How to get a list of DEC Windows colours

[mike632t]

Apart from in the colour picker where can I find a list of all the the valid DEC Windows colour names (as opposed to a list of all the X11 colour names which is slightly different). I really want list I can search and sort. I've tried searching all the C header files for some DEC Windows colour names (e.g "DECWBlue") but didn't find any matches.

Just to keep things interesting I'm using VMS 5.5-2H4, VMS 7..3-2 and VMS 9.2-1, and one of the reasons I'm after a list of all the colours on these platforms is to see if there are any differences between these versions and how they compare to the standard X11 colours.

Thank you.

[sms]

Code: Select all

   I actually did something with X programs, but it was in a previous
century, so I remember approximately nothing.  Bearing that in mind, ...

> [...] where can I find a list of all the the valid DEC Windows colour
> names [...]

   Why do you need names?  Doesn't it all end up as RGB values?  (From
XLookupColor()?)

> [...] C header files [...]

   Did you look at the DECwindows header files?

      show logical decw*
      dire DECW$INCLUDE

> [...] to see if there are any differences between these versions [...]

   I wouldn't expect DECwindows to have changed much over decades.  I
didn't think that it got that much attention.

> [...] and how they compare to the standard X11 colours.

   DECwindows is an X implementation.  I don't know what "the standard
X11 colours" means to you, but I'd expect any typical (old) "X standard"
thing to be also a "DECwindows standard" thing.

   But what do I know?

[mike632t]

Why do you need names?

Because that is what 'XAllocNamedColor' and 'XLookupColor' use, and I want to stick with the named colours (common to both the DECwindows and other X11 implementations) rather than use random RGB values.

Did you look at the DECwindows header files?

Yes I searched all the include files (*.h) on the system disk for some of the obvious colour names ('red', 'green', 'DECWblue' etc) but unfortunately found nothing. There may be an optional set of headers that I've not installed but the DECwindows examples and X11 headers are present.

I'd expect any typical (old) "X standard" thing to be also a "DECwindows standard" thing

I originally thought so too, but I've already discovered they are not, For example the list of X11 colours includes 'indigo' which doesn't appear to be a valid colour name on VMS 7.3-2. That discovery lead to this question.

Why am I still using X11? Basically because it available across a wide range of platforms, and it is a retro itch I can scratch! Very much still learning though.

[sms]

Code: Select all

   I still know no more than before, and it's possible that someone who
does know more (that is, something) might respond before too long,
but...

> Yes I searched all the include files (*.h) on the system disk [...]

   Nowadays, VMS tends to hide C header files in text libraries, rather
than providing individual files.  (But the DECwindows stuff might be
old enough for the loose-file form to exist.)

   But, in any form, it's not obvious to me why color names would be in
a C header file.  You pass the color name to XLookupColor() as a
character string (char *), not some C-named enum or macro.  Bear in mind
that on VMS, some other language might have been used for this, too.

   I might search through DECW*.EXE for XLookupColor (in any case), and,
if I found the function in some shared image, then I might look at a
dump of it.  (No "strings" program here?)

   It seems obvious to me that someone had to have a list in order to
write a XLookupColor(), but where one might find it is less clear.

> [...] For example the list of X11 colours includes 'indigo' [...]

   Given a list (from anyplace), one might write a program to try them
all.  It's not as good as an official list, but it might be educational. 
My disk search found some "rgb.txt" (and similar) files which came in
Vim kits and the like.  If pressed, one might write one's own
XLookupColor() replacement.

> Why am I still using X11? [...]

   I don't remember asking.

[martinv]

Using a STRINGS program (by Hein van den Heuvel and Stephen Hoffman), I searched SYS$SHARE:DECW$*.EXE for "DECWblue" on a VMS 8.4-2L1 system and found it in SYS$SHARE:DECW$DXMLIBSHR.EXE. The following color names occur right at the beginning of the list (I didn't look further down):

