How the Wabi Program Works

Wabi software is "middle-ware." It resides between an application and the UNIX operating environment. In general, the Wabi program works by intercepting a Microsoft Windows application's request, and making an equivalent request in the UNIX environment to deliver the desired result. The Wabi program carries out requests by translating Windows calls to X Window and UNIX calls, and on RISC platforms, translating Intel x86 instructions to RISC instructions. On x86 UNIX platforms, the x86 instructions are passed directly to the x86 processor.

In slightly more concrete terms, an application uses Windows API calls to open an icon, for example, and Wabi translates the request to equivalent X Windows calls. A print request, and any other request involving a device, is translated and redirected to an appropriate UNIX command or device. Much of an application's "behind the scenes" activity involves x86 instructions, which Wabi translates appropriately for the processor platform on which it's running.

Figure 1-1 depicts the Wabi program's role as translator and redirector.

Wabi Capabilities and Functions

Because the Wabi program is an enabler for other applications, it has few visible capabilities and functions of its own. You cannot do much work without applications. The Wabi program's capabilities are based almost entirely on the applications that run within it, and the operating system on which it runs.

Wabi capabilities can be described only in the context of the applications that are certified to run in the Wabi program. Most of the functions of the certified applications are supported in the Wabi program; any exceptions are listed in the Wabi Release Notes.

Functions Supported for Certified Applications

In the Wabi environment, certified applications can do most of the same things they do in a Microsoft Windows environment. For example, applications are able to use the following capabilities:

• Cut, copy, and paste between Windows applications
• Access DOS-formatted diskettes
• Run in enhanced mode
• Object linking and embedding (OLE) between Windows applications
• Dynamic data exchange (DDE) between Windows applications
• Network installation and use of applications
• Windows Sockets networking
• Remote database access
• Audio playback and recording (of .WAV files), on computers with audio hardware (except in WabiServer)
• Video playback of .AVI files, if you have installed Microsoft Video for Windows

Additional Functions in the Wabi Environment

Because the Wabi program runs in the UNIX environment, it provides the certified applications with the following additional capabilities:

• Cut, copy, and paste between Microsoft Windows applications and X Window applications
• Transparent access to network file systems
• Use on X terminals
• Run on one system, display on another system
• Run more applications simultaneously on your desktop
• Share serial and parallel ports
• Multiple simultaneous users on one system

Functions Not Supported

Some functions are not supported for any applications. Generally, these functions require Microsoft Windows networking, special device drivers that the Wabi program does not support, or DOS commands. The Wabi program does not support the following features for any application:

• MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface), AVI (Audio-Visual Interface) for video laser disks and music compact disks
• NetWare IPX/SPX connectivity
• Shared Wabi Windows directories
• Tutorials requiring VGA display drivers
• DOS diskette formatting
• Features requiring virtual device drivers

Wabi Functions

Functions unique to the Wabi program are those used to make connections to the UNIX operating system. You access these functions through the Wabi Configuration Manager, as Chapter 3, "Configuring Your Wabi Environment" explains.

What is WabiServer?

WabiServer software is a product that you can purchase for Sun platforms. The WabiServer product provides the Wabi program in a client/server configuration. It enables multiple users on client systems to access a single installation of Wabi software on a server system. WabiServer frees users from the tasks of installing and configuring software, while enabling system administrators to perform tasks once to provide Wabi to many users.

The system administrator installs Wabi and WabiServer software on the server system, and installs Wabi client software on client systems. The administrator also creates Wabi user environments called prototypes on the server, and installs Microsoft Windows and Windows applications into the prototypes.

The first time you run WabiServer, a prototype is copied to your home directory to create your Wabi user environment, complete with the Microsoft Windows software and application software installed by the system

administrator. After the initial startup, using the Wabi program through WabiServer is quite similar to using the standalone Wabi program. The differences for WabiServer are noted in this manual as shown below:

This is a WabiServer note. If you use WabiServer, look for this symbol for special information.

