Design of eXcursion Version 2 for Windows, Windows NT, and Windows 95

server products to provide interoperability between desktop personal computers (PCs) running the Microsoft Windows operating system and remote hosts running the X Window System operating system under the UNIX or OpenVMS operating systems. The first version of the eXcursion X server was a 16-bit application written specifically for Microsoft Windows versions 3.0 and 3.1. As the popularity of Windows increased and desktop systems were connected to corporate networks, the market for X interoperability grew quickly. The 16-bit eXcursion code, much of which had been ported from 32-bit UNIX code, was again ported—this time to Microsoft’s Win32 application programming interface (API) to support the Windows NT operating system. When release 6 of the X Window System version 11 protocol (X11R6) appeared and a new sample implementation source kit became available from the X Consortium, the eXcursion team decided that it was time for a complete rewrite of the eXcursion software. Microsoft had established the Win32 API as a uniform coding interface for all its Windows-based operating systems. Since development tools such as 32-bit compilers and debuggers of sufficient quality and robustness had become available, it was now possible to implement a high-quality, 32-bit product. This product would support the entire range of Windows-based platforms, from notebook PCs running the Windows operating system to high-end Alpha systems running the Windows NT operating system.