Archive-name: NEXTSTEP-Intel-General-FAQ Last-modified: Fri Aug 27 01:27:51 EDT 1993 Version: 3.0 Every four weeks (depending on the phase of the moon) a number of postings are made to comp.sys.next.announce which are a compilation of answers to frequently asked questions in the comp.sys.next.* Usenet newsgroups. The FAQ list is broken into sections and posted separately. These sections focus on various aspects of NEXTSTEP and NeXT machines. Items that appear within sections are not in any particular order, and get added and removed over time. Posting the sections separately allows people to find the sections interesting to them quickly. Within each section each question will be preceded by a "Subject:" field, allowing news readers to break up the file into separate questions. Each question has its own unique number. The FAQ is kept on-line at several ftp sites, including: cs.orst.edu sonata.cc.purdue.edu srawgw.sra.co.jp [133.137.4.3] Many FAQs, including this one, are available via FTP on the archive site rtfm.mit.edu in the directory pub/usenet/news.answers. The name under which this FAQ is archived appears in the Archive-nameline above. Questions marked with a "+" are new to this issue, and questions with changes since the last issue are marked by a "!". Submissions, corrections, comments, input, etc., should be directed to Nathan Janette . Disclaimer: We are not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned in this posting. If you have any corrections, additions, questions, or answers to add to this list, please send email to: This compilation is meant primarily as a service to the comp.sys.next community. Newsletter editors wishing to excerpt from this work for publication should consider using local electronic bulletin boards to disseminate this information rather than preparing hardcopies. This allows for readers to access the most recent information, and perhaps save a couple of trees. We do not collect any royalties, charge any fees, or compensate anyone in connection with this endeavor. TABLE OF CONTENTS: ------------------ C1. What is the current status of NEXTSTEP/Intel? C2. What references are available for NEXTSTEP/Intel? C3. How does NEXTSTEP/Intel differ from NEXTSTEP on NeXT Computers? C4. What about support for NeXT Computer specific hardware features such as the DSP? C5. Can I use NEXTSTEP/Intel systems with my existing NeXT Computers? C6. How do I use applications compiled for both NeXT Computers and NEXTSTEP/Intel on the same network? C7. Do Multi-Architecture Binaries take a lot of extra disk space? C8. How difficult is it to recompile existing NeXT applications over to NEXTSTEP/Intel? C9. When developing programs, are there any portability issues I should be aware of? C10. What is the difference between the NEXTSTEP/Intel User Environment and Developer Environment? C11. What are the general requirements to run NEXTSTEP/Intel on Intel-based Computers? C12. If a specific I/O card is not supported by NeXT, can 3rd parties write drivers for NEXTSTEP/Intel? C13. How is NEXTSTEP/Intel be installed? C14. Will NEXTSTEP/Intel run on 386 machines? C15. Will NEXTSTEP/Intel run on the Cyrix 486SLC? C16. Will NEXTSTEP/Intel run on the future Intel Microprocessors in the x86 family? C17. Will NEXTSTEP/Intel run on portable computers? C18. Will NEXTSTEP/Intel be able to run Microsoft DOS and Windows programs? C19. Will DOS and Windows compatibility be included with NEXTSTEP/Intel? C20. How will my DOS and Windows applications perform under NEXTSTEP/Intel? C21. Is the window I use to run Microsoft Windows applications resizable? C22. Will this DOS/Windows compatibility system allow me to run several DOS programs at once? C23. Can I cut and paste between DOS/Windows sessions and NEXTSTEP applications? C24. Can I use both DOS and NEXTSTEP/Intel partitions on the same hard disk? C25. Can NEXTSTEP/Intel read, write, and format DOS and Mac floppies? ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C1. What is the current status of NEXTSTEP/Intel? The first production version, 3.1, has been released. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C2. What references are available for NEXTSTEP/Intel? NeXT, Inc. now operates an automatic email responce system. Send email to "nextanswers@next.com" with the subject "ascii help index" to start. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C3. How does NEXTSTEP/Intel differ from NEXTSTEP on NeXT Computers? It doesn't. NEXTSTEP/Intel is a complete port of the NEXTSTEP 3.1 software environment to Intel-based Computers. NEXTSTEP/Intel has the same User Interface, Development Environment, Applications, Networking (NFS, Novell, Appleshare), State of the Art Color, Mach UNIX, Display Postscript, 3D Renderman etc, etc. