OPEN LOOK - History

History

OPEN LOOK was created in the late 1980s, a time when there was little or no standardization in Unix graphical user interfaces (GUIs); the X Window System was emerging as the likely de facto standard for Unix graphical displays, but its designers had deliberately chosen not to specify any look and feel guidelines, leaving this up to application and window manager developers. At the same time, there was increasing use of GUIs in non-UNIX operating systems: the Apple Macintosh was released in early 1984, followed by Microsoft Windows 1.0 and Amiga Workbench in 1985.

As AT&T contemplated its next major revision to Unix, which would eventually become SVR4, it was clear that in order to remain competitive with other operating systems, Unix should have a standard GUI definition. One other concern of the time also needed to be taken into account: in March 1988, Apple filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, claiming that Microsoft had copied the Macintosh look and feel.

The specification was a collaboration between Sun and AT&T, which were partnering in the development of SVR4. Xerox PARC was also credited for having not only done the pioneering work in the industry for graphical user interfaces, but also for contributing to OPEN LOOK's "design, review, implementation, testing, and refinement". Involving Xerox, including licensing technology from them, was felt to serve as protection from any future legal entanglements.

The OPEN LOOK specification was announced in April 1988. The following month, a group of competitors to AT&T and Sun formed the Open Software Foundation (OSF), as a counter to their collaborative efforts. The OSF created the Motif GUI as its alternative to OPEN LOOK.