Update - Volume 6A was reprinted in March 2002 with minor corrections and is now also available as html for browsing.

Volumes 6A and 6B of the O'Reilly Associates 'Definitive Guides to the X Window System' series of books are now available for direct download in various formats and contents, from IST's and O'Reilly's web sites.

Volume 6A is the Motif Programming Manual.

Volume 6B is the Motif Reference Manual.

The versions that can be downloaded from IST's web site are later versions than those made available by O'Reilly themselves. In particular, Volume 6A from IST is for Motif 2.1, whereas from O'Reilly it is for Motif 1.2.

Antony Fountain and Jeremy Huxtable of IST have completely overhauled Volume 6A, Motif Programming Manual, for Motif 2.1. This online edition is the first publication of the Third Edition, dated December 2001, and is the authoritative 'how-to' work on Motif 2.1. A printed edition will be available from IST in due course.

Volume 6B, Motif Reference Manual is also available in updated form online. This is the Second Edition of 6B, dated February 2000, for Motif 2.1, as revised and updated by Antony Fountain. The online edition has been augmented with a number of patches and the sections on UIL have been re-instated since the last paper publication of the volume. Volume 6B is the standard reference work on Motif 2.1.

The versions available from IST are available as both PDF files and source files for UNIX FrameMaker 5.5. Those available from O'Reilly are in troff format, and exactly match the last paper publications.

Antony Fountain, IST Principal Software Engineer and the lead author responsible for the latest updates, said:

"It's been a mighty struggle, but they're here at last.

"The full set of O'Reilly Motif reference materials have now been completely refreshed for Motif 2.1. In addition Volume 6A, the Motif Programming Manual, is enhanced with Jeremy Huxtable's unique insights into the deployment of Motif and user interface techniques in general.

"Regular readers of the 'Ask Antony' Q&A at www.motifdeveloper.com, who may have noticed a falling off in the number of answers posted there of late, now have an explanation: I've been tied up preparing these books. I hope you feel, as I do, that this was a worthy diversion of effort.

"Many, many thanks to all at O'Reilly for releasing these materials. A special thanks to Paula Ferguson: none of this would be here without you.

"Many thanks also to all at IST for their patience and input!

"All comments gratefully received: any bugs, patches, or suggested enhancements to these manuals or example sources, feel free to email support@ist.co.uk."