Porting Unix Applications to Windows Nt

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 544 pages
• Published by: Penguin Putnam; Pap/Cdr edition August 1997
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 1578700043
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-1578700042
• Book Dimensions: 9 x 7.3 x 1.4 inches
• Weighs: 2 pounds

Product Review
If you have a Unix application that you want to run under Windows NT, there's a lot more to the conversion process than simply recompiling the source code. The bitter truth is that the two operating systems do things differently and you're going to have to make significant modifications to your source code in order to get it to run under Windows NT.

The first question Lowe tackles is whether it's worthwhile to port your particular application from Unix to Windows NT--it may be more cost-effective to write a completely new program, or buy one. He provides lists of questions that help you determine whether a porting job will be easy or difficult (e.g., "Does the program use UIL to build user interfaces?"). He helps you identify calls such as fork() and exec() that Windows NT doesn't support. From there, the author goes on to explain the general architectural differences between Windows NT and Unix before detailing the specific differences in the input/output, networking, and graphical user interface systems. A concluding chapter covers the particularities of porting a Posix program to Windows NT, and a companion CD-ROM holds all the GNU Not Unix (GNU) software and Win32 ports of Emacs and visual (vi).

Generally, Lowe seems to acknowledge that porting can only be done on a case-by-case basis, causing all guidebooks to fall into generalities. Despite this drawback, this book does a very good job of pointing out where problems are likely to occur--and suggests helpful ways around many of them. --David Wall

Book Description
This book addresses the specific problems you will encounter while considering, planning, and executing a port of your application from Unix to Windows NT. Avoid troubling delays, anticipate problems, and plan ahead. Find the answer to that pivotal question: how can I preserve the substantial investment I made in my program's source code? This book provides expert insight on the intricacies of Windows NT and allows you to gain a deeper understanding of the way the hardware, executive components, kernel device drivers, and user-level software all work together to provide a working solution. A detailed analysis of the NT hardware, executive components, kernel device drivers, and user-level software shows you how each element of NT works together and how you can exploit this synergy within your ported applications.

Reader Reviews
It is an excellent book to understand the major differences between Unix and Windows NT. As far as porting code from Unix to Windows NT is concerned it is out of date because it does not cover the latest (versions of) emulation environments such as Cygwin, NuTCRACKER, Interix, and U/Win. In fact two of these environments did not even exist (?) at the time this book was written (Windows NT 4.0 was just released). The author does a good job of providing useful details and is definitely enjoyable to read. If he adds a few chapters covering the other porting environments with their latest versions(which should not be too hard to do) this book can be brought back to its EXCELLENT state. Comment | | (Report this)