Description:
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
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