On Fri 08 Feb 2008 19:12:24 NZDT +1300, A Thomas wrote: > Long version: I use Linux at home (duh), and the school I go to uses > Mac OS X (some Intel, some PPC), and I want to be able to use this > program at the school, but it would be a pain to compile it on the > school computers (mainly because I would have to puzzle out Xcode), > also if I need a new feature or bug fix in a new version, I would have > to go through this all again. So if I could compile this program for > Mac, from Linux, that would save a lot of time.
What did your googling come up with? I put in "gcc macosx crosscompile linux" and the top link to ubuntuforums is right on topic, but not all that helpful - people who heard "gcc" and "cross-copile" in the same sentence answering that gcc can do it, but otherwise not much clue to the how (pretty much my experience with ubuntuforums in general - all question, not much answer). You're dealing with a complex issue and need to look at it one step at a time. What gcc calls cross-compile is generating code for one processsor on another one. Yes gcc can do that. You'll have to recompile gcc for that as AFAIK no Linux distributor ships a gcc which is compiled for more than the architecture it's running on. Keep in mind that gcc compiles for processors only - it's what it calls hosts or architectures, it does not really compile for operating systems. For Apples you're looking at PPC and x86. If you want to make the code actually run on another OS, you'll have to get a linker which can all of a) create executable code for that OS, b) link against the standard runtime environment of that OS, c) link against any other libraries that the OS or your application uses. At least b) needs substantial information about "macosx" on your Linux machine - you guessed it, it's not there. You get to put it there first. As pointed out by others, you'll need that xcode, it's unclear to me whether it is available on Linux. Also, comments like "on mac osx we use a specially doctored gcc made by apple" don't suggest to me that develop-on-Linux-run-on-Macosx is that far advanced. So this is what you need to sort out. If you make it, let us all know and write it up somewhere. My guess is that only someone proficient in developing on both Linux and Macosx independently will be able to put something like this together, esp as all the parts might not yet be available. Volker -- Volker Kuhlmann is list0570 with the domain in header http://volker.dnsalias.net/ Please do not CC list postings to me.
