X11 and Motif books

These books cover several different layers of X: the protocol, Xlib, the Xt Intrinsics, Motif programming and desktop use. The summaries explain where each book fits; the edition, date and ISBN identify a particular published version. Historical API descriptions should be checked against the library version you are using.

O’Reilly: Volumes 0–6B

This catalogue includes every numbered title in this range, the Standard and Motif variants of Volumes 3 and 4, the original Volume 6, and the unpublished OPEN LOOK Volume 3. It lists one specified edition per title.

The publisher of the printed series was O’Reilly & Associates.

Volumes 1 and 2 form the Xlib tutorial/reference pair; Volumes 4 and 5 do the same for Xt; 6A and 6B cover Motif. Volume 3 is a user guide, not a programming manual. The OPEN LOOK manuscript has no published-edition ISBN.

Thumbnail	Book and scope	Edition and publication
Image source	Volume 0 X Protocol Reference Manual The wire-level reference for communication between X clients and the server: requests, replies, events and errors. Useful when investigating protocol behaviour beneath Xlib.	Adrian Nye (editor) 4th edition; X11 Release 6 1995 O’Reilly & Associates ISBN-10: 156592083X Bibliographic source
Image source	Volume 1 Xlib Programming Manual A tutorial introduction to programming directly with Xlib, from windows and event handling to drawing, colours and communication between clients. Read alongside Volume 2.	Adrian Nye 3rd edition; X11 Releases 4 and 5 June 1992 O’Reilly & Associates ISBN-10: 1565920023 Bibliographic source
Image source	Volume 2 Xlib Reference Manual The lookup companion to Volume 1, collecting Xlib functions, structures and events. Best used to check the details of an interface while writing or maintaining code.	Adrian Nye (editor) 3rd edition; X11 Releases 4 and 5 1992 O’Reilly & Associates ISBN-10: 1565920066 Bibliographic source
Image source	Volume 3 — Standard X Window System User’s Guide An introduction to using and customising an X desktop, including standard clients, terminals, resources and the window manager. Written for users rather than application programmers.	Valerie Quercia and Tim O’Reilly 4th edition; X11 Release 5 1993 O’Reilly & Associates ISBN-10: 1565920147 Bibliographic source
Image source	Volume 3 — Motif X Window System User’s Guide The user guide adapted to a Motif desktop. Explains everyday interaction and customisation, providing useful context for the interface conventions that Motif applications should follow.	Valerie Quercia and Tim O’Reilly OSF/Motif 1.2 edition 1993 O’Reilly & Associates ISBN-10: 1565920155 Bibliographic source
No commercial cover Unpublished manuscript	Volume 3 — OPEN LOOK OPEN LOOK User’s Guide The OPEN LOOK counterpart to the Volume 3 user guides. Shelved before commercial publication and subsequently released by its author; included here to document this otherwise easily missed variant.	Ian Darwin, Valerie Quercia and Tim O’Reilly Unpublished manuscript 1993 Prepared for O’Reilly & Associates; unpublished ISBN: no published-edition ISBN identified Bibliographic source
Image source	Volume 4 — Standard X Toolkit Intrinsics Programming Manual Explains the Xt application framework and widget programming through the standard toolkit. Covers the relationship between widgets, resources, callbacks, event handling and geometry management.	Adrian Nye and Tim O’Reilly 3rd edition; Standard edition 1992 O’Reilly & Associates ISBN-10: 1565920031 Bibliographic source
Image source	Volume 4 — Motif X Toolkit Intrinsics Programming Manual The Intrinsics programming guide using Motif as its toolkit context. Useful for understanding the Xt machinery underneath Motif widgets, and for moving beyond application-level callbacks.	Adrian Nye and Tim O’Reilly OSF/Motif 1.2 edition 1993 O’Reilly & Associates ISBN-10: 1565920139 Bibliographic source
Image source	Volume 5 X Toolkit Intrinsics Reference Manual A reference to Xt interfaces and widget-class machinery, complementing either edition of Volume 4. Consult it when a resource, function or class method needs a precise explanation.	David Flanagan (editor) 3rd edition 1992 O’Reilly & Associates ISBN-10: 1565920074 Bibliographic source
Image source	Volume 6 — original Motif Programming Manual The original combined Motif programming volume, preceding the separate 6A and 6B books. Introduces application construction with the toolkit and supplies reference appendices.	Dan Heller; reference appendices by Daniel Gilly Motif edition; OSF/Motif 1.1 1991 O’Reilly & Associates ISBN-10: 0937175706 Bibliographic source
Image source	Volume 6A Motif Programming Manual A practical guide to building Motif applications with widgets, menus and dialogs. The programming half of the 6A/6B pair, and one of the books in the photographed collection.	Dan Heller and Paula M. Ferguson; contributions by David Brennan 2nd edition; OSF/Motif 1.2 February 1994 O’Reilly & Associates ISBN-10: 1565920163 Bibliographic source
Image source	Volume 6B Motif Reference Manual The reference half of the Motif pair: widget classes, resources and programming interfaces. This later edition documents Motif 2.1, so its coverage extends beyond the 1.2 edition of 6A listed above.	Antony Fountain and Paula Ferguson 2nd edition; Motif 2.1 February 2000 O’Reilly & Associates ISBN-10: 1565926544 Bibliographic source

