Software Developer Kit Overview

The SDK provides the software tools, documentation, and training and support information you need to develop software applications for the Solaris 2.4 release.

Solaris 2.4 technologies, such as multithreaded programming and ToolTalk^(TM) Messaging Services along with SDK technologies, such as the XGL^(TM) graphics library. The SDK on-line documentation make up the components of the SDK.

These components are provided either on the Solaris CD-ROM disc or on the SDK CD-ROM disc. The SDK components and the CD-ROM disc that they are delivered on are listed in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1

SDK Component Name	CD-ROM Disc Location
Multithreaded programming	Solaris
STREAMS framework	Solaris
Network applications	Solaris
ToolTalk Messaging Services Software developer support for VISUAL(TM) for Solaris:	Solaris
·XGL graphics library	SDK*
·Solaris PEX(TM)	SDK*
·XIL(TM) imaging library	SDK*
·Display PostScript(TM) libraries	Solaris
·OpenWindows(TM) X Server and libraries Windows Graphical User Interface Toolkits:	Solaris
(R) ·Motif	SDK*
·XView(TM)	Solaris
(R) ·OPEN LOOK Intrinsics Toolkit (OLIT)	Solaris
On-line documentation	SDK
SDK on-line demonstration	SDK

*The runtime environments for these SDK components are on the Solaris CD-ROM disc.

Except for the SDK on-line demonstration, which you may want to read about in "On-Line Demonstration" on page 3, the SDK components are explained further in Chapter 2, "SDK Components."

How the SDK Fits Into a Solaris Development Environment

Solaris developers produce applications, drivers, and graphics handlers that are ready for the end-user Solaris runtime environments. A Solaris development environment may be constructed using the Solaris runtime environments (available with any version of the Solaris 2.4 release), developer kits (the Solaris 2.4 Software Developer Kit and Solaris 2.4 Driver Developer Kit), and compilers (the ProCompiler^(TM) and SPARCompiler^(TM) C and C++).

The SDK contributes to this environment by providing the on-line documentation, development software libraries, productivity tools, sample code, and testing tools you need to develop software applications for the Solaris runtime environments. For more information on the Solaris 2.4 release, see the Solaris 2.4 Introduction.

New SDK Features

The following features are new to the Solaris 2.4 SDK:

• The SDK software is now available for both the x86 and SPARC architectures.
• The SDK documentation is now merged so that it provides uniform support for both the x86 and SPARC architectures.
• The SDK now has an on-line SDK demonstration (see the following section "On-Line Demonstration").

New features for each component of the SDK are listed in Chapter 2, "SDK Components."

On-Line Demonstration

The on-line SDK demonstration is a series of on-line technology demonstrations and documentation that feature the SDK components. This demonstration includes:

• Technology demonstrations
• Source code for each demonstration
• Technical white papers
• Technical newsletters
• Referrals to helpful third-party books.

Please preview this on-line demonstration for a better understanding of features and functions offered by the SDK components. A Motif graphical user interface (GUI) provides you with easy access to each demo, white paper, and newsletter.

To Display the Demonstration

1. Insert the caddy containing the SDK CD-ROM disc into the drive.

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Note - If you have the volume management software enabled (the default with the Solaris 2.4 release), inserting the CD-ROM disc mounts it automatically. If you have disabled volume management, mount the CD-ROM disc using the mount(1M) command.

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Note - If you are installing from a remote CD drive, refer to the Software Developer Kit Installation Guide for instructions on installing the SDK from a remote CD drive.

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Note - To run the SDK on-line demo, your system must support Solaris audio output (that is, /dev/audio must point to a valid audio device).

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File Manager opens, displaying the contents of the CD-ROM disc, including the START_INTRO icon.

From File Manager

2. Click twice on the START_INTRO icon

   A dialog box opens and asks if you want to run the demonstration in a shell tool or without one.

3. Choose "No Shell Tool"

   In a few moments, you will see a window entitled Welcome to the Solaris 2.4 Software Developers's Kit. Wait a few more moments and the window displaying the SDK-demonstration Categories and Contents appears (see the following figure).

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Note - If you get the error message sh: START_INTRO not found, it's because you don't have "." in your path. You must run the demonstration from the command line. See the following section "From the Command Line.".

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From the Command Line

1. From the command line enter:

/cdrom/cdrom0/START_INTRO

In a few moments, you will see a window entitled Welcome to the Solaris 2.4 Software Developer's Kit. Wait a few more moments and the window displaying the SDK-demonstration Categories and Contents appears.

From here you can choose to look at:

• The SDK overview, called SDK--The Developer's Solution
• Technology demos
• Developer newsletters
• Technical white papers
• SunSoft Press

As you choose a category, the Contents section of the window changes to reflect the category that have chosen. If you choose the Technology Demos category, you will always see the following icons within a component selection, for example, if you click on the XGL icon, you will see the following icons:

• The executable file that starts the demo, for example XGL Demo.
• The Listen To Me icon--An audio description of the technology.
• The Read Me icon--Describes the system requirements and gives an explanation of the demonstration.
• The What's Next icon--Tells you what to do next, for example, install software, read certain white papers, read third-party books, location of source code for the demonstration.

You will also see, at the bottom of the screen, a written overview of a component (for example, an overview of XGL).

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Note - The SDK on-line technology demonstrations and corresponding source code are provided as a technology demonstration only. SunSoft, Inc. does not support the demonstrations nor the source code. SunSoft, Inc. makes no commitment to enhance the demo or fix any bugs that may exist in the code.

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C and C++ Compiler Try-and-Buy CD-ROM Disc

The Solaris 2.4 SDK box includes a copy of the SunPro Try-and-Buy Product. Try-and-Buy lets you evaluate any or all of the following SunPro Professional products for 30 days:

• ^(R) · SPARC or ProCompiler^(TM) Language Systems
• SPARC or ProWorks^(TM) Development Environment
• SPARC or ProWorks TeamWare code management tools

You can begin your free 30 day evaluation with a phone call. Read the enclosed SPARC/ProWorks Product Evaluation and Installation Guide for information on receiving an evaluation license password. When you receive your password you can follow the installation instructions and begin your work immediately.

Internationalization

The Solaris development environment is fully internationalized, enabling you to build applications that conform to level-4 internationalization. This means that this Solaris release:

• Is 8-bit clean.
• Adheres to standard formats and collation in displaying:

  · Money

  · Numbers

  · Date

  · Time of day.

• Supports messaging in native locale.
• Supports multibyte characters allowing for support of Asian character sets.

Using the internationalized features of the Solaris development environment, you can create applications that can be localized for any language. See the Developer's Guide to Internationalization for more information on Solaris internationalization. This guide describes both internationalization and localization of applications, formats, and conventions in different countries, internationalization facilities and their use, and various special considerations.