On Oct 7, 2009, at 10/7 6:50 AM, Radio Amateur N5GE wrote: > You're experiencing why I stopped using Apple Computers and developing > software for them in 1985. >
> They are good computers but Apple does not make it easy for developers > to create software for their computers (very expensive development > tools). That caused x86 and x64 based computer sales overwhelmed > Apple sales as time went by. For the record, the Macintosh was not even introduced until 1984 (that was in the MS-DOS time frame; Windows 1.0 was not introduced until the end of 1985). To relate the (1985) development environments for the MOS Technology 6502 or the Motorola 68000 to a discussion thread why others are experiencing a delay in the (2009) K3 Utilities for Mac OS X is IMHO a complete red herring. David W4SMT has other reasons than the lack of tools. There are two popular routes today to develop for Mac OS X. One is to use the Xcode IDE that comes (read: for free -- so I have no idea where the "very expensive development tools" above come from) in the installer disk of every copy of Mac OS X that is sold since Mac OS X 10.1 (2002). The other is to use the third party cross platform REALbasic environment. Many people, David among them, but it includes Tom DL2RUM with his RUMped and RUMlog series of programs, uses REALbasic, but other developers go through the Cocoa framework that is supported by the Xcode IDE; they include Don VE3VRW (MacLoggerDX), Bill K1GQ (cocoaVNA and SkookumLogger) and myself. In addition to Objective C, the Xcode IDE has compilers for C, C++, Java, Python, Ruby, FORTRAN and AppleScript Studio. For many languages, there are "bridges" between them so you can link modules that are written in multiple languages in the same program. You are not restricted to the above languages either. It is also easy to include other Unix tool chains into Xcode, as shown here for the compiler for Atmel AVR micro-controllers: http://homepage.mac.com/chen/w7ay/AVR%20Tools/Contents/resources.html Since Mac OS X is really just Unix under the GUI veneer, as long as you are proficient with Unix, you can use Unix tools directly without using Xcode, as described here for building NEC-4 under gfortran: http://homepage.mac.com/chen/w7ay/cocoaNEC/Contents/NEC4.html This should put to rest the other statement above, i.e., "Apple does not make it easy for developers to create software for their computers." Bill K1GQ (another K3 owner; SkookumLogger's radio interface is primarily targeted at the K3) had only switched to developing in Cocoa within the last 4 or 5 years. You can ask him how difficult Apple had made the transition for him, and if he is willing to switch to something else today. You will find that there are fewer ham related programs for Mac OS X, but the reason is not for the lack of tools but rather, IMO, the case that there are fewer Mac OS using hams to start with. 73 Chen, W7AY Full disclosure: Before retirement, I had worked for Apple. But I have also programmed under IBSYS, TOPS-20, various Unixes (VAX, SUN, Apollo) before ever encountering Mac OS. ______________________________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Home: http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/mmfaq.htm Post: mailto:[email protected] This list hosted by: http://www.qsl.net Please help support this email list: http://www.qsl.net/donate.html