Reading the O’Reilly books online

The publisher’s Motif Open Books page provides access to 6A and 6B. It also distinguishes those editions from later Motif 2.1 material supplied by Imperial Software Technology, which did not go through the same editorial process. The OPEN LOOK page records the history of the unpublished Volume 3; some of its old FTP links may no longer work.

Other Motif books

The first six titles here, together with Volume 6A above, cover the seven books in the photographed collection. David Flanagan’s Motif Tools extends the collection with its guide to the Xmt library. The photograph does not establish every copy’s exact printing: the entries below identify documented editions, including Revision 1.2 of the OSF User’s Guide and Style Guide. Check an actual copy’s copyright page before using an ISBN to order a matching edition.

Thumbnail	Book and scope	Edition and publication
Image source	Programming with Motif A substantial introduction to writing Motif applications in C, bringing widget use and the underlying X machinery together. Useful as a sustained tutorial alongside the toolkit’s reference manuals.	Keith D. Gregory 1st edition 8 October 1992 Springer-Verlag ISBN-10: 0387978771 Bibliographic source
Image source	OSF/Motif: Concepts and Programming Explains the ideas behind Motif as well as how to program with it. A useful bridge between learning the interface model and working through the details of application construction.	Thomas Berlage English edition 1991 Addison-Wesley ISBN-10: 0201557924 Bibliographic source
Image source	OSF/Motif User’s Guide Describes Motif from the user’s perspective: interacting with windows, menus, controls and dialogs. Useful to programmers who need to understand the behaviour their applications are expected to provide.	Open Software Foundation Revision 1.2 1993 Prentice Hall ISBN-10: 0136431313 Bibliographic source
Image source	OSF/Motif Style Guide Guidance on consistent Motif interface design and interaction. Use it to inform menu organisation, dialog behaviour and keyboard access, alongside the API documentation used to implement those choices.	Open Software Foundation Revision 1.2 1993 Prentice Hall ISBN-10: 0136431232 Bibliographic source
Image source	OSF/Motif Programmer’s Reference The OSF reference for Motif programmers, covering toolkit interfaces and their documented behaviour. A companion for looking up widgets, resources and functions while following a tutorial or maintaining an application.	Open Software Foundation 1990 edition 1990 Prentice Hall ISBN-10: 0136405177 Bibliographic source
Image source	Advanced Motif Programming Techniques Further reading for programmers who already know basic Motif application construction. Focuses on more demanding programming problems and less obvious toolkit behaviour rather than introducing the desktop to new users.	Alistair George and Mark Riches 1st edition 1994 Prentice Hall ISBN-10: 0132199653 Bibliographic source
Image source	Motif Tools: Streamlined GUI Design and Programming with the Xmt Library A guide to building Motif applications with David Flanagan’s Xmt library, combining interface design with reusable widgets and programming utilities. See our separate introduction to Xmt for the library’s role and project resources.	David Flanagan 1st edition August 1994 O’Reilly & Associates ISBN-10: 1565920449 Bibliographic source

Choosing a book

For a first application, start with the Motif example and a programming tutorial such as Volume 6A or Gregory’s book. Use Volume 4 when you need to understand Xt underneath the widgets, and Volume 1 when your work reaches Xlib.

The User’s Guide and Style Guide answer different questions: the former explains how to use the interface, while the latter describes how applications should behave consistently. Neither replaces a programming reference.

Return to the programming guide.