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C4. What about support for NeXT Computer specific hardware features such as the DSP? NeXT computers offer additional hardware support not commonly available for Intel systems. This includes the DSP. The DSP in a NeXT Computer is used for a variety of functions including ISDN support and real-time audio compression/de-compression. ISDN support for NEXTSTEP/Intel will be provided via an add-on PC card and ISDN adapter. Real-time audio compression/de-compression support is currently under investigation. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C5. Can I use NEXTSTEP/Intel systems with my existing NeXT Computers? Of course! NEXTSTEP/Intel is design to plug and play with existing NeXT installations. NeXT has addressed interoperability between NEXTSTEP systems in the following ways: * NEXTSTEP systems share identical networking capabilities. * NEXTSTEP systems share the same Distributed Objects. * NEXTSTEP systems use the same system and network administration services. * NEXTSTEP systems use the same mass storage format. Yes, you can take a external SCSI drive, removable media (ie Bernoulli etc) or floppy disk and use it interchangeably between NeXT Computers and NEXTSTEP/Intel systems. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C6. How do I use applications compiled for both NeXT Computers and NEXTSTEP/Intel on the same network? Simply. NEXTSTEP 3.1 includes a new feature called Multi-Architecture Binaries (so called "Fat" binaries). This capability allows developers to compile NEXTSTEP applications on multiple system architectures, and combine them into a single package. When an application is run, NEXTSTEP will extract the appropriate instructions for the local system, and run the application. This operation is completely transparent to the user, it just works! Most of the NEXTSTEP applications in the future will be delivered as Multi-Architecture Binaries. Tools are also provided to "Slim" binaries for use in a one architecture environment. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C7. Do Multi-Architecture Binaries take a lot of extra disk space? No. Most applications consist of one or more executable programs (with architecture dependent machine instructions) and a lot of text and data. This machine independent data is typically data files used by the application, help files, examples, internationalization etc. Since only the actual machine dependent portion of the application is duplicated, a two architecture application typically takes only about 20%-30% more disk space than a single architecture application. If disk space is tight, tools are provided to "Slim" binaries for use in a single architecture environment. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C8. How difficult is it to recompile existing NeXT applications over to NEXTSTEP/Intel? Very easy. Most programs will simply recompile and run, or require few changes. We believe that any application that uses the standard development environment and Object kits provided by NeXT should simply compile and run. Only applications that use architecture specific features or data formats, will require additional time to port. Several developers have already ported applications to NEXTSTEP/Intel. Appsoft Draw simply recompiled and ran, Lighthouse Concurrence took 3 hours, other programs took 1/2 a day to 2 days, and this was all on a very early release of NEXTSTEP/Intel 3.1! ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C9. When developing programs, are there any portability issues I should be aware of? Yes. As stated above, any applications that use the standard tools provided by the NEXTSTEP development environment, should just recompile and work. To make sure developers are aware of portability issues, NeXT is producing a guide to address source code portability between different architectures running NEXTSTEP. This guide should be available in November. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C10. What is the difference between the NEXTSTEP/Intel User Environment and Developer Environment? The NEXTSTEP/Intel User Environment consists of the entire NEXTSTEP 3.1 environment, minus the developer tools. The Developer Environment includes the developer tools such Interface builder, Project Builder, C compilers, Object Kits, example source code and developer documentation. