Maple Over the Net

This note explains how to connect a PC/mac to maple running on taylor via X windows. This requires some technical know-how, it is not completely trivial. Also, this will likely be "too slow" for people for people just using ppp-dialup, but it will be fine for people in the dorms or on cable modems.

Terms: names, host, client, server.
Where to find a X-windows server for PC/Mac. (No install instructions)
Before connecting to taylor
After connecting to taylor.

Terms:

Host is another name for a computer. As an internet object a computer has several names. Names like taylor.math.fsu.edu are called the domain name. Numbers like 128.186.104.35 are called IP addresses and are, in a sense, another kind of name. Indeed this number is taylor's IP address.
Client is the small computer and Server is the big computer. No, that is not always true. When you are running X-windows on your pc/mac, the x-server software runs on the pc/mac and the x-clients (xmaple) run on taylor.

Where to find X-windows server software

Linux and other Unix boxes come with it.
Several Companies sell commerical versions these have (or can have) features missing from the free versions. (OpenGL support for example, which is not needed for Maple.) Exceed or Accelerated X.
Here is the free one MI/X
MI/X unfortunately requires you to add fonts. In windows the fonts are in c:\MIX_95\BDF\MISC on my laptop. Still can't run xmaple yet.
The following is "sure to work" for MI/X, but I haven't tested in. Add all the 206 files in here which end in .pcf to your c:\MIX_95\BDF\MISC directory. Combine the fonts.dir with the FONTS.DIR (delete both top lines, combine and make a new top line which is 208+"number of top line of FONTS.DIR"
If you have a taylor account already the same files can be found in /usr/openwin/lib/X11/fonts/75dpi. But the files are compressed.

Before connecting to taylor

Get a ulab account in MCH 107.
Start the X-server
Give taylor.math.fsu.edu permission to draw to your screen. The Unix command is "xhost taylor.math.fsu.edu". The MI/X server might not require this, but commerical servers should require it.
Connect to taylor using telnet or ssh client.

After connecting to taylor

Find out your "current internet name of your machine" (who)
Tell taylor you want to draw on your pc. Usually this command is "setenv DISPLAY me.dorm.fsu.edu:0.0" where me.dorm.fsu.edu is the host name for your pc/mac
Start maple with the command "xmaple".
Wait for the maple window to pop-up. [Currrently this is a long wait as MI/X does not include all fonts needed by Maple. One can run maple in tty mode. The command is "maple". "plotsetup(x11); will tell maple to plot graphics via X11. This get closer, but there is still a missing font. It seems there are two fonts files you most add helvR14.pcf and helvB14.pcf and the following lines need to be added to FONTS.DIR in c:\MIX_95\BDF\MISC. ]
```
helvR14.pcf    -adobe-helvetica-medium-r-normal--14-140-75-75-p-77-iso8859-1
helvB14.pcf    -adobe-helvetica-bold-r-normal--14-140-75-75-p-82-iso8859-1
```
The fonts are available here
Input is a little slower. Every mouse movement is sent over the network to taylor which is running maple. Maple on taylor figures out what to do and sends a drawing command back to your pc. Typing text works fine even with a dialup line, but sometimes moving a graphic can suck the bandwidth out of a phone line.

Details, perhaps more than you want.

On a unix box, the command "nslookup taylor" will give you taylors ip address. Some nslookup's will also do the reverse, "nslookup 128.186.104.35" will give you taylor.
On a unix box, the who command will tell you where you are logged on from. For example, here are a couple of lines from who on taylor
```
bellenot   pts/47       Feb  1 17:39    (newton)
oberlin    pts/51       Feb  1 14:56    (dial030.acns.fsu.edu)
```
It has I am logged on from newton=newton.math.fsu.edu (the machine in my office) and professor oberlin is logged on from home (using dialup ppp). [The host name for dialup ppp changes every login. The host name for direct connections do not.] (Long domain names are sometimes truncated to "fit".)
To see the DISPLAY variable on taylor, type "env | grep DISPLAY".