LM wrote:
> I've always liked Motif (or the FOSS version Lesstif) but the
> interface does look rather dated. I personally think it's a better
> choice than GTK+, Qt or WxWidgets.
>
> If it helps, I have a list of C GUI libraries:
> https://lmemsm.dreamwidth.org/8313.html
> You may find one there that's a better fit.
>
> I've been investigating GUIs like otk, RayGUI and possibly pdcurses
> with a SDL backend for my own projects. They're more lightweight than
> Motif/Lesstif. SDL will even work without requiring X11. RayGUI, SDL
> and curses are also more widely used these days than Motif and have
> more currently maintained applications written using them.
>
> Are you planning on working on a project that requires a GUI or just
> curious about Motif in general?
>
> UDENIX wrote:
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Do you consider Motif compatible with the suckless philosophy?
>>
>> I know Motif is considerably larger and more complex than dwm or the
>> kinds of tools usually associated with suckless, but it also comes from
>> an era when desktop software tended to have relatively simple, stable,
>> and predictable architectures.
>>
>> Compared with modern desktop environments, Motif is based on traditional
>> X11 technologies, has relatively few abstraction layers, does not depend
>> on large web frameworks or runtimes, and its UI model is fairly direct.
>>
>> Would you consider Motif "suckless" in spirit, even if it does not
>> strictly follow the principles or design criteria associated with
>> suckless? Or are the Motif toolkit, (e)mwm, and the surrounding
>> ecosystem already too large and complex to fit that philosophy?
>>
>> More generally, where would you draw the line between relatively simple
>> traditional Unix software and software that can genuinely be considered
>> suckless?
>>
>> Regards.
>>
What interests me about Motif is precisely how mature it is. The
old-fashioned or retro look does not really bother me; in fact, I
actually like it.
If Motif is going to remain focused on X11 rather than trying to support
Wayland, I think that could make it an interesting alternative for
projects that deliberately want to stay with X11.
I have also become more interested in this kind of software because of
projects such as X11Libre, which push back against the deprecation of
older code and instead try to revive, improve, and modernize it. Maybe
it is time for something similar to happen with Motif as well.
I find that kind of work particularly worthwhile: taking mature code
that already exists, preserving the parts that still work well, and
improving or modernizing it instead of simply replacing it with
something completely new.
That is also one of the reasons I find 9front interesting. I like the
idea of revisiting older systems and software designs, understanding
what they did well, and seeing how they can still be improved or made
useful today.
Received on Sun Sep 20 2026 - 21:03:00 CEST