Mainsoft Corp’s MainWin Cross-Development Kit now supports Microsoft Corp’s Foundation Class Library and applications developed using Visual C++. The Kit enables users to convert Windows applications to Unix, but maintain the original look-and-feel of the application – or use OSF/Motif. They can also create multiple versions of an application for Sun Microsystems Inc, Hewlett-Packard Co, IBM Corp and Silicon Graphics Inc workstations from the same source code that supports Windows 3.1 and NT. The new licensing agreement enables MainWin users to develop applications based on the Microsoft Foundation Class Library of reusable objects with Microsoft’s Visual C++ 32-bit development system. The resulting single source code base can be deployed under Windows or NT environments using Microsoft tools, or on Sun, IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Silicon Graphics workstations and X Window System terminals using Mainsoft tools. And MainSoft’s relationship with Microsoft could deepen if Microsoft licenses Windows 3.1 source code to Mainsoft. Unconfirmed US reports say that Mainsoft may be trying to persuade Microsoft to join it in developing and marketing native Unix implementations of some Windows applications.
