The Development of PHEX, a 3D Graphics Extension to X11

Abstract

Today, many computer applications require both 3 dimensional (3D) graphics and window management. The new ISO PHIGS [1] and GKS-3D [2] standards define functional interfaces for applications needing 3D graphics but do not provide control over windows. The X Windowing System (tm), Version 11 [3], is a de facto standard that provides control over windows but has limited 2D graphics capabilities. A consortium of organizations under the auspices of MIT has developed X3D PEX [4], an extension to the X11 standard, that supports PHIGS and GKS3D. The goal of PEX is to provide the best of both worlds: a high performance foundation for PHIGS and GKS-3D within the heterogeneous, distributed, X11 windowing environment. The underlying concept in PEX is that every X11 window has the capability to be a PHIGS or GKS-3D workstation.