Underlying Foundations

To compile an application that uses the desktop APIs, you need:

• Common Desktop Environment header files and libraries

• X11R5 or later header files and libraries

• ANSI C compiler; or C++ compiler, version 2.0 or later, if you are developing a C++ application

The resulting binary file must be run in an environment in which matching libraries are installed. The run-time libraries are in /usr/dt/lib, and they include the directories listed in Table 2-2.

To run properly, Common Desktop Environment-based applications require an environment in which some files from the following run-time directories are installed:

• /etc/dt/*

• /var/dt/*

• The following subdirectories of /usr/dt:

  • app-defaults

  • appconfig

  • bin

  • dthelp

  • lib

Your application should depend on only those run-time files explicitly mentioned in the X/Open XCDE standard. It should not depend on files not mentioned in the standard; for example, /usr/dt/appconfig/icons. If you build such dependencies into your application, it should be robust enough to run in an environment in which such files are missing or have changed.

For a listing of the minimum run-time environment required to run a Common Desktop Environment application, see the dtfilsys(5) man page.

The run-time environment includes Common Desktop Environment Motif, which is Motif 2.1 with bug fixes and enhancements. (For a description of these enhancements, see Appendix A, Common Desktop Environment Motif.) For more information on the Common Desktop Environment run-time environment, see the run-time documentation set.