rio (software)
rio is the window system of the operating system Plan 9 .
Overview
Many features of rio implement basic concepts in Plan 9:
- Each window runs in its own private namespace .
- It exports a file system interface for running application programs which is the same one that rio has already received from the operating system. This allows rio to run in a rio window without any problems. By using 9P, rio is completely network transparent , although it does not contain any explicit network code.
- Windows are treated like raw text that can also be edited.
A special feature is that the window management is transparent for the applications. This enables rio to run from within rio, or from within another window manager .
history
Rio is the youngest member of the numerous graphical user interfaces developed by Bell Labs , and thus in a certain sense a "descendant" of the X Window System (for Unix ).
In older versions of Plan 9, rio was called 8½.
Web links
- rio man page (4) (English)
- Rio: Design of a Concurrent Window System (English)
- The 8½ paper - description of rio's very similar predecessor