coding Examples.