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C11. What are the general requirements to run NEXTSTEP/Intel on Intel-based Computers? A specific NEXTSTEP/Intel Hardware Compatibility Guide is available from the NeXTanswers service, and as a separate FAQ file. [Eric Hermanson <24gdbq$8hb@senator-bedfellow.MIT.EDU>] I am posting this to clear up the confusion surrounding NEXTSTEP hardware requirements. There have been many incorrect postings as to the requirements for NEXTSTEP. There have also been many people inquiring about the requirements. These are the correct numbers, source: NEXTSTEP CD-ROM. THIS IS A SUMMARY OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR NEXTSTEP 3.1 (Intel and Motorola) NEXTSTEP *Requires* 8 MB Memory for 2-bit Greyscale NEXTSTEP *Requires* 12 MB Memory for 8-bit Greyscale NEXTSTEP *Requires* 16 MB Memory for 16-bit Color NeXT *Recommends* 12 MB Memory for 2-bit Greyscale NeXT *Recommends* 16 MB Memory for 8-bit Greyscale NeXT *Recommends* 24 MB Memory for 16-bit Color *SUMMARY* of NEXTSTEP Hard Drive Space *Requirements*: NEXTSTEP *Requires* 120 MB for User Environment NEXTSTEP *Requires* 330 MB for User Environment + Developer Tools NeXT *Recommends* 200 MB For User Environment (full install) NeXT *Recommends* 400 MB For User Environment + Developer Tools (full install) Full User Environment: 136 MB (NeXT *Recommends* 200 MB for User) Compressed User Environment: 109 MB Bare User Environment: 50 MB All Developer Tools: 100 MB (These numbers are the dev TOOLS only) Compressed Dev. Tools: 78 MB Bare Developer Tools: 66 MB FULL USER + DEVELOPER: **236 MB (NeXT *Recommends* 400 MB for User+Dev) Compressed USER + DEV: 187 MB Bare USER + DEVELOPER: 116 MB THE ENTIRE USER+DEVELOPER RELEASE OF NEXTSTEP TAKES UP APPROXIMATELY 236 MB. *Detailed* Hard Drive Requirements: NEXTSTEP consists of a number of independent packages, some of which can be optionally installed. USER ENVIRONMENT: ** INDICATES OPTIONAL PACKAGE NEXTSTEP Essentials This is the required software, including user environment, UNIX, Renderman, NeXT Software (network stuff, NeXT Mail, etc), root & me accounts. Installed Size 47.1 MB Languages Users can install up to six languages on the system, each one takes up 3 MB English, Italian, Sweedish, German, French, Spanish **DigitalWebster.pkg This package contains the Digital Webster application, the electronic edition of Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary. InstalledSize 18.8 MB CompressedSize 16.3 MB **Literature.pkg This package contains the complete works of Shakespeare, the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, and the pictures for Digital Webster. InstalledSize 40.7 MB CompressedSize 29.9 MB **Documentation.pkg This package contains the NEXTSTEP Network and System Administration manual and the UNIX manual pages. It also contains the complete set of PostScript Printer Description (PPD) files. InstalledSize 18 MB CompressedSize 8 MB **NeXTTeX.pkg This is a full implementation of TeX (LaTeX) and METAFONT. InstalledSize 8.1 MB CompressedSize 4.5 MB ============================================================================= TOTAL USER ENVIRONMENT: 136 MB Full Install 109 MB Compressed Optional Stuff 50 MB No Optional Software Installed DEVELOPER TOOLS: ** INDICATES OPTIONAL PACKAGE DeveloperTools.pkg This package contains applications and files you need for NEXTSTEP development. InstalledSize 36.4 MB CompressedSize 18.6 MB DeveloperLibs.pkg This package contains software libraries you need to develop NEXTSTEP software. InstalledSize 30 MB CompressedSize 14.5 MB **DeveloperDoc.pkg This package contains the on-line edition of the NEXTSTEP Developer's Library. InstalledSize 30 MB CompressedSize 10 MB **Demonstrations.pkg This package contains demonstration applications and images. InstalledSize 3 MB CompressedSize 2 MB ============================================================================= TOTAL DEVELOPER TOOLS: 100 MB Size of All Developer Tools 78 MB Size with Optional Stuff Compressed 66 MB Size with no Optional Software Installed ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C12. If a specific I/O card is not supported by NeXT, can 3rd parties write drivers for NEXTSTEP/Intel? Yes. NEXTSTEP/Intel uses a newly developed object-oriented driver architecture that brings the benefits of object-orientation all the way down to the I/O card driver level. Complete documentation for this new "Driver Kit" architecture will be available later this year. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C13. How is NEXTSTEP/Intel be installed? NEXTSTEP/Intel will come with a boot floppy and a CDROM. To install NEXTSTEP/Intel, the system boots from the floppy, and then installs the minimum NEXTSTEP environment from the CDROM (SCSI CDROM drive). The user may then chose from several optional packages depending on the available disk space and user requirements. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C14. Will NEXTSTEP/Intel run on 386 machines? No. NEXTSTEP/Intel uses several 486 specific features that enhance the performance of NEXTSTEP. NEXTSTEP/Intel will support any true 486. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C15. Will NEXTSTEP/Intel run on the Cyrix 486SLC? No. The Cyrix chip not a true 486. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C16. Will NEXTSTEP/Intel run on the future Intel Microprocessors in the x86 family? Yes. NEXTSTEP/Intel will not only support them, but will take advantage of any performance enhancements available with future Intel CPU's, just as NeXT has taken advantage of the 486. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C17. Will NEXTSTEP/Intel run on portable computers? Yes. Many portables and notebooks with 486 CPU's and sufficient system resources (8+MB RAM and 120+MB hard disk space) are available. Since NEXTSTEP/Intel will support 640x480 VGA displays in grayscale, NEXTSTEP 486 can run on these systems. Do be aware that NEXTSTEP's user interface and applications were not designed for low-resolution screens, and consequently will impose limitations on the use of some applications. Also, typical battery management systems do not work with multi-tasking operating systems. FuturUse of uninitialized value in concatenation (.) or string at E:\listplex\SYSTEM\SCRIPTS\filearea.cgi line 455, line 488. e versions of NEXTSTEP/Intel will provide driver support for portable-oriented peripherals such as pocket Ethernet, SCSI and Sound adapters and PC/MCIA cards. We expect additional device drivers for portable peripherals to be available in Q3-Q4 1993. Until drivers are available for portable SCSI adapters, NEXTSTEP/Intel can be installed on portables by using a docking station with SCSI adapter and CDROM. The docking station can then be used for a local area network card. NeXT is investigating future Intel microprocessors that may provide battery management support for advanced operating systems such as NEXTSTEP. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C18. Will NEXTSTEP/Intel be able to run Microsoft DOS and Windows programs? Yes. NEXTSTEP/Intel will support a DOS and Windows compatibility package. This software will allow DOS 5.0 and Windows 3.1 programs to run within a NEXTSTEP window. Support will include DOS "Protected" mode and Windows 3.1 "Standard" mode (Win-16). Support for Win-32 applications is planned for the second half of 1993. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C19. Will DOS and Windows compatibility be included with NEXTSTEP/Intel? A 60-day demo of SoftPC will be included with NEXTSTEP/Intel 3.2. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C20. How will my DOS and Windows applications perform under NEXTSTEP/Intel? Very well. The DOS/Windows compatibility package for NEXTSTEP/Intel takes full advantage of the 486 microprocessor. Depending on system hardware configuration and type of DOS/Windows application, performance should vary between 386 and 486 native DOS/Windows performance. In addition, to enhance the performance of Windows applications, a MS Windows specific Graphics Device Interface (GDI) driver which maps Microsoft Windows calls directly to the NEXTSTEP window server will be part of the system. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C21. Is the window I use to run Microsoft Windows applications resizable? Yes. You can set the Windows session to any size you wish up to the maximum screen size available to the NEXTSTEP/Intel system you are using. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C22. Will this DOS/Windows compatibility system allow me to run several DOS programs at once? Yes. Since NEXTSTEP/Intel is a multi-tasking, virtual memory operating environment, several DOS/Windows sessions can be run at once. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C23. Can I cut and paste between DOS/Windows sessions and NEXTSTEP applications? Yes. You can cut and paste text and graphics between DOS/Windows and NEXTSTEP applications. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C24. Can I use both DOS and NEXTSTEP/Intel partitions on the same hard disk? Yes. NEXTSTEP/Intel will support multiple operating systems on the same local hard disk. When the system boots, the user can chose to boot another operating system (such as DOS) or NEXTSTEP. If the local partition contains DOS, NEXTSTEP/Intel will be able to access the local DOS partition and read/write files to it. ____________________________________________________________________________ ~Subject: C25. Can NEXTSTEP/Intel read, write, and format DOS and Mac floppies? Yes. ____________________________________________________________________________ Editor: nathan@laplace.csb.yale.edu -- Nathan Janette Voice: 203 432 5065 Systems Manager Fax: 203 432 3923 Brunger Lab Internet: nathan@laplace.csb.yale.edu Yale Univ Dept MB&B/HHMI "I'm a NeXTstep Man, I'm a NeXTcube Guy"