New Features in Wabi 2.2

If you have used previous Wabi releases, you should read the list below to see what's new in Wabi 2.2.

• Several of the certified applications were revised recently and the new releases are now certified to work with the Wabi 2.2 program:

  · Lotus Word Pro 96 (formerly Ami Pro)

  · Lotus Organizer 2.1

  · Lotus SmartSuite 4.0

  · Lotus cc:Mail 2.2

  · PROCOMM PLUS 2.11

  See the Wabi Release Notes for the complete list of certified applications, and see for more information about applications.

• The Wabi Configuration Manager features a new user interface. The underlying functionality is mostly unchanged. See "Wabi Configuration Manager" on page 48 for more information.
• The Wabi program features improved desktop integration in the Solaris Common Desktop Environment (CDE). The Wabi program and installed applications are available from the desktop. In addition, applications you install will be integrated with CDE's File Manager, Application Manager, Mailer, and Print Manager. See "CDE Integration" on page 132 for more information.
• The Wabi program has improved OpenWindows integration by allowing you to print a file by dragging its icon from the File Manager or Mail Tool to the Print Tool. Previously, you had to edit application bindings manually to enable drag and drop printing. See "OpenWindows Integration" on page 128 for more information.

System Requirements

This section lists various hardware requirements for running the Wabi program.

Memory and Disk Space Requirements

Table 1-1 lists minimum and optimum memory and disk space configurations for using the Wabi program. See your operating system documentation for specifics on your hardware requirements.

Table 1-1

Item	Minimum	Recommended
Random-access memory (RAM)	24 Mbytes on RISC1 systems 16 Mbytes on x86 systems	48 Mbytes on RISC (64 Mbytes for power users) 32 Mbytes on x86
Disk space required for Wabi system directory	15 Mbytes	Not applicable
Disk space required for $HOME/wabi	8 Mbytes for Microsoft Windows 3.1, 3.11 13 Mbytes for Microsoft Windows for Workgroups 3.11	Not applicable
Free swap space	20 Mbytes on RISC and x86	60 Mbytes on RISC 40 Mbytes on x86 10 Mbytes more for each application run concurrently

Please see the WabiServer Administrator's Guide for the system requirements for WabiServer client and server systems.

Display Requirements

The Wabi program supports displays with 1-bit, 4-bit, and 8-bit pixel depths. The Wabi program also supports 24-bit displays in 8-bit mode, not TrueColor mode. The X server for this display must have available an 8-bit PseudoColor visual class in order for Wabi to display correctly. See Appendix B, "Color From Windows to Wabi," for more information about 24-bit displays.

Requirements for Multimedia Sound Support

The Wabi program provides support for waveform sound on the computers listed in Table 1-2.

Table 1-2

Computer	Sound Card and Audio Driver
(TM) SPARCstation 4	Separately purchased sound card. The audio driver in Solaris 2.4 needs a patch to make it work correctly. See the Wabi Release Notes.
SPARCstation 5	Sound card included. The audio driver in Solaris 2.4 needs a patch to make it work correctly. See the Wabi Release Notes.
SPARCstation 10	Sound card included. No patch is required for the Solaris 2.4 audio driver.
SPARCstation 20	Sound card included. No patch is required for the Solaris 2.4 audio driver.
(TM) Ultra systems	Sound card included. No patch is required.
386-, 486-, or Pentium(TM)-based computer	16-bit sound card with appropriate driver (for example, Creative Labs Sound Blaster 16 audio card with /dev/sbpro audio device driver).

Sound is not supported with the WabiServer product.

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Note - Sound is not supported on the Solaris for PowerPC platform.

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Applications You Can Use

The certified applications listed in the Wabi Release Notes are the only applications that are officially supported to run in Wabi. These applications have been extensively tested with Wabi. However, many other applications have been found to work well with Wabi. For a list of applications found to work in Wabi see the following URL on the World Wide Web:

http://wabiapps.psgroup.com