Motif (software)

Motif (or MOTIF ) is a program library, with the graphic as a different user interfaces ( GUIs) under the X Window System can be developed on Unix and other POSIX -like systems. Since version 2.1 supports Unicode Motif, which meant that it is used in a number of multi-lingual environments. It came in the 1990s with the spread of UNIX workstations and positioned himself against the Open Look GUI. In addition, there is also a standard IEEE 1295th It was and is still in use in the basic elements for the Common Desktop Environment and as an adaptation to the PC / GEOS.

Motif is identified by the use of rectangular and provided with three-dimensional effects user interface elements - menus, buttons, knobs, text entry boxes and the like. These effects were later adopted by Microsoft in Windows 3.0 and Windows 3.1, with which the graphical user interface began to impose their on PCs.

Many judge that it had become worthless nowadays in view of GTK and Qt ( also because Sun Microsystems, one of the main users of Motif, has decided to GTK and change GNOME), but it is still used in many older systems. In addition, still uses a large, being grown over time stock of (mostly proprietary, in-house ) software in the industry Motif, which is maintained and expanded in the foreseeable future. Especially in mission-critical or life safety applications is still set to Motif.

Motif created by the Open Software Foundation ( and is sometimes still called OSF / Motif), belongs now but now the Open Group. The development portal of Open Motif is not operated by The Open Group, but is as the independent, industry-funded MotifZone ago.

Motif is still evolving, albeit slowly. With version 2.3, there are analogous to XPM also support JPEG and PNG image files. Since version 2.3.4 ( October 2012 ) Motif is licensed under the LGPL.

Related Products

Mid-1990s, was begun by the Hungry Programmers a free (LGPL ) reprogramming of Motif with names LessTif.

OpenMotif is a version of Motif, whose source code was published by The Open Group. It is ( almost) identical to the Motif, but may be used without royalties on operating systems that are free software. OpenMotif himself but is not free software. With the release of the Motif version 2.3.4 under the LGPL OpenMotif is obsolete.