Code: Select all

Navy
Blue
Cyan
Azure
Violet
Plum
Purple
Thistle
Orchid
Magenta
Pink
Khaki
Green
Yellow
Gold
Beige
Brown
Peru
Coral
Salmon
Bisque
Orange
Tomato
Sienna
Maroon
White
Ivory
Snow
Linen
Wheat
Gray
Black
Midnight Blue
Dark Slate Blue
Slate Blue
Medium Slate Blue
Light Slate Blue
Light Steel Blue
Cadet Blue
Medium Blue
Light Blue
Dark Turquoise
Medium Turquoise
Turquoise
Pale Turquoise
Deep Sky Blue
Sky Blue
Light Sky Blue
Light Cyan
Powder Blue
Alice Blue
Dodger Blue
Royal Blue
DECWblue
Cornflower Blue
Blue Violet
Dark Violet
Medium Violet Red
Violet Red
Pale Violet Red
Medium Purple
Dark Orchid
Medium Orchid
Lavender
Lavender Blush
Hot Pink
Deep Pink
Light Pink
Medium Aquamarine
Aquamarine
Dark Sea Green
Sea Green
Light Sea Green
Forest Green
Medium Forest Green
Dark Olive Green
Olive Drab
Dark Khaki
Dark Green
Pale Green
Lawn Green
Lime Green
Medium Spring Green
Spring Green
Green Yellow
Yellow Green
Chartreuse
Light Yellow
Cornsilk
Lemon Chiffon
Honeydew
Dark Goldenrod
Goldenrod
Medium Goldenrod
Light Goldenrod
Pale Goldenrod
Light Goldenrod Yellow
Blanched Almond
Saddle Brown
Chocolate
Rosy Brown
Burlywood
Moccasin
SandyBrown
Light Coral
Dark Salmon
Light Salmon
Peach Puff
Papaya Whip
Dark Orange
Orange Red
Indian Red
Firebrick
Misty Rose
Mint Cream
Floral White
Ghost White
Seashell
Old Lace
White Smoke
Antique White
Navajo White
Gainsboro
Light Gray
Dim Gray
Light Slate Gray
Slate Gray
Dark Slate Gray

HTH,
Martin

[bobwilson]

How 'bout SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]DECW$RGB.DAT?

Edit: Unfortunately this file isn't included on the x86 kit...but it can be found on a Alpha or a IA64 system disk.

[mike632t]

How 'bout SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]DECW$RGB.DAT?

I did try searching for that file earlier, but it is nowhere to be found on either my Alpha (VMS V7.3-2) or VAX (VMS 5.4-3) systems, I think it must be part of an optional kit.

Interestingly while testing my code on the VAX I discovered that the available colours are not the same even between VMS releases. ('Slate Gray' is defined on VMS V7.3-2 but not on VMS 5.4-3). Well I thought it was interesting...

Edit 6/12@23:12 - I need to investigate further. By dumping all the strings from 'SYS$SHARE:DECW$DXMLIBSHR.EXE' I managed to extract all the colour names and 'Slate Gray' is defined in DEC Windows 1.1, not sure why my code couldn't map it...

I can however confirm that the colours on all DEC Windows 1.1, 1.3-1, and 1.7 appear to be the same (though 'Tan' and 'Red' are missing from the list above because strings doesn't match strings less than 4 characters long by default).

[bobwilson]

It's in the DWMOTIF_SUPPORT "PCSI product"...if you have a copy of the installation media you can extract it (see below).

If you chose to include DECwindows Motif when you're installing the O/S, the installation procedure should install the DWMOTIF_SUPPORT stuff too.

Code: Select all

$
$ ld connect KITS6:[DVD]I640842L1OE.IMG
%LD-I-UNIT, Allocated device is $38$LDA140:
$ ld prototect lda140:
$ mount /over=id /noassist lda140:
%MOUNT-I-WRITELOCK, volume is write locked
%MOUNT-I-MOUNTED, I640842L1 mounted on _$38$LDA140: (SWEETT)
$ dir lda140:[kits.*]*dw*supp*

Directory LDA140:[KITS.DWMOTIF_SUPPORT_I640842L1_KIT]

VSI-I64VMS-DWMOTIF_SUPPORT-V0804-2L1-1.PCSI$COMPRESSED;1
VSI-I64VMS-DWMOTIF_SUPPORT-V0804-2L1-1.PCSI$COMPRESSED_VNC;1

Total of 2 files.

$ product extract file DWMOTIF_SUPPORT /select=decw$rgb.dat /source=LDA140:[KITS.DWMOTIF_SUPPORT_I640842L1_KIT] /option=noconfirm

Performing product kit validation of signed kits ...
%PCSI-I-VSIVALPASSED, validation of LDA140:[KITS.DWMOTIF_SUPPORT_I640842L1_KIT]VSI-I64VMS-DWMOTIF_SUPPORT-V0804-2L1-1.PCSI$COMPRESSED;1 succeeded

The following product has been selected:
    VSI I64VMS DWMOTIF_SUPPORT V8.4-2L1    Layered Product

Portion done: 0%...100%
$