Publisher: Digital Press, 1988, 701 pages
ISBN: 1-55558-012-2
Keywords: Programming, Graphics
Written by the people who designed and created the X Window System™, this book is the essential reference tool for its use. The book opens with an informative introduction to the system. Part I is the reference manual to the C Language X Interface Library, or XLib for short. It presents an overview of the system, explains how to create and manipulate windows, gives an in-depth look at graphics capabilities, and explains events, event-handling functions, and a variety of utility functions.
Part II is a detailed specification of the X protocol semantics with an appendix defining the precise encoding. It is independent of any one programming language and can be used as a starting point for creating interface libraries for other programming languages. Instructive diagrams and a comprehensive technical index add to the book's usefulness.
Nobody has any reason to poke around in X at this level (at least not with any sanity).
If you do, you'll soon understand the horrors of X11 (I assume that you already understand the good stuff if you even contemplate this book).
Granted, if you really, really want to understand X at a very, very low level (to implement something new and hopefully better), this book can be of use. Otherwise, it is a technical manual that any application programmer should steer clear of (or any aspiring UNIX/LINUX programmer/user/administrator), so as not to be scared away. There exists toolkits and other stuff that makes programming under X11 a breeze, but this will with 99% probability not help you!
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